Accreditation. Institutions of higher education seek it, and prospective students are warned to avoid educational providers that don’t have it. But what does it mean and how does the process work?
Accreditation is the awarding of recognition or ‘credit’ to a college or university by a regional, national or industry-specific association. The combination of measurement and validation is meant to ensure that specific standards are met in academic and administrative activities, including programs, curricula and the management of same. The procedure involves three steps: 1, preparation of a formal self-study and associated materials by the applicant institution; 2, one or more on-site visits from a designated accreditation team from the appropriate accrediting agency; 3, development and presentation of a concluding report from the team that either awards accreditation, refuses it, or provides a ‘provisional’ accredited status so that the applying institution can make needed changes.
The most dynamic and misunderstood element of accreditation is the visiting team. Teams are comprised of volunteers who have undergone training by the respective agency, and cannot include members who have any association with the institution whom they are reviewing. Whether the award sought is initial (first-time) or reaccreditation, the investigative and judgment process is roughly parallel. However, the analytical and educational experience of team members may not be consistent, and there is a distinction between regional and specialist (industry or profession-specific) focus. As a rule, regional accreditation is sought and awarded prior to higher-level or more targeted alternatives.
For information on regional accreditors, see http://www.chea.org/Directories/regional.asp.
An overview of national and professional accreditors is at http://www.elearners.com/resources/agencies.asp#national.
Fri, Aug 7, 2009
Higher Education