USF PolyTechnic's accreditation 2 to 4 years according to SACS | News

TAMPA, Fla. -- The clock is ticking on the Bulls budget battle. The full senate will debate the multi-million dollar money issue and vote on it tomorrow.

Another problem is that USF Poly needs to be accredited to be on its own.

Senator JD Alexander wants USF Polytechnic to be Florida's 12^th university immediately. Critics say take it slow and wait to be accredited.

Accreditation is a slow, lengthy process done by an accreditation agency, in this case the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, also known as SACS, based in Atlanta. The private non-profit voluntary organization has been around since 1895. SACS basically dissects a university's program and determines if it's meeting its mission and offering students a high quality education.

How long that takes is up for debate. For USF Polytechnic to become independent, the Board of Governors has approved a slow transition plan, giving the future 12th university a clean break from USF in about 5 years.

USF officials think it'll be sooner. They estimate 2 to 3 years.

Senator Alexander is the most optimistic, reportedly saying it'll happen by this summer. "We did some checking, called SACS, they gave us the "reality check" and tell us it's 2 to 4 years."

USF Polytechnic's interim chancellor tells Polk County commissioners this week USF leaders are trying to put USF Poly's accreditation on the fast track. David Touchton says SACS received 135 pounds of documents on PolyTech last week to get the process started.

Touchton says, "There are some things you cannot rush. The accreditation we got in immediately. There was weekends long hours. We will follow through, see if there's anything we can do to speed the process up. It could be 3 years. We hope to get it done in 2."

Chancellor Touchton says he and USF President Judy Genshaft will fly to Atlanta on Tuesday to meet with SACS officials.

Meanwhile in Tallahassee, Tampa Senator Jim Norman has filed three amendments to Senator Alexander's budget proposal. It would lower USF's $103 million in cuts to $72 million. It includes restoring $6 million for USF's pharmacy school and $16 million for the PolyTech split.

The Senate is expected to vote on its budget tomorrow.