Deadlines for Reports and Profiles

In order to provide The Commission on Colleges and Universities Board of Trustees, or one of its standing committees, ample time to review the response of an institution to the report of the visiting committee, an institution is required to submit its response by the date requested by staff for consideration at either the Board’s Summer Meeting or its Annual Meeting in December. Action on the report of a visiting committee must take place no later than the second Board of Trustees meeting following the committee visit.

The Commission Board of Trustees has sole authority to place or continue an institution on sanction. Because its decision is final, the imposition of sanction, along with the reasons and the period of time for the sanction, cannot be reconsidered by any other Commission Committee or the Executive Council before the next review date specified by the Board.

An institution seeking an extension of the due date for the submission of a report or of a response to a Visiting Committee report must submit a written request before the original requested due date. The written request must describe reasons why the institution cannot meet the specified deadline. The President of The Commission will grant a delay only in unusual circumstances.

If a delay is granted, the institution will be required to submit the information by the deadline established by The Commission President. No reports or responses will be accepted later than ten working days prior to the meeting of the Board of Trustees and its standing committees.

If the institution does not seek permission for a delay and does not submit the report or response by the designated date, the Board may take action on the institution’s case without the benefit of an institutional report or response.

The following actions may be taken by The Commission Board of Trustees or Commission staff regarding a request by an institution for a delay to submit an audit report by the due date indicated by the Commission’s Board of Trustees or one of its standing committees:

1. The President of The Commission must receive a written request before > the due date of an institution's audit if the institution wants > to request a delay in its submission. The written request must > describe reasons why the institution cannot meet the specified > deadline and must be accompanied by a written verification from > the institution's auditor as to those reasons. The President of > The Commission will grant a delay of the submission of an audit report > only in unusual circumstances. In all cases in which exceptions > are permitted by the President, the institution will be required > to submit the audit no later than ten working days in advance of > the meeting of the Commission’s Board of Trustees and its standing > committees.
2. If the institution does not seek permission for a delay and does not submit the audit report by the designated date, The Commission Board of Trustees will be required to continue or place the institution on public sanction or remove the institution from membership for failure to provide requested information required to document compliance with Core Requirement 13.1, Core Requirement 13.2, and Standard 13.3 of the Principles of Accreditation.

An institution requested by The Commission Board of Trustees to submit a report (including requests for specific documentation and audit reports and management letters) prior to the on-site evaluation by a Special Committee must submit that report by the designated date to allow for preliminary review by the visiting committee members. If the institution fails to submit the report, the Special Committee visit may be canceled, and the case will be forwarded to The Commission Board of Trustees for action at its next meeting. The Board will take action on the institution's case without the benefit of an institutional report.

An institution meeting on the record with The Commission Board of Trustees or with one of its standing committees to address compliance with the Principles of Accreditation may not submit reports later than ten working days prior to the meeting of the Board or one of its standing committees. The institution may not provide additional materials, including video and audio presentations, to the Committee during the interview. All documents referred to during the meeting on the record must have been submitted by the date required.

The President of The Commission may grant an exception to the deadline for submitting documents only in unusual circumstances and only for previously unavailable significant documents. In such cases, the institution must petition the President in writing and include copies of the documents.

The Commission Board of Trustees, one of its standing committees, or the President of The Commission may request additional documentation from an institution at any time prior to the meeting of the Board.

For an institution that fails to submit a completed Institutional Profile by the date designated on the profile or submits incomplete information requested in the profile, the Commission will take the following steps:

1. The President of The Commission will send a letter to the institution > requesting complete information by a specified date. The letter > will be copied to the institution’s file for the record.
2. If the institution does not submit the information by the extended > date, the President of The Commission will send a second letter > indicating that if the correct information is not submitted by a > second extended date, the institution’s case will be forwarded to > The Commission Board of Trustees for action, regardless of its > eventual date of submission. (The second letter will be copied to > the institution’s file and to its board chair.)
3. The Commission Board of Trustees may take any action appropriate to the case. If the institution has had previous notifications of late submissions in its file, the institution’s complete record will be made available to The Commission Board of Trustees at the time of the review.