Overview

What is accreditation reaffirmation?

Accreditation is a confirmation of quality through a college's operations and administration, including its programs, services, facilities, finances, planning, and governance. Colleges are accredited through a review process conducted both by itself and by its peer colleges for the purposes of public accountability and the continual improvement of academic quality.

After a college receives its initial accreditation, it must periodically reaffirm its accreditation through a comprehensive review process. Currently, the reaffirmation process occurs every eight years and is comprised of 3 parts:

1. Self-evaluation: The process begins with a college's evaluation of itself against established standards of quality ("accreditation standards"). The college publishes its findings in an Institutional Self-Evaluation Report (ISER).
2. Peer review: A review team made up of colleagues from peer institutions then visits the college to verify the findings of the self-evaluation and reports to the accrediting commission with commendations and recommendations.
3. Commission action: Based on the self-evaluation and the peer review, the commission decides whether to reaffirm accreditation for the college.

For more information, please see the ACCJC Accreditation Handbook.