UTEP faces six-month accreditation warning status for compliance issues

The University of Texas at El Paso's accreditation, which certifies it is meeting specific educational standards, has been placed on a six-month "warning" status by the accrediting agency because the school fails to comply with five core accreditation requirements.

That includes not providing enough data to show UTEP has an adequate number of faculty members to support the school's educational mission.

UTEP officials characterize the compliance issues as minor and "clerical in nature" that should be resolved after the school submits additional documentation in September.

"The educational quality of UTEP has never been stronger," according to a UTEP statement.

The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, or SACSCOC, board of trustees on June 15 placed UTEP on warning status after reviewing a report sent to the association as part of the university's five-year accreditation review.

"We expect these issues will be resolved with the submission of additional supporting documentation," Andrea Cortinas, UTEP vice president and chief of staff, wrote to the El Paso delegation in the Texas Legislature. That was in response to a July 6 letter the delegation sent to UTEP President Heather Wilson with their concerns about the accreditation warning.

"Our SACSCOC representative emphasized that the (six-month) warning is the shortest possible warning, an indication that they believe the issues were in the documentation, not the substance, of the standards," Cortinas wrote.

Association officials, based in the Atlanta area, did not immediately respond to El Paso Times requests for comments about the issue. An association disclosure statement about UTEP's status, posted on the association website, states the association staff cannot comment on questions about this matter.

The association board will review UTEP's status at its December meeting and determine what action will be taken. Its options range from removing the warning status to revoking the school's accreditation, which UTEP officials said is unlikely to occur.

Catherine Frazier, a spokesperson for the UT System, of which UTEP is a part, in an email, said, "The UT System has been informed, and we are confident that (UTEP) President Wilson and her team will address SACSCOC's questions successfully."

UTEP was previously placed on a warning status for one year, from 2018 to 2019. That involved updating procedures for programs UTEP offered at several international off-campus sites, said Lucas Roebuck, UTEP vice president for marketing and communications.

One of the major problems found by the association in the latest review is that UTEP did not supply enough information to clearly show it has an adequate number of full-time faculty to support its mission and goals, according to a June 29 association letter sent to UTEP. The letter explains what the school needs to provide to be considered compliant with the accreditation standards.

"We have the appropriate number of faculty, and if you compare our faculty/student ratios to other UT System academic institutions, we're pretty much in the middle of the pack," Roebuck said.

"So, this is just a function of us not communicating the information" in the way the association needed, he said.

UTEP had 776 full-time faculty members and 23,880 students in fall 2022, the latest data available from the school. That converts to 31 students for each full-time faculty member. The school also has part-time faculty members.

UTEP had the fourth highest students to full-time faculty ratio in 2021, which was 32, among eight UT System schools, according to federal data provided by UTEP to the El Paso Times. UT Arlington had the highest ratio at 43 students, and UT Austin, the system's main campus, was lowest at 18.

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The five core areas that UTEP was out of compliance are full-time faculty numbers, educational program length, qualified administrative/academic officers, program faculty, and program coordination.

The association's June 29 letter said those issues mostly boiled down to the school providing information to show it has enough faculty, including enough faculty to oversee each of its educational programs, show that it assigns appropriate responsibility for each of its educational programs, and provide an updated job description to reflect the qualifications for the dean of the College of Health Sciences, William Robertson, who was appointed in 2022.

State Sen. César Blanco, D-El Paso, said, "Regardless of what it is, whether it's big or small, getting dinged in core areas of accreditation is really unacceptable."

Blanco instigated the El Paso legislative delegation's letter to UTEP's president, asking for information about the accrediting association's warning, a detailed action plan to correct the problems, and a meeting with Wilson so the delegation can determine what help it may provide.

"UTEP is a source of pride in our community," Blanco said. "It's the catalyst to the successful futures of thousands of students in El Paso and our region. So, anything to negatively impact opportunities for our people, from my perspective, is a serious concern that will need to be addressed immediately."

Vic Kolenc may be reached at 915-546-6421, vkolenc@elpasotimes.com and @vickolenc on Twitter.

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: UTEP officials say accreditation compliance warning is an easy fix