What are accreditation standards? What are the four used by ACCJC?
Accreditation standards are best practices of quality education developed collectively by peer institutions and are what a college must meet or exceed. Until 2002, there were ten ACCJC standards but those were consolidated into four, each with several criteria: Standard I: Institutional Mission and Effectiveness Addresses how well the college mission facilitates student learning; Standard II: Student Learning Programs and Services Focuses on whether instructional, student support services, and library and learning support services accomplish student learning outcomes; Standard III: Resources The use of human, physical, technological, and financial resources are evaluated to see if the college has achieved its broad educational purposes, including stated student learning outcomes, and if there is evidence of an improvement in institutional effectiveness; Standard IV: Leadership and Governance Assesses how well the college utilizes contributions of leadership throughout the organization
