[1] As of 2022, the organization oversees approximately 750 public and private degree-granting educational institutions[2] in the Southern United States.

SACS accredits educational institutions in the states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia, and educational institutions for U.S. students in Mexico, the Caribbean, Central and South America.

[4] The first SACS was founded in 1895 and is made up of Council on Accreditation and School Improvement and the Commission on Colleges, which existed since 1912.

[citation needed] Today, SACS CASI acts as an accreditation division of AdvancED, now known as Cognia.

Due to this process, Memphis Theological Seminary was denied reaffirmation and was put on warning for a year, citing the lack of financial responsibilities and institutional planning.