SACS Sends UTC Good News; Give Go Ahead to Doctoral Program

During a recent meeting of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) Commission on Colleges, it was agreed that the cycle of accreditation for the entire University is complete.

According to James T. Rogers, Executive Director of the Commission on Colleges a second action was allowed.“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.”

As a result of this decision, The University of Tennessee Chattanooga can award the first doctoral degrees in Physical Therapy upon successful completion of the requirements.

Dr. John Friedl and leadership in the Academic Affairs Division will determine 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, although no further report was requested by SACS.

“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,” according to Chancellor Bill Stacy. “I would like to thank the university faculty and administration for great work in assessing, evaluating, changing, and implementing new approaches to improve the quality of academic and support programs at UTC.”