Criteria for Accreditation

General Institutional Requirements

Mission

• THE INSTITUTION has a mission statement, formally adopted by the governing board and made public, declaring that it is an institute of higher education.
• It is a degree-granting institution.

Authorization

• It has legal authorization to grant its degrees, and it meets all the legal requirements to operate as an institution of higher education whereever it conducts its activities.
• It has legal documents to confirm its status: Not-for-profit, for-profit, or public.

Governance

• It has a governing board that posesses and exercises necessary legal power to establish and review basic policies that govern the institution.
• Its governing board includes public members and is sufficiently autonomous from the administration and ownership to assure the integrity of the institution.
• It has an executive officer designated by the governing board to provide administrative leadership for the institution.
• Its governing board authorizes the institution's affiliation with the Commission.

Faculty

• It employs a faculty that has earned from accredited institutions the degrees appropriate to the level of instruction offered by the institution.
• A sufficient number of the faculty are full-time employees of the institution.
• Its faculty has a significant role in developing and evaluating all of the institution's educational programs.

Educational Programs

• It confers degrees.
• It has degree programs in operation, with students enrolled in them.
• Its degree programs are compatible with the institution's mission and are based on recognized fields of study at the higher education level.
• Its degrees are appropriately named, following practices common to institutions of higher education in terms of both length and content of the programs.
• Its undergraduate degree programs include a coherent general education requirement consistent with the institution's mission and designed to ensure breadth of knowledge and to promote intellectual inquiry.
• It has admissions policies and practices that are consistent with the institution's mssion and appropriate to its educational programs.
• It provides its students access to those learning resources and support services requisite for its degree programs.

Finances

• It has an external financial audit by a certified public accountant or a public audit agncy at least every two years.
• Its financial documents demonstrate the appropriate allocation and use of resources to support its educational programs.
• Its financial practices, records, and reports demonstrate fiscal viability.

Public Information

• Its catalog or other official documents includes its mission statement along with accurate descriptions of:
  • its educational programs and degree requirements;
  • its learning resources;
  • its admissions policies and procedures;
  • its academic and non-academic policies and procedures directly affecting students;
  • its charges and refund policies; and
  • the academic credentials of its faculty and administrators.
• It accurately discloses its standing with accrediting bodies with which it is affiliated.
• It makes available upon request information that accurately describes its financial position.

Criteria for Accreditation

• Criterion One: The institution has clear and publicly stated purposes consistent with its mission and appropriate to an institution of higher education.
• Criterion Two: The institution has effectively organized the human, financial, and physical resources necessary to accomplish its purposes.
• Criterion Three: The institution is accomplishing its educational and other purposes.
• Criterion Four: The institution can continue to accomplish its purposes and strengthen its educational effectiveness.
• Criterion Five: The institution demonstrated integrity in its practices and relationships.