Dr. Andy Sheppard

THOMASVILLE — Answering the concerns issued by an accrediting body did not take much effort on behalf of Thomas University, Dr. Andy Sheppard said.

While the school won’t know the nature of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Committee on Colleges’ issues with its programs in China until next month, the university successfully answered the agency’s other five concerns that led to a warning a year ago.

Dr. Sheppard, TU’s president, said the five issues the school dealt with stemmed largely from a SACSCOC visit to the school when some professors were leaving and others to take their place were not yet in place.

“It was easy for us to address the issues,” Dr. Sheppard said. “It was the outcome we expected.”

TU maintained its accreditation status throughout the process and the warning did not affect TUs other accreditations by other agencies for specific programs.

“TU is in good shape,” Dr. Sheppard said. “We’ve got a cool faculty. They are plugged in. They are engaged. I’m very proud of our community through the process. If you spend a lot of time on our campus, you will find a lot of loud and proud Nighthawks. I’m amazed by our people. They knocked it out. It was well done and submitted in advance.”

The SACS visit took place in spring 2016, before Dr. Sheppard became president.

Dr. Sheppard said the outcome of the school’s response would have been the same under the previous administration.

“It’s just what you do when you’re running a college,” he said.

SACSCOC’s review is equivalent to an academic audit, Dr. Sheppard said.

“We gave them an inventory of everybody left and a matching inventory of everybody who came,” he said. “It had a lot to do with the faculty that were not here at the time of the SACS visit. The visit happened at kind of the wrong spot in the hiring cycle. It was pretty easy for us to address those concerns because we hired people.”

The accreditation from SACSOC, Dr. Sheppard pointed, is “telling you there is enough depth on the bench” when it comes to professors or instructors.

“These are quality programs,” he said.

SACSCOC was “wonderfully supportive,” Dr. Sheppard said. A colleague in Kentucky served as a consultant to ensure TU not only had its issues fixed but also communicated accurately about how it fixed the problem.

The findings from SACSCOC can range from warning —which had been issued to TU — to probation and to suspension, which leads to an institution losing its accreditation.

“We do take it seriously,” Dr. Sheppard said. “It is important to us. We’re providing the quality education our students expect to get.”