Nov. 12, 2010 I The Clarion
News
Page 3
Brevard College undergoes SACS reaccreditation
By Danielle Burch / Chantel Azevedo
Staff Writers
For those of you who are tired of being graded
for every httle assignment and presentation, you
are not alone—Brevard College gets graded
too.
Brevard has to maintain Quality Enhancement
Plan standards set for the college by the Southern
Association of Colleges and Schools. This
association, or “SACS,” is the “regional body
for the accreditation of degree-granting higher
education institutions in the Southern states,”
according to the SACS Web site. This means
that SACS determines whether an educational
institution is able to continue its function based
on compliance with various standards.
Each year, SACS rewrites its Principles
of Accreditation: Foundations for Quality
Enhancement, and the schools and colleges
under its jurisdiction must meet the new
standards.
If a school does not meet the accreditation
standards, it may be placed under warning, put
on probation or removed from candidacy for
accreditation. Not all schools are accredited;
some specialty schools focus on subjects that do
not fall under typical accreditation standards.
Why does accreditation matter? If a college
Author David Madden to
give a public reading at BC
David Madden, author of “The Suicide’s
Wife,” “On the Big Wind,” “Sharpshooter:
A Novel of the Civil War” and more will
give a public reading on campus at 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday night in the lobby of McLarty-
Goodson on the BC campus.
Madden attended Yale Drama School, served
as a writer-in-residence at LSU for 24 years and
now is the Robert Penn Warren Professor of
Creative Writing, Emeritus, at LSU.
One of his collections, “The Shadow
Knows,” won a National Council on the Arts
Award, judged
by Hortense
Calisher and
Walker Percy.
His best
known novel,
“The Suicide’s
Wife,” was
nominated for
the Pulitzer Prize
and adapted into
a CBS movie.
The event
is open to the
public.
David Madden
r
has been accredited, it is more likely to offer
the degrees employers and recruiters recognize.
Because it is a good indicator of a quality
education, accreditation also helps students
transfer credits from one school to another, or
to graduate programs.
Since Brevard College is in the realm of
SACS jurisdiction, it must meet the standards
in the Principles of Accreditation: Foundations
for Quality Enhancement. In order to maintain
these standards, Brevard College has developed
a Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP). A QEP is
a course of action integrated into the college’s
functioning that contributes to the improvement
of student learning. This plan is then judged by
SACS according to their guidelines.
In their 2004 Handbook for Reaffirmation of
Accreditation, SACS defines student learning
(as impacted by the QEP) as “changes in
students’ knowledge, skills, behaviors, and/
or values...through the academic climate,
the general curriculum, experiential learning,
critical thinking skills, innovative teaching and
learning strategies, student engagement, and
technology in the curriculum.”
An official QEP must plan for the future and
provide a descriptive title, a rationale, effectual
evidence, a literary review supporting the plan, a
list of goals and intended outcomes, the means of
2010 SACS standards:
• Institutional Mission
• Governance and Administration
• Institutional Effectiveness
• All Educational Programs
• Undergraduate Programs
• Graduate and Post-Baccalaureate
Professional Programs
• Faculty
• Library and Other Learning
Resources
• Student Affairs and Services
• Financial Resources
• Physical Resources
• Substantive Change Procedures
• Compliance with Other Policies
• Representation of Accreditation
Status
assessment and evaluation, an intended timeline
of achievement, and a fiscal plan indicating
necessary resources and support.
In order to reaffirm accreditation, the QEP will
then be judged based on its focus, its assessment
plan and commitment to implement the plan, and
the level of campus involvement in achieving
the goals.
Flu season starts on campus
By Zack Christy
Staff Writer
Sniffling, sneezing, coughing and moaning,
the cold and flu season has the Brevard College
campus groaning. Cooler weather always
brings something a little more sinister than just
snow—^the cold and flu could be lurking at every
comer So what can you do to be safe?
Susan Martin, the school nurse, is your best
friend if you do find yourself overtaken by
sickness. She was kind enough to share her
prevention strategies. Most importantly Martin
said, “Keep your hands off of your face.” This
can be tough, says Martin, who suggests keeping
a bottle of hand sanitizer with you at all times.
“Don’t share drinks or eating utensils,” Martin
says. “A lot of time I find that if one person
from a team gets sick, they all get sick.” This,
however, is an easy fix. Use common sense, and
don’t drink after people—especially people who
already are sick.
The best prevention technique, however, is
still “an old fail safe,” Martin said: “Be sure to
get plenty of sleep.” Sleep is still your body’s
best defense against attacks from colds and the
flu. As college students, we tend to forget to
sleep, but it is absolutely necessary to prevent
getting sick.
If, however, you do find yourself feeling under
the weather, be sure to know what your ailment
is. There is a difference between the cold and
influenza (flu).
If you have the flu, you typically will have
a fever of 102 to 104 degrees for four to five
days, severe fatigue and a severe cough. These
symptoms can last for up to four weeks.
If you have a cold, you will rarely have a fever
or headaches, but you will have all the stuffiness
and congestion that comes with the cold. These
symptoms will continue for about a week.
You may be aware that a cold has been going
around campus recently. The symptoms last for
about a week and generally the students affected
have felt very weak. There have also been two
cases of undiagnosed flu. However, both cases
were isolated and both students were able to
remove themselves from campus.
It is important to get your flu shot. You can get
your flu shot at a number of places in Brevard,
including Ingles, Kmart, Walmart, Walgreen’s,
and CVS. Martin strongly suggests that students
take advantage of these opportunities. If you do
find yourself feeling under the weather, don’t
hesitate to make a trip to the health center in
Stamey for a diagnosis, or even just to pick up
information on prevention.