The Criteria for Accreditation

The Criteria for Accreditation are organized under five major headings. Each Criterion has three elements: Criterion Statement, Core Components and Examples of Evidence. The Criteria Statements define necessary attributes of an organization accredited by the Commission. An organization must be judged to have met each of the Criteria to merit accreditation.

An organization addresses each Core Component as it presents reasonable and representative evidence of meeting a Criterion. The Examples of Evidence illustrate the types of evidence an organization might present in addressing a Core Component.

The Criteria are intentionally general so that accreditation decisions focus on the particulars of each organization, rather than on trying to make it fit a pre-established mold. The widely different purposes and scopes of colleges and universities demand criteria that are broad enough to encompass diversity and support innovation, but clear enough to ensure acceptable quality.

The Criteria Statements and Core Components are presented here. Visit the Commission’s Web site to view the Examples of Evidence.

Criterion One: Mission and Integrity. The organization operates with integrity to ensure the fulfillment of its mission through structures and processes that involve the board, administration, faculty, staff and students.

• The organization’s mission documents are clear and articulate publicly the organization’s commitments.
• In its mission documents, the organization recognizes the diversity of its learners, other constituencies, and the greater society it serves.
• Understanding of and support for the mission pervade the organization.
• The organization’s governance and administrative structures promote effective leadership and support collaborative processes that enable the organization to fulfill its mission.
• The organization upholds and protects its integrity.

Criterion Two: Preparing for the Future. The organization’s allocation of resources and its processes for evaluation and planning demonstrate its capacity to fulfill its mission, improve the quality of its education, and respond to future challenges and opportunities.

• The organization realistically prepares for a future shaped by multiple societal and economic trends.
• The organization’s resource base supports its educational programs and its plans for maintaining and strengthening their quality in the future.
• The organization’s ongoing evaluation and assessment processes provide reliable evidence of institutional
  effectiveness that clearly informs strategies for continuous improvement.
• All levels of planning align with the organization’s mission, thereby enhancing its capacity to fulfill that
  mission.

Criterion Three: Student Learning and Effective Teaching. The organization provides evidence of student learning and teaching effectiveness that demonstrates it is fulfilling its educational mission.

• The organization’s goals for student learning outcomes are clearly stated for each educational program and make effective assessment possible.
• The organization values and supports effective teaching.
• The organization creates effective learning environments.
• The organization’s learning resources support student learning and effective teaching.

Criterion Four: Acquisition, Discovery, and Application of Knowledge. The organization promotes a life of learning for its faculty, administration, staff and students by fostering and supporting inquiry, creativity, practice and social responsibility in ways consistent with its mission.

• The organization demonstrates, through the actions of its board, administrators, students, faculty and staff, that it values a life of learning.
• The organization demonstrates that acquisition of a breadth of knowledge and skills and the exercise of intellectual inquiry are integral to its educational programs.
• The organization assesses the usefulness of its curricula to students who will live and work in a global, diverse and technological society.
• The organization provides support to ensure that faculty, students and staff acquire, discover, and apply knowledge responsibly.

Criterion Five: Engagement and Service. As called for by its mission, the organization identifies its constituencies and serves them in ways both value.

• The organization learns from the constituencies it serves and analyzes its capacity to serve their needs and expectations.
• The organization has the capacity and the commitment to engage with its identified constituencies and
  communities.
• The organization demonstrates its responsiveness to those constituencies that depend on it for service.
• Internal and external constituencies value the services the organization provides.