The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) is one of the six

Regional accreditation

Regional accreditation is a term used in the United States to refer to educational accreditation conducted by any of several accreditation bodies established to serve six defined geographic areas of the country for accreditation of schools, colleges, and universities...

 regional accreditation organizations recognized by the United States Department of Education

United States Department of Education

The United States Department of Education, also referred to as ED or the ED for Education Department, is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government...

 and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation

Council for Higher Education Accreditation

The Council for Higher Education Accreditation is a United States organization of degree-granting colleges and universities. It identifies its purpose as providing national advocacy for self-regulation of academic quality through accreditation in order to certify the quality of higher education...

. This agency accredits over 13,000 public and private educational institutions ranging from preschool to college level in the southern United States

Southern United States

The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...

.

SACS accredits educational institutions in the states of Virginia

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

, Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

, Georgia

Georgia (U.S. state)

Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...

, Kentucky

Kentucky

The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...

, Louisiana

Louisiana

Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...

, Mississippi

Mississippi

Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...

, North Carolina

North Carolina

North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...

, South Carolina

South Carolina

South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...

, Alabama

Alabama

Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...

, Tennessee

Tennessee

Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...

 and Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

, as well as schools for US students in Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

, the Caribbean

Caribbean

The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...

, and Central

Central America

Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...

 and South America

South America

South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...

.

There are a number of affiliate organizations within the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. One affiliate organization is the Southern Association of Community, Junior, and Technical Colleges.

Commission on Colleges

SACS-COC accredits universities and college

College

A college is an educational institution or a constituent part of an educational institution. Usage varies in English-speaking nations...

s in Virginia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama, Tennessee, Texas and Latin America (Extraterritorial).

Every six months, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges publishes an online report on its accreditation actions, including reaffirmations of accreditation and public sanctions of institutions of higher learning. The reports include specific sanctions of schools and quality reports of schools failing to meet SACS standards.

At the university level, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges has accredited large public institutions, private colleges, military schools, and community colleges.

Institutions in Latin America accredited by SACS COC include Fundación Universidad de las Américas, Puebla

Fundación Universidad de las Américas, Puebla

Universidad de las Américas Puebla , is a private university in Mexico. It is located in San Andrés Cholula, Puebla, a suburb of Puebla. The university is known for its programs in Arts and Humanities, Social sciences, Science and Engineering, and Business and Economics...

; Universidad de las Americas, A.C.

Universidad de las Américas, A.C.

Universidad de las Américas, A.C. is a university located at Mexico City, formed by a dissident group from Universidad de las Américas.Universidad de las Américas was founded with the name of Mexico City College in 1940 by Dr. Henry L. Cain and Dr. Paul V. Murray...

; Universidad de Monterrey

Universidad de Monterrey

The University of Monterrey is a Roman Catholic institution of higher learning located in Monterrey, Mexico....

; Tecnológico de Monterrey; Instituto Centroamericano de Administración de Empresas; Alliance Academy International in Quito, Ecuador and Inter American Academy of Guayaquil, Ecuador. The SACS-COC has also accredited the American University in Dubai

American University in Dubai

The American University in Dubai is a private, non-sectarian institution of higher learning in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, founded in 1995. AUD was founded in 1995 as a branch campus of the American InterContinental University in Atlanta, Georgia, but turned into a private, non-sectarian...

.

Council on Accreditation and School Improvement

The SACS Council on Accreditation and School Improvement accredits over 13,000 primary, secondary

Secondary school

Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...

, and middle school

Middle school

Middle School and Junior High School are levels of schooling between elementary and high schools. Most school systems use one term or the other, not both. The terms are not interchangeable...

s and school systems in the SACS region. In 2006 it affiliated with the pre-college division of the North Central Association to form AdvancED

AdvancED

AdvancED is a private organization that accredits primary and secondary schools throughout the United States. The organization is based in Georgia. AdvanceED was formed in 2006 by the consolidation of the pre-college divisions of two of the U.S...

.

See also

• List of recognized accreditation associations of higher learning
• School accreditation

External links

• Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Official website
• Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACS COC)

• Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Council on Accreditation and School Improvement (SACS CASI)