The Criteria for Accreditation

The institution's mission is broad­ly understood within the institu­tion and guides its operations.

1. The mission statement is developed through a process suited to the nature and culture of the institution and adopted by the governing board.
2. The institution's academic programs, student support ser­vices, and enrollment profile are consistent with its stated mission.
3. The institution's planning and budgeting priorities align with and support the mission.  (This sub-component may be addressed by reference to the response to Criterion 5.C.1.)

The mission is articulated pub­licly.

1. The institution clearly articulates its mission through one or more public documents, such as statements of purpose, vision, values, goals, plans, or institutional priorities.
2. The mission document or documents are current and explain the extent of the institution's emphasis on the various aspects of its mission, such as instruction, scholar­ship, research, application of research, creative works, clinical service, public service, economic development, and religious or cultural purpose.
3. The mission document or documents identify the nature, scope, and intended constituents of the higher education pro­grams and services the institu­tion provides.

The institution understands the relationship between its mission and the diversity of U.S. society.

1. The institution addresses its role in a multicultural society.
2. The institution's processes and activities reflect attention to human diversity as appropriate within its mission and for the constituencies it serves.

The institution's mission demon­strates commitment to the public good.

1. Actions and decisions reflect an understanding that in its educational role the institution serves the public, not solely the institution, and thus entails a public obligation.
2. The institution's educational responsibilities take primacy over other purposes, such as generating financial returns for investors, contributing to a related or parent organization, or supporting external interests.
3. The institution engages with its identified external con­stituencies and communities of interest and responds to their needs as its mission and capac­ity allow.

1. The governing board of the insti­tution is sufficiently autonomous to make decisions in the best interest of the institution and to assure its integrity. 
2. The governing board's delib­erations reflect priorities to preserve and enhance the institution.
3. The governing board reviews and considers the reasonable and relevant interests of the institution's internal and exter­nal constituencies during its decision-making deliberations.
4. The governing board pre­serves its independence from undue influence on the part of donors, elected officials, ownership interests, or other external parties when such influence would not be in the best interest of the institution.
5. The governing board delegates day-to-day management of the institution to the administra­tion and expects the faculty to oversee academic matters.

The institution ensures that fac­ulty, students, and staff acquire, discover, and apply knowledge responsibly. 

1. The institution provides effec­tive oversight and support ser­vices to ensure the integrity of research and scholarly practice conducted by its faculty, staff, and students.
2. Students are offered guidance in the ethical use of informa­tion resources.
3. The institution has and enforc­es policies on academic hon­esty and integrity.

The institution's degree pro­grams are appropriate to higher education.

1. Courses and programs are current and require levels of performance by students appropriate to the degree or certificate awarded.
2. The institution articulates and differentiates learning goals for its undergraduate, graduate, post-baccalaureate, post-graduate, and certificate programs.
3. The institution's program quality and learning goals are consistent across all modes of delivery and all locations (on the main campus, at additional locations, by distance delivery, as dual credit, through con­tractual or consortial arrange­ments, etc.).

The institution demonstrates that the exercise of intellectual inqui­ry and the acquisition, applica­tion, and integration of broad learning and skills are integral to its educational programs.

1. The general education pro­gram is appropriate to the mission, educational offerings, and degree levels of the insti­tution.
2. The institution articulates the purposes, content, and intended learning outcomes of its undergraduate general education requirements. The program of general education is grounded in a philosophy or framework developed by the institution or adopted from an established framework. It imparts broad knowledge and intellectual concepts to stu­dents and develops skills and attitudes that the institution believes every college-educat­ed person should possess.
3. Every degree program offered by the institution engages stu­dents in collecting, analyzing, and communicating informa­tion; in mastering modes of inquiry or creative work; and in developing skills adaptable to changing environments.
4. The education offered by the institution recognizes the human and cultural diversity of the world in which students live and work.
5. The faculty and students con­tribute to scholarship, creative work, and the discovery of knowledge to the extent appro­priate to their programs and the institution's mission.

The institution has the faculty and staff needed for effective, high-quality programs and stu­dent services.

1. The institution has sufficient numbers and continuity of faculty members to carry out both the classroom and the non-classroom roles of faculty (oversight of the curriculum and expectations for student performance; establishment of academic credentials for instructional staff; involve­ment in assessment of student learning; etc.).
2. All instructors are appropri­ately credentialed, including those in dual credit, contrac­tual, and consortial programs.
3. Instructors are evaluated regularly in accordance with established institutional policies and procedures.
4. The institution has processes and resources for assuring that instructors are current in their disciplines and adept in their teaching roles; it supports their professional development.
5. Instructors are accessible for student inquiry.
6. Staff members providing stu­dent support services, such as tutoring, financial aid advising, academic advising, and co-curricular activities, are appro­priately qualified, trained, and supported in their professional development.

The institution provides support for student learning and effective teaching.

1. The institution provides student support services suited to the needs of its student populations.
2. The institution provides for learning support and prepara­tory instruction to address the academic needs of its students. It has a process for placing entering students in courses and programs for which the students are ade­quately prepared.
3. The institution provides aca­demic advising suited to its programs and the needs of its students.
4. The institution provides to students and instructors the infrastructure and resources necessary to support effective teaching and learning (e.g., technological infrastructure, scientific laboratories, librar­ies, performance spaces, clini­cal practice sites, museum collections).
5. The institution provides to stu­dents guidance in the effective use of research and informa­tion resources.

The institution fulfills its claims for an enriched educational envi­ronment.

1. The institution's co-curricular programs are suited to its mission and contribute to the educational experience of its students.
2. The institution demonstrate any claims it makes about contributions to its students' educational experiences by virtue of aspects of its mission, such as research, community engage­ment, service learning, reli­gious or spiritual purpose, and eco­nomic development.

The institution demonstrates responsibility for the quality of its educational programs.

1. The institution maintains a practice of regular program reviews.
2. The institution evaluates all the credit that it transcripts, including what it awards for experiential learning or other forms of prior learning.
3. The institution has policies that assure the quality of the credit it accepts in transfer.
4. The institution maintains and exercises authority over the prerequisites for courses, rigor of courses, expectations for student learning, access to learning resources, and faculty qualifications for all its programs, including dual credit programs. It assures that its dual credit courses or pro­grams for high school students are equivalent in learning out­comes and levels of achieve­ment to its higher education curriculum.

5. The institution maintains specialized accreditation as appropriate to its educational purposes.

6. The institution evaluates the success of its graduates. The institution assures that those degree or certificate pro­grams it represents as preparation for advanced study or employment accomplish these purposes.  For all programs, the institution looks to indicators it deems appropriate to its mission, such as employment rates, admission rates to advanced degree programs, and participation rates in fellowships, internships, and special programs (e.g., Peace Corps and Americorps).

The institution demonstrates a commitment to educational achievement and improvement through ongoing assessment of student learning.

1. The institution has clearly stated goals for stu­dent learning and effective processes for assess­ment of student learning and achievement of learning goals.
2. The institution assesses achievement of the learning outcomes that it claims for its curricular and co-curricular programs.
3. The institution uses the infor­mation gained from assessment to improve student learning.
4. The institution's processes and methodologies to assess student learning reflect good practice, including the substantial participation of faculty and other instructional staff members.

The institution demonstrates a commitment to educational improvement through ongoing attention to its retention, persis­tence, and completion rates in degree and certificate programs.

1. The institution has defined goals for student retention, persistence, and completion that are ambitious but attain­able and appropriate to its mis­sion, student populations, and educational offerings.
2. The institution collects and analyzes information on stu­dent retention, persistence, and completion of programs.
3. The institution uses informa­tion on student retention, persistence, and completion of programs to improve its per­sistence and completion rates as warranted.
4. The institution's processes and methodologies for collecting and analyzing information on student reten­tion, persistence, and comple­tion of programs reflect good practice. (Institutions are not required to use IPEDS defini­tions in their determination of persistence or completion rates. Institutions are encour­aged to choose measures that are suitable to their student populations, but institutions are accountable for the validity of their measures.)

The institution's resource base supports its current educational programs and its plans for main­taining and strengthening their quality in the future.

1. The institution has the fis­cal and human resources and physical and technological infrastructure sufficient to sup­port its operations wherever and however programs are delivered.
2. The institution's resources allocations process ensures that its educational purposes are not adversely affected by elective resource allo­cations to other areas or dis­bursement of revenue to any superordinate entity.
3. The goals incorporated into mission statements or elabora­tions of mission statements are realistic in light of the institu­tion's organization, resources, and opportunities.
4. The institution's staff in all areas are appropriately quali­fied and trained.
5. The institution has a well-developed process in place for budgeting and for monitoring expense.

The institution's governance and administrative structures promote effective leadership and support collaborative processes. 

1. The institution has and employs policies and proce­dures to engage its internal constituencies- including its governing board, administration, faculty, staff, and students-in the institution's governance.
2. The governing board is knowl­edgeable about the institution, provides oversight for the institution's financial and aca­demic policies and practices, and meets its legal and fidu­ciary responsibilities.
3. The institution enables the involvement of its admin­istration, faculty, staff, and students in setting academic requirements, policy, and processes through effective structures for contribution and collaborative effort.

The institution engages in sys­tematic and integrated planning.

1. The institution allocates its resources in alignment with its mission and priorities.
2. The institution links its processes for assessment of student learning, evaluation, plan­ning, and budgeting.
3. The planning process encompasses the institution as a whole and considers the perspective of internal and external constituent groups.
4. The institution plans on the basis of a sound understanding of its current capacity. Institu­tional plans anticipate the pos­sible impact of fluctuations in the institution's sources of rev­enue, such as enrollment, the economy, and state support.
5. Institutional planning antici­pates emerging factors, such as technology, demographic shifts, and globalization.

The institution works systemati­cally to improve its performance.

1. The institution evaluation develops and documents evidence of performance in its operations.
2. The institution learns from its operational experience and applies that learning to improve its institutional effec­tiveness, capabilities, and sus­tainability, overall and in its component parts.