In the report of the American Council on Education's (ACE) National Task Force on Institutional Accreditation released today, academic leaders urge the higher education community to strengthen and improve the quality and public accountability of the institutional accreditation process. The report, Assuring Academic Quality in the 21st Century: Self-Regulation in a New Era, considers the central characteristics of accreditation and outlines common criticisms of the process. It then offers six major recommendations for steps colleges, universities and regional accreditors can and should take to ensure accreditation meets its public accountability responsibilities given the enormous diversity of American higher education.
The recommendations are:
- Increase the transparency of accreditation and clearly communicate its results.
- Increase the centrality of evidence about student success and educational quality.
- Take prompt, strong and public action against substandard institutions.
- Adopt a more "risk-sensitive" approach to regional accreditation.
- Seek common terminology, promote cooperation and expand participation.
- Enhance the cost-effectiveness of accreditation.
http://www.acenet.edu/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Government_Relations_and_Public_Policy&TEMPLATE=/CM/HTMLDisplay.cfm&CONTENTID=45277
