Accreditation through the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) is a rigorous process that evaluates the quality and effectiveness of institutions of higher education. Institutions must demonstrate compliance with the Principles of Accreditation: Foundations for Quality Enhancement, which include Core Requirements, Comprehensive Standards, and Federal Requirements. The process involves a thorough self-assessment by the institution, followed by peer review and site visits conducted by SACSCOC committees.
Accreditation affirms that an institution has a clearly defined mission, appropriate governance, sufficient resources, sound educational programs, and a commitment to continuous improvement.
Peer Review
The backbone of the accreditation process is peer review, which means administrators, faculty and staff from other higher education institutions undertake the foundation work of ensuring the quality of member schools. Those peer reviewers have areas of expertise associated with the standards they are asked to review. Additionally, they are typically employed at schools similar to the institution being reviewed, however, none are employed in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Differentiated Review
The Differentiated Review was a report completed by the VPCC Writing Team to demonstrate our compliance with SACSCOC Core Requirements and other standards from the Commission’s Principles of Accreditation. This report was submitted in February 2025. The Off-site Reaffirmation Committee reviewed it in April 2025. This committee presented preliminary findings to the VPCC leadership team in May 2025.
Focused Report
VPCC submitted a Focused Report, responding to all areas that the Off-Site Reaffirmation Committee found “non-compliant” with SACSCOC Standards. Submitting the focused report gave the VPCC writing team an opportunity to provide clarification and additional documentation demonstrating the College’s compliance with all SACSCOC Standards.