Consulting in accreditation, quality and development for education businesses
Frequently Asked Questions on American Accreditation
(Classified from strategy, process, outcomes)
Christian Daujat
answers
your questions
STRATEGY
Q: What benefits would an American Accreditation bring to my institution located outside of the US? While your regional/national accreditation consolidate your higher education status locally, the acquisition of an American accreditation could "export" your institution's visibility, credibility and position in a more inclusive academic world. This will also facilitate international students' progression coming from international highschools or continuing to further studies in the US...
Q: Can we apply to any of the seven regional accreditation agencies? At the present time, I would recommend to apply to NEASC (New England Association of School and Colleges) who has been very proactive and accessible for foreign (outside-US) institutions. Their legacy in this domain is consequent and their support services are excellent, confirming why several foreign institutions join NEASC every year. The other regional agencies mainly focus on their local institutions but things may change over the time...
Q: Will this accreditation only apply to our home institution or would it cover our off-country campuses? A NEASC institutional accreditation will cover all your local and international locations. You will however be audited on these off-main-campus activities to verify standardization of services and quality.
Q: How do US norms fit into Swiss or European programs and services delivery? There are obviously challenges in delivering programs and services that would comply jointly with both accreditation norms. the US model of education have for example a consequent focus on general education which is not a specific requirement in Switzerland or Europe. But all these compliance challenges can be solved with agile and well-thought programs and services.
Q: What are key factors for a successful accreditation? There are of course many factors that would drive your accreditation process to success. To highlight the ones that I have identified in similar previous projects, I would list the following: A solid "learning organisation" culture with historical legacy; American-approach for General Education and Student Services; sustainable finances; coherent quality structure with self-evaluation cycles; Board, students and faculty governance; qualified and engaged teams; solid partnerships with academic and industry; and finally but not least faculty development and research programs.
PROCESS
Q: How long will it take to complete a US accreditation process? If I refer to NEASC, the process (from application, self-evaluation report, external visit and final approval) could take 12 to 15 months. It is important however to add a "school readiness" period prior to the accreditation process to ensure your institution adjust its programs and services to the US norms. I would here recommend to apply backward planning principle to rigourously "calendarize" all your related activities.
Q: What type of evidence would be expected ? These American accreditation processes are evidence-based, not on what you do well but more on what practices are put in place to improve your institutional effectiveness. This process is not a tick-box exercise (as seen in some other certification like ISO) but more on sharing your good and bad practices and the way you pro-actively move forward.
Q: Do we need to go through program accreditation once we have been granted institutionally? Once your institution is accredited, your campus-based bachelor programs of study are normally recognized. There are however exceptions to this rule for masters, branch campus, online, overseas or proficiency-based programs which need to go through a specific validation process before they go live (read more on Substantive Change policy).
OUTCOMES
Q: What will we get out of this institutional accreditation. In other words, is it worth the investment? The US education model is still extremely well recognized in many countries for its comprehensive and pedagogic approach. Many parents see American-accredited institutions places where a global "student experience" is guaranteed while many international students see American education as a way to enter major universities for continuing education or to join big corporates.
Q: For how long will this accreditation be valid? This institutional accreditation applies for ten years from the moment your accreditation has been validated (without conditions). Should you acquire the accreditation with conditions or should it be your first accreditation, the review cycle will be shorten upon areas for improvement (one year, five years).