Fifth-Year Interim Report
The University of Texas at San Antonio has completed its Reaffirmation of Accreditation review, conducted by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC). The SACSCOC is one of only a few accrediting commissions that conducts a comprehensive review of its institutions every ten years. Most accrediting agencies conduct such reviews every 5 to 7 years. The U.S. Department of Education requires accrediting agencies that it recognizes to monitor its institutions more often to ensure that institutions having access to federal funds continue to meet accreditation standards. To that end, the SACSCOC has developed a Fifth-Year Interim Report.
What is the Fifth-Year Interim Report?
The SACSCOC bases its accreditation of degree-granting higher education institutions on requirements in the Principles of Accreditation: Foundations for Quality Enhancement. These requirements apply to all institutional programs and services, wherever located or however delivered. The Compliance Report, recently completed by UTSA during its Reaffirmation of Accreditation review, demonstrates compliance with each of the Commission’s Core Requirements, Comprehensive Standards, and Federal Requirements. The Fifth-Year Interim Report must provide the same level of detail and documentary evidence as is provided in the Compliance Report. The required elements to address are: Core Requirements 2.8, 2.10; Comprehensive Standards 3.2.8, 126.96.36.199, 188.8.131.52, 3.4.3, 3.4.11, 3.10.2, 3.11.3, 3.13.1A-C; and Federal Requirements 4.1 through 4.9. It also must provide a report on the impact of the Quality Enhancement Plan.
The Fifth-Year Interim Report is divided into five parts:
Part I. Signatures Attesting to Integrity (applicable to all institutions)
Part II. Abbreviated Institutional Summary Form Prepared for Commission Reviews (applicable to all institutions)
Part II. Compliance Certification (applicable to all institutions)
Part IV. Additional Report/Fifth-Year Follow-Up (applicable to select institutions)
Part V. Report of the Quality Enhancement Plan (applicable to all institutions previously reviewed under the Principles of Accreditation
Institutions submitting a QEP Impact Report are asked to address the following elements in their narrative:
(1) the title and a brief description of the institution’s Quality Enhancement Plan as initially presented;
(2) a succinct list of the initial goals and intended outcomes of the QEP;
(3) a discussion of significant changes made to the QEP and the reasons for making those changes; and
(4) a description of the QEP’s direct impact on student learning including the achievement of goals and outcomes as outlined in item three above, and unanticipated outcomes of the QEP, if any.
For further information on the Fifth-Year Interim Report, please contact:
Vice Provost for Institutional Effectiveness