A three-year process of self-evaluation recently ended for Milligan when
the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
(SACS) reaffirmed the accreditation status of the college for another ten years.
“It was a positive affirmation of Milligan’s academic strength,”
said Mark Matson, academic dean.
Matson and President Don Jeanes attended the December SACS meeting which
was held from Dec. 7 to 10, in which the Commission on Colleges reviewed the
accreditation status of several institutions. In most cases, the Commission on
Colleges either granted the accreditation status to these colleges or put
colleges on a probationary/warning status. Their final decision, in Milligan’s
case, was announced on Dec. 10.
The Executive Council of the Commission on Colleges made these
determinations after reviewing the report of a SACS visiting committee and the
college’s response to the visiting committee’s findings.
According to the Commission on Colleges’ Web page, “Accreditation of
an institution by the Commission on Colleges signifies the institution has a
purpose appropriate to higher education and has resources, programs and services
sufficient to accomplish that purpose on a continuing basis.”
Milligan received two commendations by the SACS visiting committee and
only twelve recommendations. Pat Magness, chair of the self-study steering
committee, professor of humanities and English and director of humanities, said
when the commendations and recommendations were made that this was an excellent
response from the visiting committee, considering 25 to 30 recommendations is
considered very good.
SACS recommendations 9 and 10 called for increased funding for library
resources as well as additional space for the library, which agreed with the
recommendations made by Milligan’s self-study report.
Matson said Milligan would take action on these recommendations in
stages, addressing the space problem “as soon as possible.” He said that
movable shelves will be put downstairs and some of the seminar rooms might be
opened up to provide more study space.
According to Milligan’s response to the recommendations, additional
space will be acquired when the Campus Center is built and the president’s
office and the information technology department are removed from the library.
Further expansion of the library will take top priority in the next capital
campaign, which should begin in 2007.
In the report Milligan responded, “An expansion might be possible by
2010 or shortly thereafter.”
Magness said that preparation for the next SACS review should begin
around 2010, and she said that SACS had changed the process of accreditation so
that it should be simpler than this time.
“They have greatly reduced the number of criteria,” Magness said.
In place of an extensive list of criteria, Magness said the Commission on
Colleges established principles of accreditation for the college to follow, but
more emphasis is placed on the college developing its own goals.
“The college should devote most of its energy now to what they call a
quality enhancement plan,” Magness said.