Non-Degree Postsecondary Eligibility Requirements

To become a Candidate for Accreditation or be considered for accredited status, an institution must provide evidence of the following:

1. The institution is authorized and/or licensed to operate as an educational institution and award recognized academic credentials, such as certificates or diplomas, by an appropriate governmental agency as required by each of the jurisdictions in which it operates.
    
2. The institution is geographically located and organizationally structured to fall within the scope of the Commission’s purposes and jurisdiction.
    
3.  The institution’s mission is clearly defined, made public, and formally adopted by its governing board consistent with its legal authorization, and is appropriate to an institution of higher education.
    
4. The institution is operational with students actively pursuing its certificate or diploma programs.
    
5. The institution has a functioning governing board responsible for the quality and integrity of the institution and for ensuring that the institution’s mission is being carried out. Its membership is sufficient in size and composition to fulfill all board responsibilities. The governing board is an independent policy-making body, capable of reflecting constituent and public interest in board activities and decisions. A majority of the board members have no contractual, employment, family or personal financial interest in the institution.
    
6. The institution has employed a chief executive officer, housed in the institution, who is appointed by the governing board and whose primary responsibility is to the institution.
    
7. The institution has a core of faculty qualified by education and/or experience with full-time responsibility to the institution. The faculty is sufficient in size and significantly involved in the development and review of all of the institution’s educational programs.
    
8. The institution has an established strategic and long-range planning process, which includes its engagement in the systematic evaluation of how well and in what ways it is accomplishing its purposes, including assessment of student learning and documentation of institutional effectiveness.
    
9. The institution is capable of providing effective academic leadership and management of all of the educational programs.
    
10. The institution provides for all of its students, in all of its satellite locations, appropriate student services and development programs consistent with student characteristics and its institutional mission.
     
11. The institution has adopted and adheres to admission policies compatible with the institution's stated mission and program objectives that specify the qualifications of students appropriate for its programs.
     
12. The institution has programs of study typically found in institutions with missions consistent with postsecondary technical and career institutions. If the school is a non-degree public, proprietary or private non-profit institution, at least one of its programs must be one academic year in length and lead to a certificate or diploma. Its academic programs are congruent with its mission, and based on recognized field(s) of study and are conducted at levels of quality and rigor appropriate to higher education.
     
13. The institution awards academic credits or uses units based on credit hour equivalency.
     
14. The institution has a program in general study in support of its career and technical diploma programs that is an essential component of the educational process.
     
15. The institution owns or otherwise provides access to sufficient information and learning resources and services to support its mission and all of its educational programs, wherever located.
     
16. The institution has established an adequate financial base to support its mission and educational programs. It makes available its latest financial statement, from the previous fiscal year, externally audited annually by a certified public accountant or state agency.
     
17. The institution publishes in a catalog or other appropriate places accurate and current information that describes its mission, purposes, and objectives. It also publishes its requirements for admission and the procedures, rules, and regulations it utilizes which directly affect students. The documents also list the institution’s academic programs and courses, certificates and diplomas, and their individual requirements. Additional required information includes cost and refund policies, grievance procedures, academic credentials of faculty and administrators, and other items relative to attending the institution and withdrawing from it.
     
18. The institution submits an Application for Candidacy, accompanied by a fee equal to one year's affiliation or membership dues.
     
19. The institution submits a self-study, in accordance with Commission policies and procedures, that provides evidence that the institution applying for candidacy has the potential to achieve accreditation.
     
20. The institution undergoes an examination by a team of evaluators appointed by the Commission.
     
21. The institution has not had its accredited or affiliated status withdrawn or has been placed on probation by an accrediting body recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) within the past twelve months.
     
22. The institution provides assurance by its governing board that it adheres to the eligibility requirements, accreditation standards and policies of the Commission, and that it agrees to disclose information required by the Commission to carry out its accrediting responsibilities.  

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