Lesson 14: Accreditation Criteria & Guidelines

By MaryAnn Avelar-Flores

Why accreditation?

Accreditation assures the educational community, the general public and other agencies and organizations that a particular institute or program includes the following:

1. Clearly defined and educational appropriate objectives.
2. Maintains conditions under which their achievement can reasonably be expected.
3. They are substantially accomplishing their objectives and achievements.
4. And they can be expected to continue to substantially accomplish their objectives and achievement.

Accreditation serves as a mechanism for quality assessment and quality enhancement.

Who oversee it?

For 11 southern states, The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) accredits school from pre-kindergarten through the university level. SACS is recognized by the U>S> Department of Education. Peer review teams from the commission visits the institutions and if they are complying with all the required criteria for accreditation then it is granted. They are then evaluated after five years and then every ten years thereafter.

What type of supporting evidence is needed?

According for the reading in lesson 14 some of the evidence includes showing evidence of:

1. Planning procedures and documentation.
2. Assessment and evaluation of all institutional operations and document of results
3. Demonstrable use of evolution results and information to improve all aspects of the institution.

The Criteria for Accreditation also includes:

1. Principles and Philosophy of Accreditation
2. Institutional Purpose
3. Institutional effectiveness
4. Educational Program
5. Educational support services
6. Administrative processes

What different, if any, exists between accreditation of regular instructional programs and distance learning programs?

Accreditation of distance program and regular instruction programs are similar, with the exception that distance educators must be evaluated to make sure they have the appropriate credentials, training, and preparation to teach via distance learning program.

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

The biggest criticism that the passivity and one-way communication often used in distance learning, however, this is rapidly changing as distance education evolves into a more interactive method of learning Distance learning in evolving into a community type of environment where students/instructors interact with each other in a two-way exchange of information through chats, web boards, email, synchronous and asynchronous interactive connection. Students communicate freely and create a sense of cohesiveness they did not have before. Some student have even indicated, according to the book by Rena M. Palloff and Keith Pratt “Building Learning Communities in Cyberspace” students preferred to discuss class information with the group rather than a one-to-one basis because they wanted to share their information with their peers and not with only one person.