Southern Association of Colleges and Schools

The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools was founded November 6, 1895 in Atlanta, Georgia, under the name The Association of Colleges and Preparatory Schools of the Southern States. Chartered by 6 universities including Duke University, Vanderbilt University, and the University of Mississippi, and 13 secondary schools, the association hoped to pool resources and establish minimum educational standards at member institutions. The association addressed the needs of both white and African American schools before desegregation, though black schools did not become full members of the association until 1957. In 1962 the Association of Colleges and Preparatory Schools of the Southern States became the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and approved a new constitution. The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools currently maintains four accreditation commissions: the Commission on Secondary and Middle Schools, the Commission on Colleges, the Commission on Elementary and Middle Schools, and the Commission on Occupational Education Institutions.