What is accreditation?
Accreditation is intended to assure constituents and the public of the quality and integrity of higher education institutions and programs, and to help those institutions and programs improve. These outcomes are achieved through rigorous internal and external review processes during which the institution is evaluated against a common set of standards. When accreditation is awarded to an institution of higher education by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, a regional accrediting agency recognized by the United States Department of Education, it means that the institution has (1) a mission appropriate to higher education, (2) resources, programs, and services sufficient to accomplish and sustain its mission, (3) clearly specified educational objectives that are consistent with its mission and appropriate to the degrees it offers, and that it is (4) successful in achieving its stated objectives. Accreditation is a statement of the institution’s
Accreditation is the extensive review process conducted by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE) to assure that the quality of the course work is high and that the program produces therapists who are qualified to serve the public. In order to take the licensure exam, an individual must have a degree from a CAPTE-accredited program.
In simple terms, accreditation is like certification of the certification body. `Accreditation should not be used as an interchangeable alternative for certification or registration. BIS Quality Management Systems Certification activity has been accredited by Raad voor Accreditatie (RvA) of Netherlands, to carry out IS/ISO 9001:2000 certification in 23 business sectors.
Accreditation by nationally recognized agencies provides objective, public assurance that an institution has been found to meet clearly stated requirements and criteria and that there are reasonable grounds for believing that it will continue to meet them. Accreditation results in an evaluation of the entire institution in terms of its mission. The accrediting agency establishes standards, or criteria, to assess the formal educational activities of the institution. Also evaluated are governance and administration, financial stability, student personnel services, institutional resources, student academic achievement, institutional effectiveness, and relationships with internal and external constituencies. In the United States, accreditation is voluntarily sought by institutions and is conferred by non-governmental bodies. Moraine Valley Community Colleges accrediting body is the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (HLC).
Accreditation is both a status and a process. As a status, accreditation provides public notification that an institution or program meets standards of quality set forth by an accrediting agency. As a process, accreditation reflects the fact that, in achieving recognition by the accrediting agency, the institution or program is committed to self-study and external review by its peers — seeking not only to meet standards but to continuously seek ways in which to enhance the quality of education and training provided. (See http://www.apa.org/ed/accreditation/faq1.html).
