SANFORD - At its June 26 business meeting, the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) reaffirmed Central Carolina Community College's accreditation with no follow-up reports required.

"This successful 10-year review is a testament to the college's quality and accountability," said Dr. Matthew Garrett, CCCC president, who will retire at the end of August.

CCCC's nearly flawless review uncovered one area of concern during an earlier phase of the process when the college received a recommendation for failure to notify SACS of significant additions to program offerings and facilities. From 1997 to 2003, the college initiated several new programs and opened new sites that were not properly reported as "substantive changes."

Since the oversight went back several years and included numerous omissions, SACS placed the college on a warning status pending review of eight programs and sites. The warning status, the least severe of the sanctions SACS imposes, was removed on Thursday as a result of an April on-site SACS visit that resulted in no recommendations, an achievement experienced by few colleges.

"The college's response in every aspect of this reaffirmation process has been absolutely stellar," said Dr. John Slade, CCCC's vice president and chief academic officer. "The work done to address the substantive change issues was so good that the vote to approve these changes was moved from December 2008 to the June 26 meeting."

The summary effect of this SACS decision is that CCCC's accreditation is reaffirmed for the next 10 years. Recent changes to the process require a mid-term review for all colleges and universities, and CCCC's mid-term review will take place in 2013.

"It's almost impossible to explain to the general public the time, energy, and effort that goes into a reaffirmation of accreditation process," said Garrett. "The news we received on Thursday means that three years of very hard work on the part of a lot of people has now been completed with outstanding results. I am very pleased to be leaving the college in great shape with our major accrediting body, so that the next president inherits a good situation."