Dr. Marcel Kerr named peer evaluator for Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges
Dr. Marcel Satsky Kerr, Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education and Professor of Pharmacology and Neuroscience, has been accepted as a Peer Evaluator for the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC).
The concept of peer review is a cornerstone of the institutional accreditation process. As such, the Commission relies upon the expertise, experience and professional judgment of its evaluators to collectively determine member institutions’ compliance with the standards outlined in The Principles of Accreditation and, thereby, assure the quality and integrity of programs and services supporting student learning (SACSCOC, 2026).
Prospective Peer Reviewers must be nominated by their institution’s Chief Executive Officer or SACSCOC Liaison. Once nominated, the applicant provides the Commission their education and administrative experiences. With the particular areas of professional expertise and experiences of the nominee, and the overall profile of the institution’s representation within the Registry, the SACSCOC staff makes a determination as to whether to accept and include the applicant in the Registry (SACSCOC, 2026).
Dr. Kerr’s peer evaluator status will assist other institutions in their accreditation journeys as well as support the College of Biomedical and Translational Sciences and UNT Health Fort Worth with annual program evaluations and our upcoming decennial site visit in 2030. Together these quality assurance efforts support UNT Health’s strategic goal to “reach more learners” and the CBTS goal to “ensure learners are well prepared and supported to articulate and achieve their goals and the increasing demands of the workforce.”