The purpose of the standards in all cases is to establish minimum criteria, and the work of the institution is to demonstrate through its narrative response and exhibits that it meets or exceeds the standards. Where the institution does not do things that are specifically identified in the criteria, the self-study should state that the institution does not do this specific item rather than remaining silent. Many accreditation standards are written to include several requirements each of which needs to be addressed separately in the institution’s self-study. Taking time to parse out the various components of each of the standards… >>>

A sample standard from a national or regional accrediting agency will be used to examine the language and intention of the standard followed by a discussion of how institutions should respond to the standard to demonstrate how institutional practices meet the criteria. The course will use the standards from a variety of national and regional accrediting commissions, and you will be encouraged to examine your own commission’s standards using the same process the examples provide. You will want to have the copy of your commission’s accreditation criteria and your last self-study nearby as we consider the administrative standards.

The federal regulations allow accreditors to establish additional criteria and require institutions to demonstrate compliance with those standards. The regulations also allow institutions to establish institutional standards to demonstrate their success with student achievement. It is within these parameters that accrediting bodies establish the standards of accreditation, and this is generally done through a more or less collegial process that includes varying degrees of participation by member schools. The resulting accreditation standards interpret the federal regulations in the context of the particular constituency of schools, colleges, and universities the agency accredits.

Knowing how to read and interpret accreditation criteria and how to express what your institution does in the context of the standards can bring the process back to what is supposed to be—a collegial process during which an institution reflects on its administrative and academic policies and procedures and communicates to a group of peer evaluators how what they do meets the terms of the standards set by their accrediting commission.