Accreditation

Paladin statue against blue sky

Introduction

Furman University is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to award bachelor’s, master’s, and education specialist degrees. Furman University also may offer credentials such as certificates and diplomas at approved degree levels. Questions about the accreditation of Furman University may be directed in writing to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur GA 30033-4097, or by calling (404) 679-4500, or by using information available on SACSCOC’s website www.sacscoc.org.

Furman University identifies, evaluates and publishes goals and outcomes for student achievement in support of its mission as a liberal arts and sciences university.

The university uses several data points to assess student success, including retention and graduation rates. The data comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS).

First-Year Retention Rates

First-year retention is the likelihood that a first-time college student returns to Furman for a second year, which is an indication of how well Furman’s admissions, financial aid, student life and academic programming match a student’s characteristics and expectations. This first-year retention rate is commonly used in higher education as a benchmark of student success, and it serves as an early indicator of graduation rates.

The institution aims to maintain a minimum first-year retention rate of 87%.

Table 1. Rates at which students continue from first to second year of college, by cohort entry year. 

2018 to 2019 2019 to 2020 2020 to 2021 2021 to 2022 2022 to 2023 2023 to 2024 2024 to 2025
Furman
2018 to 2019
89%
2019 to 2020
81%
2020 to 2021
91%
2021 to 2022
88%
2022 to 2023
91%
2023 to 2024
91%
2024 to 2025
92%

Six-Year Graduation Rates

The institution aims to maintain a minimum six-year graduation rate of 79% for all students, and a 72% rate for Pell students.

Table 2. Six-year graduation rates by entering cohort year and corresponding graduation year.

2016-2022 2017-2023 2018-2024 2019-2025 2020-2026
Furman (overall)
2016-2022
85%
2017-2023
81%
2018-2024
79%
2019-2025
74%
2020-2026
84%
Furman (Pell students)
2016-2022
82%
2017-2023
74%
2018-2024
69%
2019-2025
75%
2020-2026
86%

Furman’s Goals for Student Success

The goal of Furman’s strategic plan is to increase first-year persistence rates to 93% and to achieve overall six-year graduation rates of 84%.

The strategy to increase success rates is to adjust academic and student-service programming using data science to identify needs and the adoption of methods shown to be successful at other institutions. For example, a college success program called Pathways was developed and tested at Furman, and is now a part of the curriculum for all incoming students. The goals of the Pathways program include academic success and career preparation.

For more information on the numbers in this report, contact Furman’s Office of Assessment and Institutional Research.

 

 

 

 

Time to Degree (TTD)

For these adult-serving, part-time programs, Furman Graduate Studies maintains a goal that at least 80% of program completers will earn the degree within 150% of the program’s published expected completion time frame.

Table 3. Graduate Studies: Time to Degree. 

Program Expected
Completion
Timeframe		 Entering
Cohorts
Included		 N Percent
on-time
completion		 Percent
completed
within<150% time		 Median
years
to completion
Advocacy and Social Policy
Expected
Completion
Timeframe
3 years
Entering
Cohorts
Included
2023
N
4
Percent
on-time
completion
100%
Percent
completed
within<150% time
100%
Median
years
to completion
1.7
Chemistry MS
Expected
Completion
Timeframe
1-2 years
Entering
Cohorts
Included
2019-2024
N
23
Percent
on-time
completion
91%
Percent
completed
within<150% time
96%
Median
years
to completion
1.3
Community Engaged Medicine MS
Expected
Completion
Timeframe
1 year
Entering
Cohorts
Included
2020-2025
N
124
Percent
on-time
completion
97%
Percent
completed
within<150% time
98%
Median
years
to completion
1.0
Education - Literacy MA
Expected
Completion
Timeframe
36 months
Entering
Cohorts
Included
2018-2023
N
20
Percent
on-time
completion
75%
Percent
completed
within<150% time
95%
Median
years
to completion
2.3
Education - School Leadership EDS
Expected
Completion
Timeframe
33 months
Entering
Cohorts
Included
2017-2023
N
40
Percent
on-time
completion
90%
Percent
completed
within<150% time
100%
Median
years
to completion
2.7
Education - School Leadership MA
Expected
Completion
Timeframe
36 months
Entering
Cohorts
Included
2018-2023
N
26
Percent
on-time
completion
88%
Percent
completed
within<150% time
100%
Median
years
to completion
2.7
Education - TESOL MA
Expected
Completion
Timeframe
36 months
Entering
Cohorts
Included
2018-2023
N
9
Percent
on-time
completion
78%
Percent
completed
within<150% time
89%
Median
years
to completion
2.3
Innovation and Leadership MS
Expected
Completion
Timeframe
1 year
Entering
Cohorts
Included
2024
N
16
Percent
on-time
completion
100%
Percent
completed
within<150% time
100%
Median
years
to completion
1.0
Strategic Design MA
Expected
Completion
Timeframe
2 years
Entering
Cohorts
Included
2019-2024
N
60
Percent
on-time
completion
92%
Percent
completed
within<150% time
100%
Median
years
to completion
1.7

Substantive Change Policy and Actions

Furman University Substantive Change Policy (revised January 2026)

SACSCOC Substantive Change Policy and Procedures

 

 

Description of Substantive Change Sub Change Type Approval Date
Closure of MAT program
Sub Change Type
Approval
Approval Date
8/15/2025
New Program - MS Innovation & Leadership
Sub Change Type
Approval
Approval Date
1/26/2024
New Program - MA Advocacy & Social Policy
Sub Change Type
Approval
Approval Date
1/20/2023
Method of Delivery change - Ed Specialist
Sub Change Type
Notification
Approval Date
n/a
Closure of undergraduate teaching certificate programs
Sub Change Type
Approval
Approval Date
5/13/2022
Closure of OCIS (MASD Atlanta)
Sub Change Type
Approval
Approval Date
5/13/2022
Distance Learning First Program >=50% for MA Ed - TESOL
Sub Change Type
Approval
Approval Date
10/9/2020
Distance Learning First Program 25-49% for MA Ed - TESOL
Sub Change Type
Notification
Approval Date
n/a
Closure of BLA (UES) programs
Sub Change Type
Approval
Approval Date
4/10/2020
Temporary Emergency Relocation of Instruction due to Covid-19
Sub Change Type
Notification
Approval Date
n/a
New OCIS (MASD Atlanta)
Sub Change Type
Approval
Approval Date
10/1/2019

SACSCOC Policy Documents

Principles of Accreditation: Foundations for Quality Enhancement
Credit Hours
Distance and Correspondence Education
Faculty Credentials

 

Furman Catalogs

2025-2026 Catalogs (use dropdown menu to select either Graduate or Undergraduate)