News Release (September 26, 1967)

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/NEW COLLEGE To local papers and radio NEWS RELEASE NEW COLLEGE, SARASOTA, FLORIDA FURMAN C ARTHUR INFORMATION FOR USE: TUESDAY, SEPT. 26, 1967 1 18 -9/25/67 A team of observers from the Southern Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools (SACS) will arrive in Sarasota today (Tuesday) to evaluate New College for possible early accreditation. Normally, New College would not be eligible to be accredited until it had graduated at least four classes, or in 1970. However, under the Association's "early recognition" plan, and through a change in association rules, full accreditation could come this year. The seven-man team will spend Wednesday and Thursday on campus investigating all aspects of the college's operation. The team will visit classes, talk to students, consult with college officers, and in general determine how the educational process is carried out at New College. "If the committee's recommendation is a strongly positive one," said Earl Helgeson, assistant to the New College president, "and if the recommendation is approved by the SACS at its November meeting, we will become a member of the SACS, which means we will be fully accredited." more

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NEW COLLEGE Page 2. -Accreditation is expected to be of great benefit to the college and its students. Universities more readily accept students from an accredited college for transfer or graduate work, Helgeson noted, and he said the school will be eligible for funds from a number of corporations and foundations that do not endow non-accredited schools. Membership in various official organizations will be.Qpen to representatives of the college, upon accreditation. "At every step in the accreditation process so far we have moved as fast as we could," Helgeson said. Each of the members of the seven-man accreditation team will study a particular aspect of the college's operation, as well as make an over-all assessment of the school's progress. The team will meet tonight (Tuesday) with a number of college officials at the Sarasota Yacht Club, prior to making their first visit to the campus. Members of the accreditation committee include: the chairman, Dr. Alfred Neumann, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, University of Houston; Dr. Edwin R. Walker, Chancellor Queens College; Dr. Robert Lancaster, Dean of the College, University of the South; Dr. William F. Little, Chairman, Department of Chemistry, University of North Carolina; Dr. Edward c. Atwood Jr., Dean of Students, Washington and Lee University; Dr. Joanne Harrar, Librarian, Winthrop College; and William T. Haywood, Vice President for Business and Finance, Mercer University. 30 -