Accreditation
Regional Accreditation
Austin Peay State University is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to award associate, baccalaureate, master’s, education specialist, and doctorate degrees. Questions about the accreditation of Austin Peay State University may be directed in writing to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, GA 30033-4097, by calling (404) 679-4500, or by using information available on SACSCOC’s website (www.sacscoc.org).
Regional accreditation provides support of essential University functions, including:
- Access to federal financial aid, grants and other federal support
- Ability for students to transfer credit hours to other institutions of higher education, if the credits are appropriate to the designated curriculum and meet the receiving institution’s requirements
- Recognition of the earned bachelor’s degree when applying to graduate schools
- Can assist students in meeting one of the eligibility requirements, of a relevant bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution, in order for the student to sit for professional licensure exams
- Demonstration of institutional effectiveness
APSU Resources for SACSCOC Accreditation and Reaffirmation
Program Accreditation
Austin Peay has numerous programs accredited through specialized program accreditation agencies. These accreditations are earned after rigorous evaluation and proof of excellence within of the field of study and degree level. These program accrediting agencies are on the Tennessee Higher Education Commission’s list of approved accreditors.
Click here for a table with information on accredited programs.
Off-Campus Instructional Site Information
The below information describes locations where APSU offers 25% or more of one or more degree or certificate programs. While many of these off-campus instructional sites are Dual Enrollment sites where high school students participate in completing general education requirements, other sites are available to all students.
By allowing our students to complete coursework at these locations, it opens yet another avenue for APSU to reach out to the community and students in a format which may allow students easier access to needed courses.
Student Achievement Criteria, Thresholds, and Outcomes
Austin Peay State University’s (APSU) vision is to “create a collaborative, integrative learning community, instilling in students habits of critical inquiry as they gain knowledge, skills, and values for life and work in a global society.”
In its Student Achievement Core Requirement 8.1 (CR 8.1), the Southern Association of College and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) requires institutions identify and publish Student Achievement criteria, goals, thresholds of acceptability and outcomes.
Student Achievement Criteria identified by APSU are retention rate, graduation rate, and first-attempt licensure passing rate. These criteria are measured by IPEDS Cohort Retention, 8-Year Undergraduate Graduation Rate, 6-Year Undergraduate Graduation Rate, 3-year and 4-year Graduate Student Graduation Rate, and Licensure Passing Rates for Praxis and NCLEX. Thresholds and aspirational goals for these measures are below. Information regarding institutional performance on these measures follows in the drop down menu.
CSRDE (Consortium for Student Retention Data Exchange)
- Nationwide Participation
- Public Institutions
- Moderately Selective
- Highly Selective > 24 ACT
- Selective 22.5 - 24 ACT
- Moderately Selective 21 - 22.4 ACT
- Less than Selective < 21 ACT
- 75 institutions in the Moderately Selective sub-group
Tennessee Peers
- East Tennessee State University
- Middle Tennessee State University
- Tennessee Tech University
- Tennessee State University
- UT - Chattanooga
- UT - Martin
- University of Memphis
APSU Retention Rate for First-Time, Full-Time Freshmen
(First-Time/Full-Time Cohort, First to Second Year Retention of All Degree-Seeking Undergraduate Students)
*Note: Aspirational = (3-year APSU Retention Average + 3 Year TN Peer Retention Average) / 2 Threshold of Acceptability = Aspirational - 10 Points
IPEDS Outcome Measure based on the IPEDS "new" Outcome Measure that includes all First-time
Degree-Seeking Students (Including Associate Degree)
Year indicates 8 year graduation window after entering. Eg. 2018 is Cohort from 2010. IPEDS previously provided only 1 year of the date for the new OM. Now IPEDS includes 3 years of data for the new OM, however it is not disaggregated by student groups.
*Note: Aspirational = (3-year APSU OM Average + 3-year TN Peer OM Average) / 2 Threshold of Acceptability = Aspirational - 10 Points
Six-Year Graduation Rate
The Six Year Graduation Rate Outcome is APSU's selected completion indicator submitted to SACSCOC in 2018.
(FT/FT Cohort Includes All Degree-Seeking Undergraduate Students)
Six Year Graduation Rate is based on IPEDS traditional FT/FT computation
*Note: Aspirational = (3-Year APSU Average + 3-Year TN Peer Average) / 2 Threshold
= Aspiration - 10 points
Graduate Student Graduation Rates
Includes all graduate degree programs and excludes certificate programs.
3-year Full-Time Student Graduation Rate*
*Note: Aspirational = Avg. + (STD*2); Threshold = Avg. - (STD*2)
4-year Graduation Rate, All Graduate Students*
*Note: Aspirational = Avg. + (STD*2); Threshold = Avg. - (STD*2)
6-year Graduation Rate, All Graduate Students*
*Note: Aspirational = Avg. + (STD*2); Threshold = Avg. - (STD*2)
The data below are licensure pass rates on first attempt of the licensure exam for PRAXIS (Special Education and Interdisciplinary Studies) and NCLEX.
Tennessee Peers - Licensure Passing Rate
| 2014 | 2014 | 2015 | 2015 | 2016 | 2016 | 2017 | 2017 | 2018 | 2018 | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Institution |
Education |
Nursing |
Education |
Nursing |
Education |
Nursing |
Education | Nursing | Education* | Nursing | |||||||||||
|
Austin Peay State University |
100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% | 96.60% | 98.70% | 92.20% | 97.30% | 95.30% | 99.00% | 100.00% | |||||||||||
|
East Tennessee State University |
100.00% | 85.70% | 100.00% | 87.60% | 100.00% | 87.96% | 100.00% | 94.60% | N/A | N/A | |||||||||||
|
Middle Tennessee State University (PW) |
92.20% | 91.10% | 100.00% | 79.50% | 99.50% | 86.80% | 98.90% | 97.90% | N/A | N/A | |||||||||||
|
Tennessee State University |
100.00% | 75.00% | 100.00% | 63.60% | 72.20% | 72.20% | 100.00% | 48.90% | N/A | N/A | |||||||||||
|
The University of Tennessee - Chattanooga |
97.60% | 95.90% | 99.00% | 90.80% | 93.40% | 88.20% | 93.10% | 97.40% | N/A | N/A | |||||||||||
|
The University of Tennessee - Martin |
95.20% | 100.00% | 94.60% | 90.80% | 100.00% | 99.10% | 99.10% | 100.00% | N/A | N/A | |||||||||||
|
The University of Memphis |
93.40% | 88.90% | 98.80% | 89.70% | 97.10% | 85.00% | 91.70% | 90.70% | N/A | N/A |
*Note: The Praxis test for Education has been replaced by edTPA
APSU Licensure Passing Rates
PRAXIS Special Ed Pass Rates and PRAXIS Int. Stud. (Interdisciplinary Studies, now
called Education) (First Attempt):
- Aspirational Goal and Threshold of Acceptability = 100%. COE leadership recommended 100% for both exams for both aspirational goal and threshold of acceptability since COE students must pass all required PRAXIS exams to complete the program and obtain a teaching license.
NCLEX Pass Rates (First Attempt):
- Aspirational Goal = 96.27% (based on a three year average of APSU NCLEX pass rates)
- Threshold of Acceptability = 80% (The team recommends 80% because this is the minimum passing rate set by CCNE accreditation standards
Click here for a PDF with more information about the APSU Student Achievement criteria and outcomes.