Accreditation Handbook—Chapter XII: Informing the Public
Accrediting agencies recognized by the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) are required to notify the public, regional accreditors, selected specialized recognized accreditors, state agencies responsible for post-secondary education, and the USDE of final accreditation decisions. Accrediting agencies recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) are required, through its Standard for Recognition 12B.5 [PDF], to publish the basis for all final accreditation decisions, including non-adverse accreditation actions (award or continue accreditation, or place on probation).
The CAA meets these expectations by posting its decisions online within 30 days of each decision-making meeting. Notices are published for final accreditation decisions resulting from a comprehensive review (applications for candidacy, initial accreditation, or re-accreditation) or that affect an accreditation status (e.g., accredited to accredited-on probation). The CAA includes in this notice the standards cited and compliance level (partial compliance or non-compliance) and a link to the program’s decision letter or Accreditation Action Report (AAR), as appropriate. No decision letter or AAR is provided in this notice for programs that the CAA deemed to be in full compliance with all standards and were not cited with partial or non-compliance in any areas. The presentation format supports CAA’s efforts to be transparent and to provide clear and consistent information about accredited and candidate programs, as well as the standards and procedures by which it operates.
The changes to CAA’s Policy on Public Notice of Accreditation Actions went into effect January 1, 2014.
