Thomas University Earns Inaugural SACSCOC Torch Award for Student Support & Completion
Post Published On:DECATUR, Ga. – Thomas University has been recognized by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) with a Torch Award for Student Support & Completion, honoring institutions that demonstrate leadership in supporting student persistence, progression, and successful completion.
The Torch Awards recognize SACSCOC member institutions that show strength across multiple indicators related to student support and completion, reflecting a sustained commitment to student-centered practices and measurable improvement. Thomas University’s recognition reflects performance across indicators tied to long-term student progress and completion outcomes.
Specifically, Thomas University demonstrated strength across the following student support and completion measures:
- 10-year change in full-time student retention
- Eight-year change in full-time student completion
- Eight-year change in part-time student completion
- Eight-year change in Pell student completion
Together, these indicators highlight Thomas University’s focus on sustained improvement in student outcomes and its commitment to supporting students throughout their educational journey, from enrollment through completion.
“TU is committed to transforming lives through education,” said Kurt Stringfellow, President of Thomas University. “This award reflects our faculty and staff’s unwavering dedication to supporting students from the moment they enroll to the moment they cross the finish line. The Torch Award recognizes the heart of our mission and the work our team does each day to ensure our students thrive.”
Torch Awards do not represent institutional rankings. Rather, recognition reflects leadership and measurable progress across multiple indicators, acknowledging excellence within diverse institutional missions and contexts.
About the SACSCOC Torch Awards
The Torch Awards recognize colleges and universities that demonstrate meaningful, data-informed impact in the areas of affordability, student support and completion, and post-college success. Drawing on publicly reported data, the awards elevate institutional practices that support access, quality, accountability, and continuous improvement.
About Thomas University
Located in the historic city of Thomasville, Georgia, Thomas University is a regionally accredited, non-profit university whose mission is to provide an educational experience that explores and develops each student’s full potential. Situated on 75 acres approximately 30 miles north of Tallahassee, Florida, the University offers associate, bachelor’s, master’s, and education specialist degrees at its main campus and online. More information is available at www.thomasu.edu.
About SACSCOC
The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) is an institutional accreditor for quality assurance in higher education. SACSCOC accredits institutions that award associate, baccalaureate, master’s, or doctoral degrees, including those offered via distance and correspondence education, and direct assessment within these institutions. It serves as the common denominator of shared values and practices among its members in the United States and international institutions of higher education approved by the SACSCOC Executive Council, Board of Trustees, and the Appeals Committee of the College Delegate Assembly.
The mission of SACSCOC is to assure the educational quality and improve the effectiveness of its member institutions.
