KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — A Southern Association of Colleges.
and Schools visitation team will visit the University of Tennessee-Knoxville April 20-23.
Dr. Bill Snyder, UT-Knoxville interim vice chancellor for academic affairs, said the visit is part of SACS’ accreditation process, which occurs every 10 years. The team will be headed by University of Georgia President Charles Knapp.
As required for accreditation, UT-Knoxville faculty and administrators have conducted a two-year self-study which assesses every aspect of the university, Snyder said.
”This is accreditation of the entire university. Accreditation is important because it represents a quality measure,” Snyder said.
In addition to institutional accreditation, various agencies evaluate individual programs, he said. For example, the American Bar Association accredits law schools.
A UT-Knoxville planning committee supervised the self-study, which includes issues important to UT’s future, a historical sketch, a mission statement, and a goals and strategies statement.
The report covers strengths, weaknesses and recommendations for the university’s effectiveness, educational program, research, educational support services and the administration.
The report showed that the largest percentage, almost 27 percent, of degrees UT awarded in 1990 were in business administration, followed by engineering (12 percent) and education (10.5 percent).