Eastern Florida Earns 10-Year Accreditation

The Board of Trustees of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges has reaffirmed Eastern Florida State College’s 10-year accreditation.

The news was announced Tuesday during a meeting of the college’s Board of Trustees.

“This is a significant accomplishment for our college because the accreditation is the gold standard in higher education,” said Eastern Florida President Dr. Jim Richey.

“It allows our students to transfer to four-year universities, receive financial aid grants and loans from the federal government, and certifies the high-quality of our academic programs and everything that Eastern Florida State College represents.”

Richey went on to call the achievement “even more impressive” because the college also gained another separate accreditation for its change from a community college to state college in 2013 and with it the ability to offer four-year Bachelor Degrees.

The reaffirmation is the result of five years of work by hundreds of the college’s faculty and staff who participated in the rigorous process.

Institutions accredited by SACSCOC must undergo reaffirmation every 10 years to show they meet high academic and administrative standards.

The reaffirmation included two major parts: Compliance with more than 90 academic and administrative standards, and implementing a Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) to enhance student learning and success in the classroom and workplace.

Eastern Florida’s QEP is already making a difference for students, Richey said.

The plan includes more tutoring, connecting students with the many resources available to help them, and offering workshops on such topics as time management and study and organizational skills to aid students in class and on the job.

A key step in the review came last fall when a SACSCOC team conducted a weeklong site visit to the college.

They came away very impressed, with the chair “praising Eastern Florida as a great institution and what she called our great collaboration, strong focus on students, can-do spirit and culture of enthusiasm,” said Richey.

Richey applauded everyone involved in the review, saying they “literally spent thousands of hours” working together to reach the goal.

“I want thank all of our faculty and staff whose dedication brought us to reaffirmation,” he said. “It has been an extraordinary effort with teamwork of the highest order and everyone focused on the same goal:

“Working in the best interests of our students to ensure they succeed and enter careers that benefit themselves, their families, our community and our region.”