Substantive Changes

Updates and announcements

  • Substantive Change Workshop:  SACSCOC is offering a one-day, in-person, substantive change workshop: 
    When:  Monday, September 16, 2024
    Where:  Nashville, Tenn.
    Details:  Visit the Substantive Change Workshop webpage for more information and registration options.
  • New webinar available on Demand:  Prison Education Program (PEP): Follow-up + Update
  • Substantive changes are now submitted through the institutional portal by (1) answering screening questions about your change and then (2) uploading your submission.  For guidance, refer to the users guide accessible in the portal.  Please don’t send submissions (or copies) by mail.
  • Off-campus instructional site (OCIS) name or address changes can now be made directly in the institutional portal; you do not need to prepare and upload a substantive change notification. Go to the OCIS tab, click the pencil icon, and follow the on-screen instructions. Note: All other OCIS notifications and approvals are still submitted as described in substantive change policy.
  • If your institution has an off-campus instructional site (OCIS) serving incarcerated students, you’re asked to add this to OCIS record via the institutional portal.  Click the OCIS’s pencil icon and check the “Site has incarcerated students” option. This data will be useful when planning and staffing OCIS committee visits (at reaffirmation, fifth-year interim reviews, etc.). Note: This designation is separate from the Prison Education Program (PEP) approval process and PEP-approved OCISs; checking “Site has incarcerated students” does not denote the institution’s or the site’s approval, if necessary, under the PEP requirements as defined in policy.
  • The federal Prison Education Program (PEP) creates substantive change obligations for participating SACSCOC institutions.  All current requirements are reflected in the Substantive Change Policy and Procedures as of March 2023.
  • Reminders:
    • Substantive changes cannot be submitted by email to the President or to staff members.

Upcoming dates and deadlines

  • March 15, 2024:  Deadline to submit substantive changes requiring review by the SACSCOC Board of Trustees in June 2024.  Carefully review the Substantive Change Policy and Procedures to determine if a substantive change type requires Board approval at a regularly scheduled biannual meeting or if the change can be approved by the Executive Council of the Board.  See also “Board review pathways” and “Off-campus Instructional Site Approval” by extensive review in the substantive change policy.
  • July 1, 2024:  Deadline to submit substantive changes to be implemented January 1, 2025, through June 30, 2025, requiring notification or requiring approval by the Executive Council of the SACSCOC Board of Trustees. Refer to the Substantive Change Policy and Procedures for guidance for a specific substantive change type. 

Substantive change policy and related policies

Webinars

Upcoming webinars:

  • The 2024-2025 webinar series will be announced in spring 2024.  All scheduled webinars for the year will be posted here with sign-up links. 

    Reminder:  SACSCOC’s webinars are

    • open to everyone, without restriction;
    • free; and
    • available on-demand after the live event.
  • Note:  Multiple in-person one-day substantive change workshops are scheduled for summer and fall 2024. Workshops cover a range of topics and overall guidance for managing substantive change, whereas webinars each target a specific substantive change type or process.  Information on upcoming workshops is available on this webpage.

On-demand webinars :

Documents and Templates