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SAU renews accreditation for next 10 years

faculty help new students register for classes

Spring Arbor University is pleased to announce that on Friday, March 30, it received the final report from the Higher Learning Commission (HLC), renewing the university’s institutional accreditation for another 10 years. This accreditation allows the university to continue awarding associate’s, bachelor’s and master’s degrees on its campus, online and at various sites in Michigan and Ohio. Spring Arbor University has been accredited by the HLC since 1960.

A team representing the HLC visited SAU from Dec. 4 to 5, 2017, to perform a comprehensive institutional evaluation. The team assessed SAU’s compliance and execution of five criterion: 1) Mission; 2) Integrity: Ethical and Responsible Conduct; 3) Teaching and Learning: Quality, Resources and Support; 4) Teaching and Learning: Evaluation and Improvement; and 5) Resources, Planning and Institutional Effectiveness. SAU met every criterion. The evaluation also included a written assurance argument, meetings with key leaders on campus and forums open to all SAU community members, allowing them to speak on behalf of SAU.

“Spring Arbor University is committed to providing a transformational education to all of our students,” said SAU president, Dr. Brent Ellis. “Our accreditation holds us accountable to truly living by our mission that we refer to as The Concept. Most importantly, receiving a renewal of our accreditation reminds us of the excellence we seek to obtain in providing a Christ-centered education.”

During the evaluation’s closing meeting in December, the visiting HLC team remarked on the uniqueness of Spring Arbor University and the incorporation of SAU’s mission statement, The Concept, as a measure for all university activity. The HLC team chair also cited the university’s love for all of its students as a great strength.

The Higher Learning Commission is one of six accrediting agencies providing institutional accreditation on a regional basis. The Higher Learning Commission accredits over 1,000 institutions of higher education in a nineteen-state region and is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

Spring Arbor University’s mission statement, the Concept is as follows: SAU is a community of learners distinguished by our lifelong involvement in the study and application of the liberal arts, total commitment to Jesus Christ as the perspective for learning, and critical participation in the contemporary world.