As we move further into 2026, I want to share several important updates that reflect both our progress and our growing commitment to supporting institutions as they prepare students for meaningful careers.
Over the past month, our conversations with campuses, state leaders, and national partners have continued to reinforce a shared truth: every institution contributes to the workforce, and those contributions look different depending on institutional mission, student populations, and community needs. Honoring that diversity while strengthening clarity, transparency, and alignment remains central to the work ahead.
This month’s update focuses on how we are advancing that commitment, including through our new Lumina Foundation grant and significant activity in our Substantive Change process.
Workforce Alignment: A Shared Priority
I am pleased to share that SACSCOC has been awarded a new grant from the Lumina Foundation to support an ambitious two-year effort to strengthen how institutions across our membership understand, articulate, and demonstrate their contribution to workforce as part of their mission and accreditation narrative. This initiative will help institutions better leverage workforce and labor-market information in program planning, credential development, and mission-driven pathways for students. This work is anchored in several core truths.
Workforce is not one size fits all. A technical college, a comprehensive university, and an R1 research institution all contribute to the workforce, but they do so in different, mission-aligned ways.
We must respect that as we move forward.
Our role is to support, not prescribe, those contributions. The goal is not to create uniformity, but to ensure clarity, transparency, and quality assurance that helps institutions tell their story effectively.
Accreditation should help institutions connect learners to opportunity. Especially adult learners and returning students seeking high-skill, high-wage, high-demand careers.
This project supports four major areas: state-level workforce data analysis; cross-state program mapping; development of practical guidance for institutions; and the creation of a sustainable network to support workforce alignment.
Ultimately, this effort builds on our commitment to be an organization that is responsive, forward-leaning, and aligned to the needs of students and states.
Substantive Change & Career Pathways: Celebrating Institutional Progress
As we move toward the implementation of Workforce Pell, we are getting questions asking how we will support institutions. While currently there are not clear requirements for accreditors in that initiative, we feel it’s important to build on our role. Our focus is on pathways that progress to careers. As such, and under our purview of accreditation, we approve certificate training programs that will lead to careers.
This month we also continued to see strong activity in our Substantive Change process, particularly around career-aligned certificates and pathways that lead directly to employment. These programs reflect the responsiveness of our institutions to state workforce needs and the growing demand for credentials that provide immediate value.
Congratulations to the following institutions whose programs were approved this week:
- Level 1 Certificate in Entry Level Manufacturing Technician
- Level 2 Certificate in Advanced Manufacturing Technician
Northeast Texas Community College
- Level I Certificate in Industrial Technology – Air Conditioning Technician
- Certificate in Uncrewed Aerial Systems (UAS)
- Certificate in Artificial Intelligence Specialist
- Associate of Applied Science in Artificial Intelligence Specialist
These programs exemplify what it means to build clear, stackable, career-aligned pathways and demonstrate how institutions across sectors are serving students while strengthening regional and state economies.
Looking Ahead
Our 100-Day Plan continues to guide cross-team alignment and strengthen the way we communicate expectations with our membership. The revision of the Principles of Accreditation is underway, and we remain on track for new standards to be considered by the Board in December 2026. Be on the lookout for a first public draft in the spring. With this work ongoing, we will continue suspending new training on the current standards until the full retraining of peer evaluators in 2027. We are also excited about the new dashboard we will be launching in the spring. More to come on that, but I will tease that it is not your typical dashboard. I believe it will provide a wealth of data useful to institutions and the public alike.
Thank you for your partnership, your candor, and your steadfast commitment to the students and communities you serve. It is an honor to walk this road with you.
Be Bold; Stay Gold.
Dr. Stephen L. Pruitt
SACSCOC President