What is Accreditation?

“Accreditation is a process of external quality review used by higher education to scrutinize colleges, universities, and educational programs for quality assurance and quality improvement.”  (The Council for Higher Education Accreditation, 2002)

In the U.S., accreditation is carried out by private, nonprofit organizations designed for this purpose, with these accrediting organizations “recognized” by the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) and/or the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA).  The USDE recognition is governed by federal law and regulations; the private, nonprofit CHEA recognition is governed by its board of directors. Recognition means that the accrediting organizations go through a review of their qualifications and activities to see if they meet the standards of the USDE and/or the CHEA; if they meet these standards, they are “recognized” as accrediting agencies.  The USDE focuses on whether federal student aid dollars are purchasing quality courses and programs, thus only institutions that are accredited by a USDE-recognized are eligible to receive federal financial assistance for their students.  The CHEA focuses on academic quality and improvement in programs and degrees, and that more than 50% of the institutions or programs reviewed by an accrediting agency must be degree-granting.

Background

Accreditation began in the U.S. to insure a basic level of quality, through non-governmental, peer evaluation of educational institutions and programs. Private educational associations (regional or national in scope) have developed criteria on the qualities of a sound educational program and procedures for evaluating institutions or programs to determine whether or not they are operating at basic levels of quality.

The U.S. Department of Education site lists the functions of accreditation:

1. “Verifying that an institution or program meets established standards;

2. Assisting prospective students in identifying acceptable institutions;

3. Assisting institutions in determining the acceptability of transfer credits;

4. Helping to identify institutions and programs for the investment of public and private funds;

5. Protecting an institution against harmful internal and external pressure;

6. Creating goals for self-improvement of weaker programs and stimulating a general raising of standards among educational institutions;

7. Involving the faculty and staff comprehensively in institutional evaluation and planning;

8. Establishing criteria for professional certification and licensure and for upgrading courses offering such preparation; and

9. Providing one of several considerations used as a basis for determining eligibility for Federal assistance.”

The U.S. Department of Education Site also lists Accreditation Procedures:

1. “Standards: The accrediting agency, in collaboration with educational institutions, establishes standards.

2. Self-study: The institution or program seeking accreditation prepares an in-depth self-evaluation study that measures its performance against the standards established by the accrediting agency.

3. On-site Evaluation: A team selected by the accrediting agency visits the institution or program to determine first-hand if the applicant meets the established standards.

4. Publication: Upon being satisfied that the applicant meets its standards, the accrediting agency grants accreditation or preaccreditation status and lists the institution or program in an official publication with other similarly accredited or preaccredited institutions or programs.

5. Monitoring: The accrediting agency monitors each accredited institution or program throughout the period of accreditation granted to verify that it continues to meet the agency's standards.

6. Reevaluation: The accrediting agency periodically reevaluates each institution or program that it lists to ascertain whether continuation of its accredited or preaccredited status is warranted.”

In turn, the accrediting agencies affiliated with the U.S. Department of Education are reviewed.  The agencies submit petitions and reports for review by the Secretary's National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity (NACIQI).  Since 2005, agencies have been able to submit their documents through the Department’s on-line submission system.

Types of Accreditation

There are two types of educational accreditation, institutional and programmatic.  The former applies to the entire institution with each component contributing to the institution achieving its objectives, the latter to specialized programs within the institution.  The U.S. Department of Education maintains a database of accredited institutions, along with accredited programs and recognized accrediting organizations on their web site.  The focus here is on institutional accreditation. 

Regional Institutional Accrediting Associations

Middle States, New England, North Central, Northwest, Southern and Western.  A brief profile was extracted from the U.S. Department of Education site:

Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Higher Education

“Scope of recognition:  accreditation and preaccreditation (‘Candidacy status’) of institutions of higher education in Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, including distance education programs offered at those institutions.” 

New England Association of Schools and Colleges, Commission on Institutions of Higher Education

“Scope of recognition: accreditation and preaccreditation (‘Candidacy status’) of institutions of higher education in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont that award bachelor's, master's, and/or doctoral degrees and associate degree-granting institutions in those states that include degrees in liberal arts or general studies among their offerings, including the accreditation of programs offered via distance education within these institutions...”

Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities

“Scope of recognition: accreditation and preaccreditation (‘Candidacy status’) of postsecondary educational institutions in Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Washington and the accreditation of such programs offered via distance education within these institutions.”

Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges

“Scope of recognition: accreditation and preaccreditation (‘Candidate for Accreditation’) of degree-granting institutions of higher education in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia, including distance education programs offered at those institutions.” 

Western Association of Schools and Colleges, Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges

“Scope of recognition: accreditation and preaccreditation ("Candidate for Accreditation") of community and junior colleges located in California, Hawaii, the United States territories of Guam and American Samoa, the Republic of Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Common-wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the accreditation of such programs offered via distance education at these colleges.” 

Regional Accreditor for Arizona Colleges/Universities

North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, The Higher Learning Commission

“Scope of recognition: accreditation and preaccreditation (‘Candidate for Accreditation’) of degree-granting institutions of higher education in Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming, including schools of the Navajo Nation and the accreditation of programs offered via distance education within these institutions…”

The North Central Association of Colleges and Schools through its Higher Learning Commission accredits, and thereby grants membership to educational institutions in the North Central region.  This includes community colleges in Arizona, including the ten Maricopa Community Colleges.

Both the U.S. Department of Education  and the Council on Higher Education Accreditation
recognize the Higher Learning Commission.

NCA/Higher Learning Commission Evaluation Process – Three Approaches

The HLC Commission now provides three programs or approaches to maintaining accreditation, the Program to Evaluate and Advance Quality (PEAQ), the Academic Quality Improvement Program (AQIP), and a third, recently developed approach.

1. PEAQ Approach – Program to Evaluate and Advance Quality

The Higher Learning Commission began with a single accreditation process, the PEAQ approach. The concern was on process. HLC viewed this as a standard process that all institutions could use with minor variations. The ten Maricopa colleges have used this approach to obtain reaccreditations.

The Handbook of Accreditation summarizes the processes that are part of this traditional approach to seek and retain accreditation: self-study by the institution to meet accreditation criteria, evaluation by a team of trained peer reviewers, and a final decision on accreditation status.  The Accreditation Criteria are organized into five themes: Mission and Integrity, Preparing for the Future, Student Learning and Effective Teaching, Acquisition, Discovery, and Application of Knowledge, and Engagement and Service.

The Commission relies on a Peer Review Corps – “cadre of carefully selected and trained professionals who serve the Commission in its accreditation processes. These individuals are called the Consultant Evaluators; they comprise the evaluation team that writes the report noting the proposed Statement of Affiliation Status (such as recommendation for full ten year accreditation, a progress or monitoring report, or a focused visit).

2. AQUIP Approach - Academic Quality Improvement Program

This program is geared to maintaining accredited affiliation with The Higher Learning Commission based on the principles of continuous improvement.  AQUIP, like PEAQ, sets goals and objectives of the approach.

AQUIP began in 1999 with a grant from the Pew Charitable Trusts. This is an alternative approach through which an already-accredited institution can maintain its accreditation from the Higher Learning Commission.  The institution has to demonstrate it meets the accreditation standards and expectations through sequences of actions that align with those actions that characterize organizations striving to improve their performance, and to provide the evidence to support and achieve its distinctive mission.

Commission’s Mission Statement 2000

With the creation of the AQUIP, the Commission provided an alternative approach as well as “traditional” approach to reaccreditations.  This resulted in the Commission taking a new look at the assumptions and goals of the traditional approach and undertaking a major review of its mission.

The Commission developed its 2000 statement of purpose:  “Serving the common good by assuring and advancing the quality of higher learning.”  The concern is with “ends”.  They note that no single accreditation process represents the one best or only way to demonstrate and advance educational quality.

3. Academy for Assessment of Student Learning Approach

The Academy is the third and most recent approach that a college can apply to reaccreditations.  This is a four year sequence and the institution pays fees each year. When planned strategically by an institution, the institution can use this process in lieu of either the PEAQ or the AQUIP and their requirements.  In Year one, an institution applies to participate in the academy, proposes action projects to assess and improve student learning, and sends a team to the Academy Roundtable. In years 2 and 3, the institution strives to make progress and assesses its progress, and in year 4, provides a report and attends the Academy Results Forum.  The
Roundtable and Forums each convene 3 times a year.

The following Maricopa Colleges have become members of the Academy: Glendale, Rio, Scottsdale, and South Mountain.

Frequently Asked Questions

The Commission provides detailed information on their site to questions such as:

1. What do the various terms mean?

2. Which institutions are accredited by the HLC?

3. What is involved in each approach to accreditation?

4. Who are the Consultant Evaluators?

5. What is the Academy?

6. What is the Public Information Project?

Maricopa Community Colleges Accreditation Status (per HLC site)

All ten colleges are fully accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.