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SACS completes review of University, final report to emerge by December

Objections raised by the group in 2012 must be resolved to maintain University's accreditation

A committee from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools completed its three-day review of the University’s commitment to the accrediting agency’s “core practices.”

The agency placed the University on a one-year warning following the resignation and reinstatement of University President Teresa Sullivan in the summer of 2012. A December 2012 letter from SACS to Sullivan said the warning period was the result of the University’s failure to comply with SACS core requirements concerning governing board procedures and faculty role in governance.

Since being placed on warning, the University has modified the Board’s manual and added the requirement of an open board meeting to discuss a University president’s contract, as well as a requirement that a non-voting faculty member be added to all committee meetings where a faculty member is not already present.

Sullivan said the SACS reviewers were extremely knowledgeable about the University and she had received positive feedback from them, though they did have some tough questions.

“They asked me why I’m still here,” she said. “I said because the University of Virginia is very important, not just to Virginia but to the whole country. And I said I would do a job and that’s what I’m going to do.”

The visiting committee will generate a report to review the University’s status, and determine whether to take it off warning. If not, SACS can either extend the warning or recommend more severe sanctions. The agency will make the final decision by December.

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