Lesson 14
Karon Tarver

Why accreditation?

Accreditation is required to meet basic conditions thereby improving the standards and quality of education and assure the public that institutions meet the established standards. To comply with those conditions an institution goes through a period of initial candidacy and must conduct a self-study of its own strengths and weaknesses before it can be accredited. Accreditation, as it is practiced in relation to colleges and universities in the United States, is voluntary on the part of an institution. It is a recognition that an institution or program has been evaluated and that it meets a set of standards of quality that are determined by the members of the association or agency granting the accreditation. Accreditation can aid in the transfer of collegiate credit, but there are various kinds of institutions and accreditation, and transfer of credit is not automatic.

Who oversees it?

The Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools is the recognized regional accrediting body in the eleven U.S. Southern states (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee,Texas and Virginia) and in Latin America for those institutions of higher education that award associate, baccalaureate, master's or doctoral degrees. The Commission on Colleges is the representative body of the College Delegate Assembly and is charged with carrying out the accreditation process. The Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools is an institutional accrediting body and accredits the entire institution. Although it evaluates programs as part of the accreditation process, it does not accredit specific programs.

Accrediting associations can choose to apply for recognition by the Council on Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) and/or the US Department of Education(USDOE). CHEA is a private organization with thousands of institutional members (www.chea.org) Both CHEA and USDOE maintain a list of accrediting bodies that have complied with minimum requirements on a periodic basis. Accrediting bodies recognized by CHEA or USDOE are a diverse group, ranging from institutional accrediting bodies to those that accredit programs in engineering, law, art, and nursing.

What type of supporting evidence is needed?

The accrediting standards used by the Commission on Colleges are contained in the handbook Criteria for Accreditation. Periodically reviewed and revised by the College Delegate Assembly, this document provides consistent guidelines for peer review, representing the collective judgement of the membership on standards appropriate for the assurance of quality in higher education.

Central to the accreditation process is the self-study. Each institution applying for accreditation or renewal of accreditation is required to conduct a comprehensive study of its purpose, programs, and services. On each campus, faculty, administrators, staff, students, trustees, and others serve on committees which study all aspects of the institution, report their findings, and offer advice on improvement. This process results in a document evaluating the institution's effectiveness in reaching its stated goals and its compliance with the Criteria.

At the culmination of the self-study, the Commission on Colleges sends a visiting committee of professional peers to the campus to assess the educational strengths and weaknesses of the institution. The written report of the visiting committee helps the institution improve its programs and also provides the basis on which the Commission decides to grant, continue, reaffirm, or withdraw accreditation.

During a typical four-day visit, committee members examine data and conduct interviews in order to evaluate the quality and accuracy of the self-study and ascertain whether the institution is in compliance with the Criteria. The committee offers written advice to the institution, develops and consensus on its findings, and completes a draft report. Finally, the committee presents an oral summary in an exit report to the chief executive officer and invited institutional officials on the last day of the visit.

The departure of the committee from campus does not mark the end of the accreditation process. The visiting committee report and the response of the institution to the findings of the committee are reviewed by the Committee on Criteria and Reports, a standing committee of the Commission. The Committee on Criteria and Reports recommends action on accreditation to the Executive Council of the Commission. The Executive Council in turn recommends action to the Commission on Colleges, which makes the final decision. These decisions are announced to the College Delegate Assembly during its annual business session.

It must also have graduated a complete group or cohort of students. This candidacy can extend over a four-year period. Peer review teams from the Commission visit the institution to determine if the institution has reached the point where it is complying with all of the criteria for accreditation--if that is the case, then accreditation is granted.

What differences, in any, exist between accreditation of regular instructional programs and distance learning programs?

The Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools is an institutional accrediting body and accredits the entire institution. Although it evaluates programs as part of the accreditation process, it does not accredit specific programs. However, according to Judith S. Eaton in her article Core Academic Values, Quality, and Regional Accreditation: The Challenge of Distance Learning, Ms. Eaton states the following:

Six core academic values sustain regional accreditation. They are the valuing of:

• Institutional autonomy;
  
• Collegiality and shared governance;
  
• The intellectual and academic authority of faculty;
  
• The degree (whether associate, baccalaureate, professional, master's, or doctorate);
  
• General education; and
  
• Site-based education and a community of learning.

  Colleges and universities conduct their day-to-day business, develop strategic plans, generate operating budgets, and engage with students based on the perceived importance of these values. While the accreditation process allows considerable leeway in how these values are honored, the higher education community itself insists that the values be addressed.

  Accordingly, regional accreditation protects these values. Over the years, standards and criteria have evolved that require the investment of institutional resources in them.

Ms. Easton continues by stating that distance learning while in many ways have expanded collegiate opportunities, has also produced challenges to the academic core values of regional accreditation. The gap between the established core values and the challenges of the universality of distance learning has been accomplished within existing accrediting standards. Regional commissions have also developed a set of distance learning guidelines for institutions. These guidelines are supplemental to the accreditation standards and were established in 1997. They were built upon principles articulated by the Western Cooperative for Educational Telecommunications of the Western Interstate Commission for High Education (WICHE) in 1996. Below is an excerpt from
http://www.wiche.edu/telecom/Projects/balancing/principles.htm

The Principles

Curriculum and Instruction

• Each program of study results in learning outcomes appropriate to the rigor and breadth of the degree or certificate awarded.
  
• An electronically offered degree or certificate program is coherent and complete.
  
• The program provides for appropriate real-time or delayed interaction between faculty and students and among students.
  
• Qualified faculty provide appropriate oversight of the program electronically offered.

Institutional Context and Commitment

Role and Mission

• The program is consistent with the institution's role and mission.
  
• Review and approval processes ensure the appropriateness of the technology being used to meet the program's objectives.

Faculty Support

• The program provides faculty support services specifically related to teaching via an electronic system.
  
• The program provides training for faculty who teach via the use of technology.

Resources for Learning

• The program ensures that appropriate learning resources are available to students.

Students and Student Services

• The program provides students with clear, complete, and timely information on the curriculum, course and degree requirements, nature of faculty/student interaction, assumptions about technological competence and skills, technical equipment requirements, availability of academic support services and financial aid resources, and costs and payment policies.
  
• Enrolled students have reasonable and adequate access to the range of student services appropriate to support their learning.
  
• Accepted students have the background, knowledge, and technical skills needed to undertake the program.
  
• Advertising, recruiting, and admissions materials clearly and accurately represent the program and the services available.

Commitment to Support

• Policies for faculty evaluation include appropriate consideration of teaching and scholarly activities related to electronically offered programs.
  
• The institution demonstrates a commitment to ongoing support, both financial and technical, and to continuation of the program for a period sufficient to enable students to complete a degree/certificate.

Evaluation and Assessment

• The institution evaluates the program's educational effectiveness, including assessments of student learning outcomes, student retention, and student and faculty satisfaction. Students have access to such program evaluation data.
  
• The institution provides for assessment and documentation of student achievement in each course and at completion of the program.

What role are the new information technologies and educational communications playing in counteracting and changing the strongest criticism of distance education?

The long-standing criticism of distance learning-that of passivity and one-way communication-is gradually decreasing as a result of using interactive telecommunication media that promote two-way exchanges between learners and instructors, reducing the biggest criticism of a lack of "human touch." The use of email, chats, synchronous and asynchronous interactive connections, relationships can be built across learners and instructors.