Every so often, whether I’m visiting campuses, speaking at a convening, or meeting with leadership teams, I hear a familiar phrase whispered half-jokingly, half-cautiously: “Don’t tell SACSCOC… we might get in trouble.”
If you’ve said it, heard it, or laughed along with it, you’re not alone. But as with many things in SACSCOC accreditation, this statement is built far more on lore than law. To be fair, I understand we may have earned some of that reputation, but I also know it is an intrinsic concern with any entity and their accountability partner. As we continue to evolve our philosophy under Students First, Always, and our aspiration to be the organization that finds a way to say yes to rigorous innovation, it’s time to retire this one.
Where This Lore Comes From
For years, accreditation across the nation has often been viewed through a compliance-first lens: “Call the accreditor only when absolutely necessary and only after you’ve triple-checked everything.” That mindset can create distance, hesitation, and fear, none of which serve students or institutions. But the world is changing and so is SACSCOC. Our core function as an accreditor is certainly to hold institutions accountable and hold them “compliant.” I get that, but we can do more together.
What the Law (and Our Philosophy) Actually Says
Nothing in accreditation policy says you should withhold information, delay communication, or avoid asking for guidance. Quite the opposite. Our standards and our shared commitment to institutional quality assume open, ongoing communication. More importantly, our evolving philosophy centers on three commitments:
- Students First, Always
- Find a Way to Say Yes to Innovation
- Trust Is Foundational
Real Examples of Support-First Approaches
I know these can sound very lofty and words without action can diminish trust even more. So, I wanted to share a couple of recent examples of what I mean.
A New Pilot for Institutions Going Through a Merger
The proposed pilot for merger/consolidation review allows for more tailored, efficient oversight when institutions have gone through reaffirmation in the last 48 months and meet specific eligibility criteria, reducing burden while maintaining quality. It was raised that we have two institutions that were recently reaffirmed and are starting or amid a merger. Traditionally, those would be thought of as separate processes unless the merger was started before the onsite review committee. Sometimes, that does not work out so well. In these two cases, the institutions came through reaffirmation with no findings and are merging with other institutions also accredited by SACSCOC. So, our staff did a great job of bringing a proposal to recognize what had just been reviewed and accomplished and meet the federal requirements under the merger regulations. What resulted in this pilot is a more efficient and focused evidence gathering and subsequent review thereby reducing burden on the institutions. We will look to make this a policy soon, but in the meantime, we found a way to say yes to rigorous innovation.
Thinking Through SubChange
A set of HBCUs in Atlanta wanted to develop collaborative educational programs a few years ago. They worked with SACSCOC staff to brainstorm and discussed how to best plan and report on these programs ahead of time. Therefore, when it came time to implement, they were ready.
Law vs. Lore
❌ Lore: “Don’t tell SACSCOC… we might get in trouble.”
✅ Law: Early engagement leads to support.
❌ Lore: Calling SACSCOC means something must be wrong.
✅ Law: Calling SACSCOC means you are planning thoughtfully and prioritizing students.
The Pruitt Perspective
I detest the word “compliant.” It is a floor and I believe we have so much more opportunity if we think about what we are, and even what we could be, as a higher education community. Accreditation should never be something institutions fear. It should be something they trust. This means we must trust one another and move beyond just compliance. There is a caveat here, we are a compliance organization and one run by a Board, so coming to us when you are already out of compliance does not mean you won’t have sanctions but coming to us early and letting us work with you saves everyone a lot of time and frustration, especially around SubChange.
Students First, Always requires partnership. When you involve us early, you give us the chance to do exactly what we aspire to do: find a way to say yes.
We are committed to earning and keeping trust through clarity, responsiveness, fairness, and consistency.
So, the next time someone says, “Don’t tell SACSCOC…” Just tell them, “It is lore. Pick up the dang phone.”