SACSCOC Guidance on Instructor of Record

In December of 2020 SACSCOC approved additional guidance that informs EMU's course of action with regard to assignment of instructors to courses and the notion of "instructor of record." Technically, the commission approved an "Interpretation" for standard 6.2.a on faculty qualifications. Below is a link to the interpretation document:

https://sacscoc.org/app/uploads/2020/12/Interpretation-on-6.2.a.pdf

The net result of this clarification is a general tightening of the expectations on faculty qualifications and, particularly, around 'instructor of record.' The final two sentences of the interpretation's 3rd paragraph read:

"An institution is responsible for identifying the instructor of record; that is, the person who provides direct instruction for the course. This person should be qualified to teach the course."

In effect, universities are not able to assign an instructor of record (perhaps with stronger qualifications) and then rely on another faculty member to provide the direct instruction for the course.

Last updated June 2021