Demystifying Accreditation: Action Plans for a National or Regional Accreditation
- PDF / 161,737 Bytes
- 20 Pages / 432 x 648 pts Page_size
- 42 Downloads / 208 Views
Demystifying Accreditation: Action Plans for a National or Regional Accreditation Ann L. Wood Published online: 6 May 2006
ABSTRACT: As part of educational reform, many institutions of higher education are undergoing accreditation processes. Based on interviews, observations, and the author’s experiences in accreditation reviews, this discussion delineates three stages of planning for an accreditation process. Recommendations are organized by each stage of preparation into long- and short-term action plans with specific tasks. Analyzing the process of accreditation across institutions and programs led to the identification of common elements that can make planning an accreditation effective and efficient. This article maps the roles and responsibilities of accreditation stakeholders and the need for communication and collaboration throughout the process. KEY WORDS: accreditation process; institutional planning; educational reform.
As accountability has become an integral part of reforms in higher education, colleges and universities are participating in institutional accreditation processes and/or accreditations of their professional or credential programs (Conn, 1999; Coombs, Garn, & Allred, 1993; Sacks & Whildin, 1993). To administrators and faculty whose schedules are overloaded or who are new to the accreditation process, preparing for an accreditation review can seem overwhelming. They are flooded with questions. What needs to be done? How long will it take? How much will it cost? Who needs to be involved? How should we get started? Existing accreditation literature describes how to produce the “products” of accreditation, e.g., the institutional self-study (Andrade, 1999; Coombs et al., 1993; Garner & Vice, 2002; Thrash, 1990). What it does not emphasize is the process of preparing for an accreditation, i.e., how one goes about organizing, planning, and preparing to produce the accreditation products. It is these process questions that are missing in the accreditation literature and to which this study is directed. Ann L. Wood earned a Ph.D. in educational psychology from The University of Michigan and a M.A. in special education and a B.A. in sociology, psychology, and education from Michigan State University. She is currently the Co-Principal Investigator for the Comprehensive Teacher Education Institute and an Assistant Professor in the Charter College of Education at California State University, Los Angeles. Her special interests are educational reform, urban education, lives of faculty and teachers, higher education, teacher development, and teacher induction.
43
C 2006 Springer Science+Business Media, Inc.
44
INNOVATIVE HIGHER EDUCATION
Questions that guided this thinking included the following. • What are the major elements of planning for a successful accreditation process? • Who are key stakeholders in the process, and what are their roles? • How can accreditation planning be converted into manageable tasks? Framework With more universities and colleges participating in accreditation proces
Data Loading...
