The Process of Earning Accreditation

Contrary to what many people think, the U.S. Department of Education does not actually accredit schools. Instead, the accreditation of colleges, universities and other institutions of higher learning is handled by private accrediting agencies, or "private educational associations of regional or national scope," according to the Department of Education. These accrediting bodies are comprised of committees that conduct a peer review process to determine whether the schools applying for accreditation meet standards of educational effectiveness. The members of these agency committees usually have extensive professional experience working for esteemed public and private schools, education associations, or consumer advocacy initiatives. They review the school’s campus and buildings (if applicable), faculty experience, educational delivery system, and more.

Among the several accrediting agencies currently operating in the United States and abroad, five of them grant accreditation to general professional programs at institutions of higher learning on a national scope. These five agencies are the Distance Education and Training Council (DETC), the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS), the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges of Technology (ACCSC), the Accrediting Council for Continuing Education and Training (ACCET), and the Council on Occupational Education (COE). For a school’s accreditation to be legitimate, it must be recognized by not only the Department of Education, but the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) as well. Both organization’s websites contain searchable databases with up-to-date, comprehensive lists of accredited institutions.

Among the aforementioned general, national accrediting bodies, the following steps are common for earning accreditation:

Application. An institution pursuing initial accreditation must submit a completed application form and any fees for each facility under review. Some accrediting councils, such as COE, require that an institution first qualify for candidacy before proceeding. Such qualifications may include possession of any mandatory state licenses of operation, or that the institution has been in operation for a specified amount of time prior to applying for accreditation.

Self-evaluation. The school must complete a self-evaluation report or a readiness test detailing its effectiveness and compliance with the agency’s accreditation standards. Examples of effectiveness and readiness compliance include the school’s retention rates, level of graduate satisfaction, and graduation rates. Applicants must also demonstrate the following:

• Disclosure of its governance and corporate organization, including names of its trustees, directors, administrators, and officers.
• Integrity through competence, responsibilities and ethical practices. Professional experience of directors and administrators must also be exhibited.
• Evidence of financial stability.
• Evidence of professional degrees of faculty members and staff.
• Standards of ethical relations with students in addition to an availability of guidance services, extracurricular activities and educational programs consistent with the institution’s mission.
• Admissions, recruitment and credit transfer regulations that adhere to the institution’s mission.
• Program curricula published in an institutional catalogue with indicated prerequisites and information about credits. Schools should also have a continuous evaluation process in place for curricula, courses and faculty.
• Measures in place for instruction goals, guidelines, and procedures.
• Availability of adequate library resources and services.
• In some instances, institutions are expected to offer institutionally financed grants, scholarships and loans that are legitimate and readily available to students.

On-site evaluation. During the on-site evaluation, students and faculty members are surveyed and curricula guidelines are reviewed. Usually, each member of the on-site evaluation team will provide an individual report of the school’s compliance with the accreditation agency’s standards. Once everything has been reviewed, the accrediting agency will either grant the institution accreditation or deny it. If a school is trying to renew its accreditation, the agency will renew it, withdraw, or suspend it. If accreditation is withdrawn or denied, the institution usually has 30 days to file an appeal in response to the on-site evaluation team’s findings. Team members can respond to the appeal with notes, and those, in addition to any notes from the institution, are taken into consideration by the accrediting agency.

Workshop attendance. In most instances, the institution seeking initial accreditation must have a director or appropriate representative to attend an accreditation workshop or seminar. Often, this will be required before the application is submitted, as is the case with ACCSCT and DETC guidelines, or it can be during the evaluation process, as it is with ACCET’s procedure.

Earning accreditation can take between one and two years, usually dependent on the accuracy of information presented in the initial application. The length of time for the accreditation is up to the discretion of the accrediting agency, but can range from one to six years.