Larkin University is Awarded Candidacy for Accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges & Schools – Commission on Colleges (SACS-COC)

Miami, FL, December 7, 2021 – The Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges & Schools (SACS-COC) has granted Candidacy status to Larkin University.

As an institutional, regional accreditor recognized by the U.S. Department of Education, SACS-COC accredits nearly 800 institutions primarily in the southern region of the US. The action taken by the SACS-COC Board of Trustees indicates that Larkin University has demonstrated compliance with the accreditation requirements addressed in the Application for Membership and that this compliance has been verified by a Candidacy Committee from the commission. A team of seven reviewers visited the Campus in Miami Gardens in September to meet with administration, faculty, staff and students and to ensure that the university is in compliance with commission’s core requirements, selected comprehensive standards, and the federal requirements.

In 2020 the university outlined its ambitious plan of achieving SACSCOC candidacy by 2021 and full accreditation by 2022. Since its establishment in 2013 the university has made remarkable progress in establishing exemplary health professions programs and growing into a diverse academic community that promotes leadership in the health care professions. Larkin University is one of the most diverse Universities focusing on graduate and professional programs and offers the only PharmD program in Miami-Dade County and the only 3-year PharmD program in the State of Florida. The College of Biomedical Sciences has an extraordinary success record in supporting their students on their path into health professions.

Upon delivering the good news to the university, LU President Dr. Rudi H. Ettrich stated, “Candidacy with SACS-COC represents a notable achievement for our university, as it continues its work to demonstrate compliance with the remaining standards and requirements. I wish to express my sincere thanks to everyone for the considerable effort which was taken for us to achieve this significant milestone in the membership process. We are now just one step away from fulfilling our goal of obtaining institutional accreditation from SACSCOC. This progress is another indicator that we are steering this university towards our mission of empowering diverse graduates who reflect the demographics of the healthcare needs of the communities we serve and establishing LU as a leading institution of higher education through the impact of its education and research in the region”

Larkin University, is a is private non-profit health professions university founded in 2013 and located in Miami Gardens, FL which serves a diverse student body with the goal of bridging the diversity gap within the health profession careers and communities we serve.