Jackson State University announces the successful decennial review of its regional accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. Photo courtesy JSU

JACKSON, Miss., Dec. 7, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Jackson State University announces the successful decennial review of its regional accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. The SACSCOC Board of Trustees made the announcement at its annual meeting today.

The next decennial review is scheduled to occur in 2031.

"The reaffirmation of Jackson State University's accreditation is a testament to the hard work of our faculty and staff to stay true to our mission to provide quality teaching, research and service to diverse populations of students and communities," said President Thomas K. Hudson, J.D. "We will remain vigilant in exercising our strategic plan to elevate Jackson State in the areas of student success, academic prominence and research excellence. Thank you to our Board of Trustees of the Mississippi State Institutions of Higher Learning, and our JSU campus community. We thank the SACSCOC Board of Trustees for this renewed vote of confidence."

The SACSCOC review reflects a comprehensive examination of the university and engages the campus community to document its compliance with fourteen standards of our regional accreditor. Campus committees worked tirelessly to ensure there was documentation for each of the principles. In addition to submitting a compliance certification report to the accreditor, the university submitted a focused report in advance of the virtual on-site reaffirmation committee visit, which was conducted in March 2021. As a part of the visit, JSU faculty, staff, and students engaged with the onsite visit committee and validated our quality education programs.

"We are elated that Jackson State completed the decennial reaffirmation process," said Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs Alisa Mosley, Ph.D. "Although conducting the process during a pandemic was challenging, we knew that our concept of putting students first and foremost had the capability to improve our orientation, advising and retention programs. The result is a better experience from freshman year to graduation. This is truly a great time to be a student at Jackson State University."

Highlighted in the Quality Enhancement Plan, JSU R.O.A.R. is the university's initiative to focus on Re-envisioning Orientation, Advising and Retention. The goal is to reach and sustain and 80 percent retention rate among first-time, full-time freshman. The goals of R.O.A.R. support the intent of the QEP to be a proposal that addresses the student success needs as well as solidify the institutional infrastructure to achieve learner transformation defined in the goals of the QEP.

"JSU R.O.A.R. focuses on improving the success experienced by first-time, full-time freshmen as measured by their fall to fall retention rate," said Mosley. "The goal is to provide students with an orientation experience that will introduce them to the University and to develop and enhance their collegiate learning and cultural experiences. We're grateful that the SACSCOC committee supports the vision of this program and we look forward to implementing it and reporting on the successful outcomes."