At its meeting on June 25, 2009, the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) authorized a candidacy committee to visit Southern Virginia University in the coming academic year.

“We are very pleased that our extensive application was reviewed favorably and that we have cleared an important hurdle on the path toward our goal of receiving regional accreditation, in addition to the rigorous national accreditation we have held for several years,” said Southern Virginia President Rodney K. Smith. “We look forward to the candidacy committee’s visit and to sharing with them more evidence of the superb education our students receive.”

If the site team’s visit corroborates the information the university submitted in its application, Southern Virginia could be granted initial candidacy for and, at a later date, receive initial regional accreditation from SACS.

Southern Virginia University is nationally accredited by the American Academy for Liberal Education and is certified to operate and grant baccalaureate degrees by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia.

The AALE, which derives its authority from the U.S. Department of Education, accredits institutions that offer quality general education programs in the liberal arts that meet stringent educational, administrative and financial criteria.

Southern Virginia was pre-accredited by the AALE in 2000 and received full accreditation in 2003. In July 2008, the university's accreditation was renewed for the usual period of five years.