Transcript State Uses of Institutional Accreditation: Results of a Fifty-State Inventory

State Uses of Institutional Accreditation:
Results of a Fifty-State Inventory
Stacey Zis & Marianne Boeke
National Center for Higher Education Management
Systems (NCHEMS)
CHEA Annual Conference
Washington, DC
January 25, 2010
Background to the Inventory
 Little Current Knowledge of the Relationships between
Institutional Accreditation and Various State Regulatory
and Policy Activities (Authorization to
Operate/Licensure, Ability to Receive Public Funds,
Transfer/Articulation)
 Scope Limited to Institutional Accreditation (Mostly)
Despite Knowledge that Programmatic Accreditation
Frequently Plays a Role in Licensing Individuals to
Practice a Profession
Methodology
 Methodology: SHEEO Contact to Identify Relevant
Agencies  Web Scan  Write-Up  Verification
 NCHEMS has utilized this type of methodology for
several reports/projects/studies with great success
Results
 Agencies that authorize Institutions to operate
 What do state agencies do - what do they call it?
 Relationship between Institutional accreditation
and authorization
 Relationship between Institutional accreditation
and other state activities
 State use of specialized accreditation
Agencies that Authorize Institutions to
Operate
 Agencies Identified in All 50 States
 15 States Have More than One Agency (One has 3)
 SHEEO Agency is the Only or One of Several
Agencies Involved in All but 14 States
 Some Institutional Sectors Not Authorized or Regulated
(and Some are Banned)
What Do State Agencies Do and What Do
They Call It?
 6 States Say they “Accredit” Institutions, 15 “Approve,”
4 “Authorize, 3 “Certify,” 1 “Oversees,” 1 “Registers,”
and the Remainder “License”
 States that Say they “Accredit” Behave Like NonGovernmental Accreditors, but the Conduct and Time
Between Re-Reviews Vary
 Only One of these Agencies is a USDOE-Recognized
Accreditor (Regents of the University of the State of
New York)
Terms Used by States in Regulation
WA
ND
MT
MN
ME
OR
ID
WY
MI
IL
UT
CO
NY
IA
NE
NV
KS
IN
PA
OH
KY
OK
NM
NJ
MD
DE
WV
MO
CA
AZ
VT
NH
MA
CT RI
WI
SD
VA
TN
NC
AR
SC
MS
TX
AL
GA
LA
Legend
FL
HI
AK
License
Approve
Accredit
Authorize
Certify
Oversee
Register
Does the State “Accredit” Institutions?
WA
ND
MT
MN
ME
OR
WI
SD
ID
WY
MI
NE
NV
IL
UT
CO
NY
IA
KS
IN
PA
OH
KY
CA
OK
NM
AZ
NJ
MD
DE
WV
MO
VT
NH
MA
CT RI
VA
TN
NC
AR
SC
MS
TX
AL
GA
LA
Legend
FL
HI
AK
Yes
No
Does the State “Recognize” Accreditors?
WA
ND
MT
MN
ME
OR
WI
SD
ID
WY
MI
NE
NV
IL
UT
CO
NY
IA
KS
IN
PA
OH
KY
CA
OK
NM
AZ
NJ
MD
DE
WV
MO
VT
NH
MA
CT RI
VA
TN
NC
AR
SC
MS
TX
AL
GA
LA
Legend
FL
HI
AK
Yes
No
Relationship Between Institutional
Accreditation and Authorization
 30 States Require Non-Public Institutions (Private
Not-for-Profit and For-Profit) to be Accredited in Order
to Operate; 16 Do Not Require This; 4 Require This
Only for Degree-Granting Institutions
 Requirements Sometimes Differ by Sector
 Varying Rules on How Long a Candidate Institution
Can Operate While It Seeks Accreditation
Is Accreditation Needed to Operate a Non-Public Institution?
WA
ND
MT
MN
ME
OR
WI
SD
ID
WY
MI
NE
NV
IL
UT
CO
NY
IA
KS
IN
PA
OH
KY
CA
OK
NM
AZ
NJ
MD
DE
WV
MO
VT
NH
MA
CT RI
VA
TN
NC
AR
SC
MS
TX
AL
GA
LA
Legend
FL
HI
AK
Yes
No
Degree Only
Relationship Between Institutional
Accreditation and Authorization
 23 States Require New Non-Public Institutions
(Private Not-For-Profit and For-Profit) to be Accredited
in Order to be Authorized, 11 More Only for be DegreeGranting Institutions
 All But 4 States Require Out-of-States to Be Accredited
to Operate in the State, But They Sometimes Require
Additional State Agency Review
Is Accreditation Required for New Non-Public Institutions?
WA
ND
MT
MN
ME
OR
WI
SD
ID
WY
MI
NE
NV
IL
UT
CO
NY
IA
KS
IN
PA
OH
KY
CA
OK
NM
AZ
NJ
MD
DE
WV
MO
VT
NH
MA
CT RI
VA
TN
NC
AR
SC
MS
TX
AL
GA
LA
Legend
FL
HI
AK
Yes
No
Degree Only
Is Accreditation Sufficient for Non-Public Out-of-State
Institutions?
WA
ND
MT
MN
ME
OR
WI
SD
ID
WY
MI
NE
NV
IL
UT
CO
NY
IA
KS
IN
PA
OH
KY
CA
OK
NM
AZ
NJ
MD
DE
WV
MO
VT
NH
MA
CT RI
VA
TN
NC
AR
SC
MS
TX
AL
GA
LA
Legend
FL
HI
AK
Yes
Yes + Authorization
New Accred Required
Not Required
Relationship Between Institutional
Accreditation and Authorization
 Public Institutions are Authorized to Operate by their
Charters, but 25 States Have Additional Regulations or
Statutes Requiring them to be Accredited (3 More for
Community Colleges Only)
 All States Require the Accreditor to be USDOE
Recognized, 9 Either USDOE or CHEA, and 9 Require
Both
Accreditor Must Be Recognized by USDOE
WA
ND
MT
MN
ME
OR
WI
SD
ID
WY
MI
NE
NV
IL
UT
CO
NY
IA
KS
IN
PA
OH
KY
CA
OK
NM
AZ
NJ
MD
DE
WV
MO
VT
NH
MA
CT RI
VA
TN
NC
AR
SC
MS
TX
AL
GA
LA
Legend
FL
HI
AK
Yes
Not Applicable
Accreditor Must Be Recognized by CHEA
WA
ND
MT
MN
ME
OR
WI
SD
ID
WY
MI
NE
NV
IL
UT
CO
NY
IA
KS
IN
PA
OH
KY
CA
OK
NM
AZ
NJ
MD
DE
WV
MO
VT
NH
MA
CT RI
VA
TN
NC
AR
SC
MS
TX
AL
GA
LA
Legend
FL
HI
AK
Yes
No
Not Applicable
Accreditor Can Be Recognized by Either USDOE or CHEA
WA
ND
MT
MN
ME
OR
WI
SD
ID
WY
MI
NE
NV
IL
UT
CO
NY
IA
KS
IN
PA
OH
KY
CA
OK
NM
AZ
NJ
MD
DE
WV
MO
VT
NH
MA
CT RI
VA
TN
NC
AR
SC
MS
TX
AL
GA
LA
Legend
FL
HI
AK
Yes
No
Not Applicable
Relationship Between Institutional
Accreditation and Other State Activities
 29 States Require Non-Public Institutions to be
Accredited to Receive State Funds, 8 Have No
Linkage, 6 Report that It Depends on the Funding
Program…the Rest Do Not Provide State Funds to
Non-Public Institutions at All
Is Accreditation Required for Non-Public Institutions to
Access State Funds?
WA
ND
MT
MN
ME
OR
WI
SD
ID
WY
MI
NE
NV
IL
UT
CO
NY
IA
KS
IN
PA
OH
KY
CA
OK
NM
AZ
NJ
MD
DE
WV
MO
VT
NH
MA
CT RI
VA
TN
NC
AR
SC
MS
TX
AL
GA
LA
Legend
FL
HI
AK
Yes
No
Depends
No Answer
Not Applicable
Relationship Between Institutional
Accreditation and Other State Activities
 16 States Have Transfer Policies Affecting All
Institutions, 9 of Which Require Accreditation
 22 States Have Transfer Policies Affecting Only Public
Institutions, None of Which Require Accreditation
 6 States Require Programmatic Accreditation for
Credits to Transfer in Accreditable Disciplines
Type of State Transfer Policy
WA
ND
MT
MN
ME
OR
WI
SD
ID
WY
MI
NE
NV
IL
UT
CO
NY
IA
KS
IN
PA
OH
KY
CA
OK
NM
AZ
NJ
MD
DE
WV
MO
VT
NH
MA
CT RI
VA
TN
NC
AR
SC
MS
TX
AL
GA
LA
Legend
FL
HI
AK
Publics and Privates
Publics Only
Institution Decides
Is Accreditation Required by Policy for Credits to Transfer?
WA
ND
MT
MN
ME
OR
WI
SD
ID
WY
MI
NE
NV
IL
UT
CO
NY
IA
KS
IN
PA
OH
KY
CA
OK
NM
AZ
NJ
MD
DE
WV
MO
VT
NH
MA
CT RI
VA
TN
NC
AR
SC
MS
TX
AL
GA
LA
Legend
FL
HI
AK
Yes
No
Regional
Specialized
Yes & Specialized
Regional & Specialized
Not Applicable
State Use of Specialized Accreditation
 Agencies Included in the Inventory for the Most Part
Not Involved in Decisions About Individual Licensure to
Practice
 Nevertheless, Most Respondents Report that They
Believe There Is a Linkage in Regulated Professions
 Specialized Accreditation Required for SingleDiscipline Institutions in an Accreditable Discipline to
Be Authorized to Operate in 6 States
Conclusions
 There Is Huge Variation in Practice Regarding How
States Use Accreditation in Authorization and Policy
 This Probably Impedes Efficient Operations for the
National “System” of Quality Assurance and Likely
Confuses the Public
 More Study and Discussion of this Situation and Its
Impacts are Warranted
 CHEA and SHEEO are in a Good Position to
Coordinate Next Steps
For more information
Stacey Zis – [email protected]
Marianne Boeke – [email protected]
Peter Ewell – [email protected]
The full report can be found at: www.nchems.org
Thank you!