Transcript Accreditation - Yavapai College

Accreditation
What should you know?
What is accreditation?
• Accreditation assures quality through a peer review process
that verifies that an institution:
1.Meets Higher Learning Commission criterion standards
2.Is engaged in continuous improvement
• Yavapai College’s accreditor is the Higher Learning
Commission (HLC) a member of the North Central Association
of Colleges and Schools (NCA).
Why is accreditation
important?
•Ensures transferability of course credits
•Assures colleges and employers that a student’s education
meets acceptable levels of quality.
•Allows students access to federal financial aid
What is Open Pathways?
Open Pathways is the HLCs new model of reaccreditation. The
Open Pathway separates the process into 2 components:
1.The Quality Initiative (QI) is of a quality improvement project
that is chosen by the college. Yavapai’s QI is:
A Comparative Analysis of Online and Face-to-Face Learning
2.The Assurance Review is a process where the college provides
evidence that YC meets HLC’s 5 criterion standards.
•Assurance Argument report.
•On-site visit required every 10-years.
When does YC’s next visit
occur?
A Higher Learning Commission peer evaluation team of 3 to 4
people will visit Yavapai College on
March
th
4
&
th
5 ,
2013
How long does accreditation
last?
We are here
Pathway Cycle
Assurance
Process
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
Institution may contribute
documents to the Evidence
File
Year 4
Assurance
Review (no visit)
Year 5
Year 6
Year 7
Year 8
Year 9
Institution may contribute documents to the
Evidence File
Year 10
Assurance Filing;
Federal Compliance
Requirements
Assurance Review
and Comprhensive
Evaluation
(with visit)
Quality Initiative proposal
filed (window of opportunity
to submit)
Quality
Initiative
Quality Initiative report
submitted
HLC Decision
Making
Other
Monitoring
Action to
accept
Assurance
Review
Action on
Comprehensive
Evaluation and
Reaffirmation of
Accreditation
The Commission will continue to review data submitted by affiliated institutions through the annual Institutional
Update, and will apply change processes as appropriate.
Questions?
For more information:
http://www.yc.edu/accreditation
Tom Hughes
928.776.2205
[email protected]