SACS, NCATE Look Into U of L Accerditation Problems

This from C-J:

U of L could face sanctions over one-semester Ph.D.
One-semester degree violated agency policy

By awarding a doctoral degree to a student enrolled for only one semester, the University of Louisville violated an accrediting agency's rules and could face sanctions, the agency's president said yesterday.

The Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, which accredits schools in 11 Southern states, including Kentucky, requires candidates for graduate degrees to earn the majority of their credits at the university awarding the degree.

In a telephone interview yesterday, commission President Belle S. Wheelan said that if U of L is found out of compliance, her agency could, at its next scheduled meeting in December, put the university "on warning or probation" or revoke its accreditation, although she said the last option would be highly unlikely.

Wheelan said she plans to contact U of L President James Ramsey on Monday "to ask what happened and what the university is doing about it." She said she also will request a written report.

The National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education also will review the matter, as it begins considering reaccreditation of the university's College of Education and Human Development next spring, said James Cibulka, the group's president...