The University

Appalachian’s Mission

Appalachian State University, a constituent member of the University of North Carolina System sustained by the generous support of North Carolinians, is a long-established public institution that honors our founding commitment to educational access and excellence and our rural mountain heritage through teaching, research and service.

The university’s vibrant culture shapes students into globally minded, responsible members of society who engage with and actively contribute to their communities.

Our exemplary faculty and staff prepare students in bachelor’s, master’s and professional doctoral programs to be the leaders of the future.

Appalachian’s Vision

Appalachian State University aspires to strengthen its role as a leading public institution in the Southeast. We commit to empowering learners through innovative academic programs accompanied by experiences that take place beyond the classroom, excellence and equity in all our activities, and the cultivation of scholarship, engagement and creativity.

Appalachian’s Essential Character and Core Values

Founded in the Blue Ridge Mountains in 1899 to provide North Carolinians expanded access to education, Appalachian State University is located in a place of great beauty, cultural heritage and recreational opportunity. App State’s core values include:

• Faculty excellence in teaching and all forms of scholarship.
• Diversity, equity and inclusion.
• Sustainability and resilience.
• Public service and engagement with community.
• Global perspective.

Appalachian’s Statement on Sustainability

Sustainability at Appalachian State University is not a trend, it is a tradition. We are active stewards of our state’s interconnected financial, cultural and natural resources. Through engaged scholarship, we balance critical, creative and global thinking in a living laboratory, transforming theory into practice and fostering responsible citizenship.

History of the University of North Carolina System

In North Carolina, all the public educational institutions that grant baccalaureate degrees are part of the University of North Carolina. The multi-campus state university encompasses 16 such institutions, as well as the NC School of Science and Mathematics, the nation’s first public residential high school for gifted students. Chartered by the North Carolina General Assembly in 1789, the University of North Carolina was the first public university in the United States to open its doors and the only one to graduate students in the eighteenth century. The first class was admitted in Chapel Hill in 1795. For the next 136 years, the only campus of the University of North Carolina was at Chapel Hill.

Additional institutions of higher education, diverse in origin and purpose, began to win sponsorship from the General Assembly beginning as early at 1877. Five were historically black institutions, and another was founded to educate American Indians. Some began as high schools. Several were created to prepare teachers for the public schools. Others had a technological emphasis. One is a training school for performing artists.

The 1931 session of the General Assembly redefined the University of North Carolina to include three state-supported institutions: the campus at Chapel Hill (now the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill), North Carolina State College (now North Carolina State University at Raleigh), and Woman’s College (now the University of North Carolina at Greensboro). The new multi-campus University operated with one board of trustees and one president. By 1969, three additional campuses had joined the University through legislative action: the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.

In 1971, legislation was passed bringing into the University of North Carolina the state’s ten remaining public senior institutions, each of which had until then been legally separate: Appalachian State University, East Carolina University, Elizabeth City State University, Fayetteville State University, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, North Carolina Central University, the North Carolina School of the Arts (now the University of North Carolina School of the Arts), Pembroke State University (now the University of North Carolina at Pembroke), Western Carolina University, and Winston-Salem State University. In 1985, the NC School of Science and Mathematics was declared an affiliated school of the University; in July 2007, NCSSM by legislative action became a constitutent institution of the University of North Carolina. All the schools and universities welcome students of both sexes and all races.

The UNC Board of Governors is the policy-making body legally charged with “the general determination, control, supervision, management, and governance of all affairs of the constituent institutions.” It elects the president, who administers the University. The 32 voting members of the Board of Governors are elected by the General Assembly for four-year terms. Former board chairmen and board members who are former governors of North Carolina may continue to serve for limited periods as non-voting members emeriti. The president of the UNC Association of Student Governments or that student’s designee is also a non-voting member.

Each of the UNC campuses (listed below) is headed by a chancellor, who is chosen by the Board of Governors on the president’s nomination and is responsible to the president. Each university has a board of trustees, consisting of eight members elected by the Board of Governors, four appointed by the governor, and the president of the student body, who serves ex-officio. (The UNC School of the Arts has two additional ex-officio members; and the NC School of Science and Mathematics has a 27-member board as required by law.) Each board of trustees holds extensive powers over academic and other operations of its campus on delegation from the Board of Governors.

In addition to its teaching role, the University of North Carolina has a long-standing commitment to public service. The UNC Center for Public Television, the UNC Health Care System, the cooperative extension and research services, nine area health education centers, and myriad other University programs and facilities reap social and economic benefits for the state and its people. For additional information, go to www.northcarolina.edu.

Accreditation

Institutional Accreditation

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

Disciplinary Accreditation

In addition to this comprehensive accreditation, other special accreditation by appropriate agencies includes:

AACSB International -The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business
Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics
American Association of Family and Consumer Science (undergraduate)
American Chemical Society (undergraduate)
Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education
Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education
Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education
Computing Accreditation Commission of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology
Council on Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology (CAA) of the American
Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA)
Council for the Accreditation of Counseling and Related Education Programs
Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP)
Council on Accreditation for Recreation, Park Resources and Leisure Services
Council for Interior Design Accreditation
Council on Social Work Education
National Association of School Psychologists
National Association of Schools of Art and Design
National Association of Schools of Music
National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration
National Association of Schools of Theatre
North Carolina Department of Public Instruction

The University is a member of appropriate state and national associations and organizations to which its professional programs are related. These include, but are not limited to, the following:

Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
American Association of Colleges of Nursing
American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education
American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy
American Association of University Women
American Council on Education
American Counseling Association
American Music Therapy Association
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association
Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning
Association for Gerontology in Higher Education
Association for Library and Information Sciences Education
Association of Schools of Allied Health Professions
Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development
Association of Teacher Educators
Association for Theatre in Higher Education
Association of University Programs in Health Administration
Broadcast Education Association
Conference of Southern Graduate Schools
Council of Academic Programs in Communication Sciences and Disorders
Council of Colleges of Arts and Sciences
Council of Graduate Departments of Psychology
Council of Graduate Schools
Highlands Biological Foundation
National Association of Business Teacher Education
National Association of Industrial Technology
National Business Education Association
National Collegiate Honors Council
National Communication Association
National Film and Video Association
National Middle School Association
National Organization on Legal Problems of Education
National Recreation and Park Association
National Student Nurse Association
North Carolina Academy of Science
North Carolina Association of Colleges for Teacher Education
North Carolina Association of Colleges and Universities
North Carolina Association of Summer Sessions
North Carolina Association of Supervisors in Speech Language Pathology and Audiology
North Carolina Conference of Graduate Schools
North Carolina Dance Alliance
North Carolina Middle Schools Association
North Carolina Professors of Educational Leadership
North Carolina Theatre Conference
Professional and Organizational Development
Public Relations Society of America
South Atlantic States Association for Asian and African Studies
Southeastern Theatre Conference
Southeastern University Clinical Educators
Southern States Communication Association
Teacher Education Council of State Colleges and Universities
U.S. Institute of Theatre Technology

Assessment of Student Learning at Appalachian State University

Appalachian State University routinely defines and measures academic and administrative programs and services. To that end, students should be aware that throughout their careers at Appalachian they will be expected to respond to surveys, complete evaluations, and provide artifacts that the faculty will use to document the institution’s success in fostering student learning.

In some cases, students’ responses to assessment inquiries will be anonymous but in most cases, student responses and artifacts will bear unique student identifiers that will allow cross-sectional and longitudinal analysis of assessment results by program. In that the aim of assessment at Appalachian is program improvement, the analysis of results will always focus on programs and not individuals. Students should also understand that this type of information is protected by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 and except in statutorily specified circumstances individual student responses will never be reported without explicit permission from the student.