The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges gave its approval to the consolidation plans of Georgia Southern University and Armstrong State University and Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College and Bainbridge State College. Chancellor Steve Wrigley first announced the consolidation plans to create the new combined institutions in January 2017.

Officials from SACSCOC, the regional body for the accreditation of degree-granting higher education institutions in the Southern states, announced the approval of the prospectuses submitted for the new institutions during the SACSCOC annual meeting held in Dallas.

SACSCOC’s approval represents the final step needed for the Board of Regents to review and grant authorization for the consolidated institutions to officially operate as the new Georgia Southern University and the new Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College. The board is scheduled to review the final recommendation for consolidation during a telephonic meeting scheduled for December 12.

“The approval by SACSCOC is an important milestone in the consolidation of these institutions, and on behalf of the University System I want to thank Dr. Belle Wheelan and the SACSCOC staff for their on-going guidance to help ensure quality higher education,” said Wrigley. “Creating the new Georgia Southern University and the new Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College will allow us to better serve students, broaden and redesign academic programs and reinvest savings into academics to improve student success. ”

With the completion of the consolidations, the number of institutions in the University System of Georgia will be reduced from 28 to 26. Prior to the launch of the consolidation initiative in 2011, the University System of Georgia was comprised of 35 colleges and universities.