Collection open to research. Researchers must register and agree to copyright and privacy laws before using this collection. Please contact Research Services staff before visiting the James Madison University Special Collections Library to use this collection.
Copyright for materials authored or otherwise produced as official business of James Madison University is retained by James Madison University. Copyright status for other collection materials is unknown. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user. For more information, contact the Special Collections Reference Desk (library-special@jmu.edu).
[identification of item], [box #, folder #], Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) Institutional Self-Study Records, UA 0043, 1961-1992, Special Collections, Carrier Library, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA.
Self-Study Reports from 1961 and 1981 were present in the cage at the time of founding.
Self-Study documents were minimally processed in 1992, and assigned Collection Number SE 92-0929, Department and Committee Self-Study Reports, 1961-2007.
In 2018, five Affirmative Action reports were transferred to UA 0005, Office of Affirmative Action Records, 1977-1988, and four Academic Program Review documents were transferred to UA 0002, Academic Affairs: Academic Program Reviews (APR), 1976-present (bulk 1992-present).
The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS), now the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and School Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC), is a regional accreditation agency for degree-granting higher education institutions. JMU was issued its first "institutional report card" by SACS in 1927, and continues to require SACSCOC accreditation in order to award baccalaureate, masters and doctorate degrees. SACSCOC requires that academic institutions renew or reaffirm their accreditation every ten years. As part of the reaffirmation process, JMU undertakes a comprehensive self-study that demonstrates that the university is in compliance with the SACSCOC criteria for accreditation, evaluates all aspects of the university, and recommends a future course of action. The university submits a "Fifth Year Interim Report" in between self-study reports.
The SACS Institutional Self-Study Records contain documents related to the accreditation process administered by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, from 1961-1992. Topics of the self-study evaluation include educational programs, faculty and educational support services, administrative processes, financial resources, and institutional policies, among other topics.
The majority of the reports were prepared for the 1961 Self-Study, submitted during the tenure of President G. Tyler Miller. The 1961 departmental and committee reports cover topics such as university and departmental objectives, faculty and staff listings, details of the facilities and departmental resources, course offerings, and program evaluations. These reports form the basis of the final report, the "Summary Report of the Self-Evaluation Study, 1961" (1:1), submitted to the SACS evaluating body. The collection also contains SACS manuals and responses to recommendations made to by the SACS reaffirmation committee.
Collection is arranged chronologically and alphabetically.
The finalized SACS Institutional Self-Study Reports from 1961 – 2002 are bound and available in Special Collections.