Isothermal Community College earned the stamp of approval from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges this month, officials said Thursday.

The SACSCOC Board of Trustees met on Thursday, June 16, and reaffirmed Isothermal’s accreditation.

The reaffirmation process is on a 10-year cycle, which means Isothermal is fully authorized to issue accredited degrees, diplomas and certificates through June 2026.

“This is timely and great news,” said Walter Dalton, Isothermal’s president. “As you know the reaffirmation process occurs every 10 years and many people worked long hours to make this happen.” Dalton said many Isothermal employees worked tirelessly on the reaffirmation effort.

“A special thanks to Anne Oxenreider, our director of Institutional Effectiveness, who did a lot of heavy lifting and who had to bear the slings and arrows of many who became frustrated with the process,” he said. “However, the process and the work related to the reaffirmation was absolutely necessary and this announcement shows the rewards of that effort. Thanks to Dr. Kimberly Gold, our executive vice-president and chief academic officer, who led the reaffirmation initiative and to Pat Wall and the Quality Enhancement Plan team, who did a wonderful job.  It was clear that as they developed our QEP – Start Strong, Finish Stronger — that the work was not being done to satisfy a SACSCOC requirement, but was being done to better our students and make their journey more successful.”

Preparation of the reaffirmation narrative and for a site visit by a team of peer reviewers began many years ago, culminating with the review visit last fall.

Dalton said this is good news to the citizens of Rutherford and Polk counties.

“Isothermal Community College, which has served this area for more than 50 years, is off and running for the next ten years with a clean bill of health and therefore poised to continue our mission to improve life through learning and its tradition of providing an affordable, accessible, and excellent education and workforce training for all,” said Dalton.

The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges is the recognized regional accrediting body in the eleven U.S. Southern states (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia) and in Latin America for those institutions of higher education that award associate, baccalaureate, master’s or doctoral degrees.

The Commission on Colleges’ Board of Trustees is the representative body of the College Delegate Assembly and is charged with carrying out the accreditation process.

To gain or maintain accreditation with the Commission on Colleges, an institution must comply with the standards contained in the Principles of Accreditation: Foundations for Quality Enhancement and with the policies and procedures of the Commission on Colleges.

The Commission on Colleges applies the requirements of its principles to all applicant, candidate, and member institutions, regardless of type of institution, public, private for-profit, private not-for-profit.

– article submitted
by Mike Gavin