Brief Review of U.S. Accreditation

Institutional

• Regionals: NWACS, WASC (Jr., Sr.); SACS; HLC; MSACHE; NEASC

• National (primarily for profit) (ACCSCT); (ACICS); (DECT); ACCET; (COE); (NACCAS)

• National (religious): ATS; AARTS; TRACS

Specialized such as AMA, ABA, CACREP, NCATE, ACCSCB, etc. (70)

Recognition: USDOE, CHEA

Collaboratives: C-RAC, CRNAA, ASPA

NCHEMS Survey Findings on State Uses of Accreditation

6 states say they “Accredit” institutions, 14 “Approve,” 4 “Authorize, 3 “Certify,” 1 “Oversees,” 1 “Registers,” and the remainder “License”

30 states require private Not-for-Profit and For-Profit institutions to be accredited in order to operate; 16 do not require this; 4 require this only for Degree-Granting institutions

Varying rules on how long a candidate institution can operate while it seeks accreditation

Relationship Between Institutional Accreditation and Authorization

21 states require new Non-Public institutions to be accredited in order to be authorized, 11 more only to be Degree-Granting institutions

All but 6 States require Out-of-States to be accredited to operate in the state, but they sometimes require additional state agency review

Public institutions are authorized to operate by their Charters, but 24 states have additional regulations or statutes requiring them to be accredited (3 more for Community Colleges only)

Relationship Between Institutional Accreditation and Other State Activities

28 states require Non-Public institutions to be accredited to receive state funds, 7 have no linkage, 6 report that it depends on the funding program…the rest do not provide state funds to Non-Public institutions at all

16 states have transfer policies affecting all institutions, 9 of which require accreditation

22 states have transfer policies affecting only Public institutions, none of which require accreditation

6 states require programmatic accreditation for credits to transfer in accreditable disciplines

What Should States Ask Accreditors to Do?

Primary role in examining academic quality (especially at the undergraduate level)

Accreditation has played that role prominently through steadily escalating requirements on the assessment of student learning outcomes

States are counting on accreditors to play this role so they do not need to revert to mandating assessment as they did in the 1980s

Higher Education Act left accreditation largely unchanged

Emerging Department of Education agenda (consumer interests); IG (credits)

Congressional Hearings (fraud and abuse)

But accountability continues to drive

• Performance/National Goals/Costs; K-12 policies

State and Regional Initiatives: NGA, SHEEO, NCHEMS, etc.

Public Policy Expectations

Accreditation as Public Policy Tool

Responsive to major public policy shifts (e.g., access, community colleges, off-campus/distance education, focus on diversity, etc.); acceptance of institutional diversity

Highly cost effective process for Title IV purposes

Acceptance (however, diminishing over last two decades)

Relatively healthy triad, but with increasing federal directives

Less responsive to states

Accreditation’s “Deputized” Policy Role

Accreditation was never designed to do the things in policy that it is currently asked to do

• Federal role as “Inspector” for Title IV

• State roles in authorization to operate, receipt of state funds, and credit transfer

Limitations of a membership organization

Undercapitalized and understaffed

Site visit/review process not focused on “catching wrongdoing”

Fit for Public Purposes?

Confidentiality in era of accountability Peer review excludes some key stakeholders:

employers, students, etc. Poor fit of institutional model to blurring

boundaries: partnerships, contracting Capacity to understand challenges in for-profit

models Dogged by role in Title IV fraud and abuse of

1980s and early 90s; inadequate to the task Technologically challenged

Health of Institutional Support?

D.C. orgs. concern about accreditation. Ambivalence about involvement of for-profits

with large online operations; acquisitions and mergers

Strength of connectivity: how well does an agency listen?

Acceptance of increased agency oversight of institutional changes as dictated by DOE?• Off-site education; expansion of elearning;

International ventures; collaboratives and partnering

Problems with boundaries and borders Basically: Cost/benefit ratio

Is It Time to Re-Assess Accreditation’s Policy Role?

May be at a juncture similar to 1992 when the National Policy Board (NPB) proposed sweeping changes to accreditation

• Gatekeeper role re-assessed?

• Multiple levels of accreditation?

• Accreditation by institutional type rather than region?

• National qualifications framework for learning outcomes in place and adopted by accreditors?

But who would lead the charge?