Substantive Changes

Updates and announcements

  • Announcing the next webinar: How to Write a Prospectus
  • subchange@sacscoc.org:  To help us serve you better and quicker, we’re simplifying how you contact us about substantive change.
    • Your inquiries will be automatically routed to the person best suited to answer your question.
    • You’ll receive our replies from this same email address, so please add it to your safe senders list to prevent messages from going to spam.
    • This email address will also send important notifications when we need more information to complete a review — i.e., deferrals — so it’s crucial these messages reach you.
  • SACSCOC has revised its Substantive Change Policy and Procedures.  The Board of Trustees approved revisions on December 8, 2024.  The revised policy takes effect immediately.
    • Two documents are available:
      • a markup version with
        • a summary of all changes,
        • redlines of each change, and
        • select comments and explanations of changes.
    • Important:  To ensure you’re seeing the latest revision, refresh your browser page after you’ve opened the document.  You can confirm you have the current version of the policy by checking the revision date (December 2024) at the bottom of the document in the “Document History:  Procedures” section.
  • Substantive Change Committee Review Stages [PDF]:  a one-page reference of review stages, definitions, and typical sequence
  • Prison Education Program (PEP) information
    • A publicly available PEP resource folder contains information from multiple sources for your reference. New and recently added items are noted.
    • Multiple on-demand PEP webinars are available. SACSCOC webinars are free and publicly available without restriction.
    • The Substantive Change Policy and Procedures is the guiding document for SACSCOC’s roll in PEP reviews and approvals. PEP requirements continue to evolve; monitor the substantive change policy for new or different requirements.
    • The U.S. Department of Education (USDE) has a comprehensive and regularly updated PEP questions and answers webpage for your reference.

Upcoming dates and deadlines

Note:  All Substantive Change submissions must be made using the institutional portal.

  • March 15, 2025:  Deadline to submit substantive changes requiring review by the SACSCOC Board of Trustees in June 2025.  Carefully review the Substantive Change Policy and Procedures to determine if a substantive change type or institutional status requires Board review at a regularly scheduled biannual meeting (usually in June and December; also referred to as “C&R”) or if it can be reviewed by the Executive Council of the Board (year-round).  See also “Board review pathways” in the substantive change policy
  • July 1, 2025: Deadline to submit substantive changes to be implemented January 1, 2026, through June 30, 2026, 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.
Note:  All Substantive Change submissions must be made using the institutional portal.

Substantive change policy and related policies

Webinars

Upcoming webinars:

  • How to Write a Prospectus
    Tuesday, February 18, 2025, 1pm ET

    Writing a substantive change prospectus is a big deal, but it doesn’t have to be overwhelming. At its core, a prospectus is a persuasive narrative backed by evidence demonstrating your institution’s ability to successfully implement and sustain a substantive change. This webinar will guide you through the technical components of creating a prospectus and provide suggestions to help you maximize the likelihood of approval while minimizing unnecessary energy and angst.

    Can’t attend live? No problem — available on-demand immediately after the live event using the same registration link.

    SACSCOC substantive change webinars are free. Anyone can attend and there are no limits or restrictions.

On-demand webinars:

Documents and Templates