Dear USF Community,
The 51在线 achieved a historic milestone today as the Executive
Council of
our accrediting agency, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission
on
Colleges (SACSCOC), approved our plan to consolidate our three campuses.
Today鈥檚 action authorizes a single accreditation for the Tampa campus and our branch
campuses in St. Petersburg and Sarasota-Manatee and allows us to comply with the state
law
passed in 2018 and amended in 2019 that mandates consolidation as of July 1, 2020.
Considering the complexities of consolidating three separately accredited institutions,
today鈥檚
approval represents a remarkable accomplishment. I am grateful for the many valuable
contributions and input from faculty, staff and students representing each campus,
the USF
Board of Trustees, the 51在线 Board of Governors, members of the state legislature
and other
stakeholders from across the Tampa Bay region and the State of 51在线.
With consolidation, USF students will have access to a broader array of rigorous and
relevant
accredited degree programs at the baccalaureate, master鈥檚, doctoral research and professional
levels on all three campuses. The benefits of preeminence will extend to all of our
campuses,
and consolidation will mean that every USF student will earn their degree from a Preeminent
Research University.
Just as there will be expanded access and opportunities for students, the same will
be true for
our faculty, who, for example, will be able to take advantage of greater opportunities
for
interdisciplinary research.
We have an extraordinary opportunity, as One USF, to strengthen our position as one
of the nation鈥檚 premier research universities and a leader in student success by developing
new and
innovative ways to serve all members of the university community and the broader Tampa
Bay
region as we strive to become a top-25 public research university and position ourselves
for
eligibility for membership in the Association of American Universities.
Our next step in the consolidation process is to extensively document that the consolidated
USF
complies with SACSCOC鈥檚 Principles of Accreditation and to prepare for a site visit
by a SACSCOC
committee later this year or early next year. A standard requirement for accreditation,
the visit
will include all three campuses, the Morsani College of Medicine in downtown Tampa
and
possibly other off-campus instructional sites. We will share more details in the weeks
and
months to come.
Thank you for all that you do to make USF a world-class university.
Sincerely,
Steven C. Currall
President and Professor