Please note that the institution's name was changed to Augusta University on December 1, 2015 Documentation for the Off-Site Reaffirmation Committee Compliance Certification Report September 4, 2015 SACSCOC Archival Copy Table of Contents Title Page 1 Core Requirements 2 2.1 Degree-granting Authority 2 2.2 Governing Board 4 2.3 Chief Executive Officer 8 2.4 Institutional Mission 10 2.5 Institutional Effectiveness 11 2.6 Continuous Operation 24 2.7.1 Program Length 25 2.7.2 Program Content 32 2.7.3 General Education 35 2.7.4 Coursework for Degrees 38 2.8 Faculty 40 2.9 Learning Resources and Services 49 2.10 Student Support Services 53 2.11.1 Financial Resources 57 2.11.2 Physical Resources 61 2.12 Quality Enhancement Plan 66 Comprehensive Standards 67 3.1.1 Mission 67 3.2.1 Governance and Administration: CEO evaluation/selection 69 3.2.2 Governance and Administration: Governing Board Control 70 3.2.3 Governance and Administration: Board conflict of interest 73 3.2.4 Governance and Administration: External influence 75 3.2.5 Governance and Administration: Board dismissal 77 3.2.6 Governance and Administration: Board/administration distinction 78 3.2.7 Governance and Administration: Organizational structure 81 3.2.8 Governance and Administration: Qualified administrative/academic officers 83 3.2.9 Governance and Administration: Personnel Appointment 92 3.2.10 Governance and Administration: Administrative staff evaluations 97 3.2.11 Governance and Administration: Control of intercollegiate athletics 99 3.2.12 Governance and Administration: Fund-raising activities 102 3.2.13 Governance and Administration: Institution-related entities 103 3.2.14 Governance and Administration: Intellectual property rights 105 3.3.1 Institutional Effectiveness 107 3.3.1.1 Institutional Effectiveness: Educational Programs 123 3.3.1.2 Institutional Effectiveness: Administrative Support Services 148 3.3.1.3 Institutional Effectiveness: Academic and Student Support Services 154 3.3.1.4 Institutional Effectiveness: Research 163 3.3.1.5 Institutional Effectiveness: Community/Public Service 174 3.3.2 Quality Enhancement Plan 182 3.4.1 Educational Programs: All: Academic program approval 183 3.4.2 Educational Programs: All: Continuing education/service programs 186 3.4.3 Educational Programs: All: Admission policies 192 3.4.4 Educational Programs: All: Acceptance of academic credit 195 3.4.5 Educational Programs: All: Academic policies 197 3.4.6 Educational Programs: All: Practices for awarding credit 200 3.4.7 Educational Programs: All: Consortial relationships/contractual agreements 203 3.4.8 Educational Programs: All: Noncredit to credit 204 3.4.9 Educational Programs: All: Academic support services 205 3.4.10 Educational Programs: All: Responsibility for curriculum 208 3.4.11 Educational Programs: All: Academic program coordination 211 3.4.12 Educational Programs: All: Technology use 242 3.5.1 Educational Programs: Undergraduate:General Education Competencies 251 3.5.2 Educational Programs: Undergraduate: Institutional credits for a degree 254 3.5.3 Educational Programs: Undergraduate: Undergraduate program requirements 255 3.5.4 Educational Programs: Undergraduate: Terminal degrees of faculty 258 3.6.1 Educational Programs: Graduate/Post-Baccalaureate: Post-Baccalaureate program rigor 262 3.6.2 Educational Programs: Graduate/Post-Baccalaureate: Graduate curriculum 265 3.6.3 Educational Programs: Graduate/Post-Baccalaureate: Institutional credits for a graduate degree 268 3.6.4 Educational Programs: Graduate/Post-Baccalaureate: Post-baccalaureate program requirements 269 3.7.1 Faculty: Faculty competence 272 3.7.2 Faculty: Faculty evaluation 275 3.7.3 Faculty: Faculty development 277 3.7.4 Faculty: Academic freedom 279 3.7.5 Faculty: Faculty role in governance 281 3.8.1 Library and Other Learning Resources: Learning/information resources 284 3.8.2 Library and Other Learning Resources: Instruction of library use 288 3.8.3 Library and Other Learning Resources: Qualified staff 290 3.9.1 Student Affairs and Services: Student rights 292 3.9.2 Student Affairs and Services: Student records 293 3.9.3 Student Affairs and Services: Qualified staff 297 3.10.1 Financial Resources: Financial stability 300 3.10.2 Financial Resources: Financial aid audits 305 3.10.3 Financial Resources: Control of finances 307 3.10.4 Financial Resources: Control of sponsored research/external funds 313 3.11.1 Physical Resources: Control of physical resources 316 3.11.2 Physical Resources: Institutional environment 319 3.11.3 Physical Resources: Physical facilities 322 3.12 Substantive change 327 3.13.1 Policy Compliance: Accrediting Decisions of Other Agencies 330 3.13.2 Policy Compliance: Collaborative Academic Arrangements: Policy and Procedures 336 3.13.3 Policy Compliance: Complaint Procedures Against the Commission or Its Accredited Institutions 337 3.13.4.a Policy Compliance: Reaffirmation of Accreditation and Subsequent Reports 339 3.13.4.b Policy Compliance: Reaffirmation of Accreditation and Subsequent Reports 343 3.13.5.a Policy Compliance: Separate Accreditation for Units of a Member Institution 345 3.13.5.b Policy Compliance: Separate Accreditation for Units of a Member Institution 346 3.14 Representation of status with the Commission: Publication of accreditation status 347 Federal Requirements 348 4.1 Student achievement 348 4.2 Program curriculum 350 4.3 Publication of policies 353 4.4 Program length 354 4.5 Student complaints 359 4.6 Recruitment materials 361 4.7 Title IV program responsibilities 363 4.8 Verification of Student Identity in Distance or Correspondence Education 365 4.9 Definition of Credit Hours 367 2.1 Degree-granting Authority The institution has degree-granting authority from the appropriate government agency or agencies. Judgment Compliance Non-Compliance Not Applicable Narrative Georgia Regents University (GRU) has degree-granting authority from the University System of Georgia (USG) Board of Regents (BOR). The Constitution of the State of Georgia grants authority to the USG to govern, control, and manage all system institutions [1]. The Establishment and Authority of the Board of Regents The BOR was created in 1931 as a part of the reorganization of Georgia’s state government. Public higher education in Georgia was unified for the first time under a single governing and management authority. In addition, Article I, Section 2 of the BOR Bylaws clearly articulates the authority of the Board over its member institutions. The charter of the BOR consists of the original charter of the Trustees of the University of Georgia embodied in the Act of the General Assembly of the State of Georgia. The charter was approved January 27, 1785, and modified by a subsequent Act of the General Assembly of Georgia in 1931, as follows: "Be it further enacted by the Authority aforesaid, that there is hereby set up and constituted a department of the State Government of Georgia, to be known as the 'Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia.' The name of the corporation heretofore established and existing under the name and style, 'Trustees of the University of Georgia' be and the same is hereby changed to 'Regents of the University System of Georgia.'" The government, control, and management of the University System of Georgia and each of its institutions are vested by the people of Georgia exclusively with the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia. The Board of Regents possesses such other authority as is granted by the Constitution of the State of Georgia and by acts of the General Assembly [2]. The Legal Authority to Establish Georgia Regents University The legal authority to create GRU is vested with the BOR through the Constitution of the State of Georgia and by acts of the General Assembly as well as the Official Code of Georgia Annotated Statute (O.C.G.A. § 20-3-31 [3]), which states the BOR shall have power: "To make such reasonable rules and regulations as are necessary for the performance of its duties; To elect or appoint professors, educators, stewards, or any other officers necessary for all of the schools in the university system, as may be authorized by the General Assembly; to discontinue or remove them as the good of the system or any of its schools or institutions or stations may require; and to fix their compensations; To establish all such schools of learning or art as may be useful to the state and to organize them in the way most likely to attain the ends desired; and To exercise any power usually granted to such corporation, necessary to its usefulness, which is not in conflict with the Constitution and laws of this state." Acting within its constitutional authority as the governing board, the BOR ratified the consolidation of Augusta State University and Georgia Health Sciences University at its January 8, 2013, meeting [4]. GRU Degree-Granting Authority Per BOR policy [5], the Board authorizes GRU to grant degrees in the following nine colleges/schools: College of Allied Health Sciences Pamplin College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences Hull College of Business College of Dental Medicine College of Education Graduate School College of Nursing College of Science and Mathematics Medical College of Georgia These degrees consist of one career associate degree, 40 bachelor’s degrees, 29 master’s degrees, three educational specialist degrees, three first-professional doctoral degrees, and 15 doctorates. In addition to degrees, the University has been approved to grant 31 certificates at the less-than-one-year, one-year, and advanced levels. The Board defines certificate programs as those “that provide academic credit but award certificates rather than degrees … using guidelines issued by the Chancellor” of the USG [6]. Sources Georgia Regents University Page 2 / 370 Board of Regents Bylaws Board of Regents Policy Manual - 3.6 Creation and Elimination of Academic Programs Board of Regents Policy Manual - 3.8 Degrees Board of Regents Resolution on Consolidation Georgia Constitution, Article VIII.