The Commission on Colleges and Universities (“The Commission”, formerly SACSCOC) asks that we have policies and procedures that meet federal compliance expectations. Below are policies and resources focused on Commission-specific standards and are provided to help units remain compliant. For other university policies, please go to Policy Central.
Substantive Change Policy and Resources
- 2026 UT Knoxville Substantive Change Policy (Revised July 2026; PDF)
- UT Knoxville Guidance for Substantive Changes (Revised August 2026; PDF used to determine the information needed to report a substantive change)
- Crosswalk between Commission Prospectus Requirement and a THEC New Degree Proposal (Revised July 2017, .docx)
Focused Baccalaureate Degrees
(Note: While varying terminology has been used to describe these programs, the official UT System term is “Focused Baccalaureate Degree” [FBD])
- The Commission on Colleges and Universities Reduced-Credit Undergraduate Degrees Policy Statement (Revised June 2026; PDF)
- The Commission on Colleges and Universities Reduced-Credit Undergraduate Degree Guidelines (Revised June 2026; PDF)
- THEC Policy A1.6 – Focused Baccalaureate Degrees Approval Process (Revised July 2026; PDF)
- UT System Guiding Principles for Reduced Credit Undergraduate Degrees (Revised June 2026; PDF)
- UT Knoxville Checklist for Proposing a Reduced-Credit Bachelor’s Degree (Focused Baccalaureate Degree) (Revised September 2026; PDF)
Faculty Credentialing Procedure and Resources
- UT Faculty Credentialing Requirement (procedure document revised January 2018).
- Graduate Student Transcript Authorization Form (.docx)
Programmatic Accreditation Resources
- Programmatic Accreditation Communication Plan (PDF, revised May 2018)
- Standard Institutional Description v3 (PDF, revised July 2020)