Good news!  Congratulations to all of our academic and institutional leaders and to the faculty and staff who support the institution.

Marvin


-----Original Message-----
From: Bill Stacy <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask] 
Date: Wed, 9 Jul 2003 09:01:49 -0400
Subject: [UTCSTAFF] Good News from SACS

Dear Colleague,

I am pleased to share good news in two letters from the Southern
Association of Colleges and Schools.

First, at their June, 2003, meeting, "the Commission reviewed the
institution's Second Follow-up Report. No additional report was requested."

Second, "The Commission awarded membership at Level V to offer the Doctor
of Physical Therapy degree and authorized a Substantive Change Committee to
visit the institution. No additional report was requested."

The first letter completes the cycle of accreditation
review/recommendations/response/follow-up/closure for the total university.

The second means that the University of Tennessee Chattanooga now can award
our first doctoral degrees (in Physical Therapy) upon successful completion
by our students. Dr. Friedl and leadership in the academic area will be
determining when the first doctoral awards will be scheduled. SACS
guidelines require a visit to the campus for any Substantive Change
involving "the initiation of programs at a higher degree level than
currently approved by the Commission." The Substantive Change Committee's
visit will be very beneficial not only to Physical therapy, but also to the
continuing preparation on the campus of the planned Ph. D. in Computational
Engineering and the Ed.D. in Educational Leadership.

Once again, I would like to thank the university faculty and administration
for great work in assessing/evaluating/changing/implementing new approaches
to improving the quality of academic and support programs at UTC.

Thank you!

Bill