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  March 17, 2008 Liz Babiarz, 404-413-1356 SACS visits Georgia State for re-accreditation review ATLANTA – To ensure the quality of the institution and to foster its continued improvement, Georgia State University is currently seeking re-accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). This week, a representative from SACS will accompany a review team of administrators from Southeastern institutions, as they visit the campus to evaluate how Georgia State is meeting core standards. Georgia State undergoes the evaluation every 10 years. But new this time, SACS is requiring universities to adopt and implement a Quality Enhancement Plan, transforming an area that directly impacts student learning. For its plan, Georgia State developed Critical Thinking Through Writing (CTW), an initiative approved by the University Senate in April 2007. The goal of the plan is to help undergraduates build critical thinking and analytical reasoning skills expressed through writing that can apply to real-world settings. By fall 2009, all Georgia State students entering bachelor degree programs will be required to pass two CTW courses in their major in order to graduate. The Critical Thinking Through Writing plan will be a main part of the SACS visit. On Tuesday (March 18), the SACS review team will meet with Georgia State President Carl Patton and other campus leaders for an overview of the university’s strategic goals and objectives. The reviewers will then talk with faculty, administrators and students in any areas where they might have outstanding issues or questions. But for most of Wednesday (March 19), the team will learn about the Critical Thinking Through Writing plan from faculty, students and staff. The team will debrief campus leaders on their findings on Thursday (March 20), before departing. Georgia State officials will learn by December if the university is re-accredited. “I am confident that the SACS accreditation visit will be a positive and valuable exercise with the goal of making Georgia State an even better institution,” Patton said. A handful of Georgia State instructors are currently piloting Critical Thinking Through Writing. In business instructor Kay Bunch’s class, for example, students are required to analyze and write explanations about actual legal situations that may rise in their future roles as managers. “In the real world, you have to be able to see the big picture, think on your feet and justify your answer,” Bunch said. “…With these real-world exercises, they [students] learn to see three to four steps down the road.” The re-accreditation process is critical to the success of the university. Without accreditation, the university is ineligible for state and federal funding, its academic degrees are less valued and the school’s overall reputation is diminished, said Mary Finn, associate provost for institutional effectiveness. “Accreditation gives us the opportunity to look at ourselves, assess where we are and figure out what we need to do to make the learning environment for students even better,” Finn said. For more information, visit www.gsu.edu/ctw or http://www.gsu.edu/sacs/
SACS Campus Visit Tuesday, March 18 2:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. 5:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. Wednesday, March 19 9:15 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. 12:15 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. 1:30 p.m. – 8 p.m. Thursday, March 20 9:30 a.m. -10:30 a.m. 10:30 a.m.
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