The University of Arkansas, Fayetteville was first accredited in 1924 by the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools (NCA), and in 1953 the University was first accredited to give doctoral degrees. In March of 1985, a committee was assigned to oversee the creation of a self-study report in preparation for the upcoming 1986 doctoral accreditation evaluation. This committee was headed by Nancy Ellen Talburt, assistant vice chancellor of academic affairs. Together, the committee members gathered and assessed reports from departments and offices around campus. The self-study reports were then condensed into the 1986 “Institutional Self-Study: Prepared for the Commission on Institutions of Higher Education of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools / University of Arkansas, Fayetteville.” The report was meant to address several concerns made by the NCA in 1981, as well as to prepare the University for the upcoming evaluation. On October 13-15, 1986, a team of eight people appointed by the NCA came to the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville to assess the University’s eligibility for continued doctoral accreditation. The team recommended continued accreditation in a document titled “Report of a Visit to the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas, October 13-15, 1986 for the Commission on Institutions of Higher Education of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools.”