by Don Rainwater

Created on: July 21, 2008

The accreditation process is an important process that insures that schools meet the standards of governmental guidelines and quality assurance. Public schools, private schools, and higher level academic institutions need to have a standard or benchmark in which to meet or exceed. This guarantees the student and the public at large that their tax dollars or tuition is paying for a quality education that will perpetrate a better future for the student and the community.

The Western Association of Schools and College is the accrediting commission for community and junior colleges in California, Hawaii, and the United States territories of Samoa, and Guam. They also provide accreditation services for the Republic of Palau, the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianna Islands, and Marshall Islands, and the Federated States of Micronesia (Regional, 2008). The accreditation process for this commission begins by receiving an application from the institution that wishes to be accredited. The institution completes a self-assessment of their institution against the criteria provided by the accreditation agency.

This process provides the accreditation committee a method of pre-screening the institution before the formal process begins. This will also allow the committee to determine if the institution is even eligible for a review. After a school is determined eligible and the self-study criterion has been completed, the commission will send a team to the school to see if the school meets the eligibility requirements of the accreditation agency. If the accreditation is granted the school enters into a six year cycle of reviews, annual reports, follow up evaluations, and the creation and completion of several benchmarks.

During the review, the personnel of the school will be scrutinized through personal interviews, peer evaluations, peer group consortiums, and other vested parties. The accreditation team will align itself with an accreditation committee that is chosen to help the institution create, maintain, and meet benchmarks. The entire process is overseen by the United States Department of Education. The USDE also maintains accreditation standard criteria for the accreditation agency (Ecopia, n.d).

The accreditation process is sometimes the focus of negative pursuits. If an accreditation is misrepresented or the educational institution fails to upheld their standards and meet their benchmarks, then students, teachers, administration, and other stakeholders can pursue

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