"Accreditation is a system for recognizing educational institutions and professional programs for a level of performance, integrity and quality that entitles them to the confidence of the educational community and the public" - American Dental Association
"Accreditation is a means of self-regulation and peer review adopted by the educational community. The accrediting process is intended to strengthen and sustain the quality and integrity of higher education, making it worthy of public confidence" - Middle States Commission on Higher Education
In the United States and many other countries, accreditation is a voluntary, non-governmental process of review. In some other countries, accreditation process is performed by government agencies and is often mandated by law. By accepting accreditation status from a recognized accreditation organization, a college, university, or other institution agrees to uphold the quality standards set by the accreditation organization. The accredited college, university, or other institution also agrees to periodically submit to accreditation renewal review.
According to CHEA, "Accreditation is a process of external quality review used by higher education to scrutinize colleges and universities and higher education programs for quality assurance and quality improvement. Accreditation in the United States is more than 100 years old, emerging from concerns to protect public health and safety and to serve the public interest." But what exactly is the process used by accreditation organizations to "scrutinize colleges, universities and higher education programs for quality assurance and quality improvement"? And how does this process work?
A college, university, or other institution seeking accreditation status must complete several primary steps in the accreditation process. Each of these primary steps is designated by the particular accreditation organization from which the institution is seeking accreditation status. The college, university, or other institution must first prepare materials that demonstrate the institution's accomplishments and exhibit the level of quality of the areas of operation that are under inspection. Next, the college or university undergoes a peer review of the prepared materials. Finally, action is taken by the accreditation organization to determine whether accreditation will be granted to the institution.
By accepting accreditation status, a college, university, or other institution agrees to undergo a review on a rotating basis every few years. An institution is usually required to go through all the steps of the accreditation process each time it is reviewed. The purpose of the continuous review is to ensure that the accredited institution continues to maintain the required accreditation standards. Accreditation bodies (organizations) are held accountable for the colleges, universities, and other institutions to which they grant accreditation status. They know that students, families, faculty, administrators, state government, and the federal government rely on them to thoroughly review an institution's workings before granting accreditation. Accreditation organizations also perform periodic quality reviews of themselves to ensure that they are effectively able to handle the requirements of their job.
Importance of Accreditation!
Accreditation ensures the quality of an institution or program and assists in its improvement. Plus, if students ever want to transfer credits to an accredited school, you'll have a hard time getting non-accredited coursework recognized. Other benefits of pursuing accredited education in the United States include eligibility for federal and state student financial aid; tuition assistance and/or credential recognition by employers; and eligibility to sit for state licensure examinations in professional fields.
Programmatic Accreditation
Programmatic accreditation, also known as specialized or professional accreditation, is designed for specialized departments, programs, schools, or colleges within a university or institution that has already received regional accreditation. These accreditation agencies look for specific aspects of a department that set it apart from others like it. Programmatic programs are available throughout the United States and each one indicates a top notch curriculum and faculty. The following agencies accredit at the program level.
Ranking
How do students choose their place of study? Surely, lots of issues need to be taken into account when it comes to finding the right university. What matters most, however, for many aspiring new students, is not only the quality of teaching and research, but how this quality education prepares for their career ahead.
Considering the increasing importance of rankings among future students, and fact that rankings influence financial decisions of governmental bodies responsible for higher education, one of Optimal Global Solutions goals is the improvement of the quality of international and national ranking of higher education institutions.
Assessment and Rubrics Market
Assessment is an integral part of instruction determining whether or not the goals of education are being met. It is used to get a greater understanding of the current knowledge that a student has.
Assessment is a major part of the accreditation process. It is an ongoing process of measuring student’s learning, progress toward established learning outcomes, and assessing if the learning objectives have been met. In addition, through the process there are indicators that may provide a proactive measure for improvement providing a basis for action, discussion, and feedback to improve Universities’ academic programs. A robust assessment program seeks to understand all influences on student learning including the relationship between student learning, curriculum development, instructors, and institutional learning outcomes.
Today's students need to know not only the basic reading and arithmetic skills, but also skills that will allow them to face a world that is continually changing. They must be able to think critically, to analyze, and to make inferences.
Changes in the skills base and knowledge students need require new learning goals. These new learning goals change the relationship between assessment and instruction.
Teachers need to take an active role in making decisions about the purpose of assessment and the content that is being assessed.
USA Schools Overview
The USA education system has provided top notch resources and quality education for a variety of programs that students, educators and professionals can pursue for that extra edge. The USA has the highest number of educational institutions providing higher education than any other country. There are more than 3800 colleges and universities imparting degree programs
The size of U.S. higher educational institutions varies greatly from colleges that enroll fewer than 1,000 students to large universities that enroll more than 50,000 students.
Between 1997 and 2007, enrollment increased at a faster rate (26 percent), from 14.5 million to 18.2 million. Much of the growth between 1997 and 2007 was in full-time enrollment; the number of full-time students rose 34 percent, while the number of part-time students rose 15 percent. During the same time period, the number of females rose 29 percent, compared to an increase of 22 percent in the number of males. Enrollment increases can be affected both by population growth and by rising rates of enrollment. Between 1997 and 2007, the number of 18- to 24-year-olds increased from 25.5 million to 29.5 million, an increase of 16 percent, and the percentage of 18- to 24-year-olds enrolled in college remained relatively stable (37 percent in 1997 and 39 percent in 2007). In addition to the enrollment in accredited 2-year colleges, 4-year colleges, and universities, about 447,000 students attended non-degree-granting, Title IV eligible1, postsecondary institutions in fall 2006.
The number of young students has been growing more rapidly than the number of older students, but this pattern is expected to shift. Between 1995 and 2006, the enrollment of students under age 25 increased by 33 percent. Enrollment of people 25 and over rose by 13 percent during the same period. From 2006 to 2017, NCES projects a rise of 10 percent in enrollments of people under 25, and a rise of 19 percent in enrollments of people 25 and over. Since 1984, the number of females in graduate schools has exceeded the number of males. Between 1997 and 2007, the number of male full-time graduate students increased by 32 percent, compared to a 63 percent increase for female graduate students. Among part-time graduate students, the number of males increased by 10 percent and the number of females increased by 23 percent.
The percentage of American college students who are minorities has been increasing. In 1976, 15 percent were minorities, compared with 32 percent in 2007. Much of the change from 1976 to 2007 can be attributed to rising numbers of Hispanic and Asian or Pacific Islander students. During that time period, the percentage of Asian or Pacific Islander students rose from 2 percent to 7 percent and the Hispanic percentage rose from 4 percent to 11 percent. The percentage of Black students was 9 percent at the beginning of the time period and it fluctuated during the early part of the period before rising to 13 percent in 2007. Nonresident aliens for whom race/ethnicity is not reported made up 3 percent of the total enrollment in 2007. According to UNESCO the US has the second largest number of higher education institutions in the world, with a total of 5,758, an average of more than 115 institutions per state. The US also has the highest number of higher education students in the world, a figure of 14,261,778 or roughly 4.75% of the total population. The U.S. Department of Education shows 4,861 colleges and universities with 18,248,128 students in 2007.
* SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2009). Digest of Education Statistics, 2008 (NCES 2009-020).
Middle East Schools
The Middle East has 12 Arab countries with a total of 300 colleges and universities, and total post secondary school students of around 3 million students. Only a handful of these schools are programmatically accredited, but none of them has any automated assessment tools which is strongly recommended by accreditation bodies.
Gulf Cooperation Council Countries
The GCC has six Arab countries with a total close to 100 colleges and universities, and total post secondary school students of around one million students. Only a handful of these schools are programmatically accredited, but none of them has any automated assessment tools which is strongly recommended by accreditation bodies including the NCAAA of Saudi Arabia. Out of the GCC, the company will focus on Saudi Arabia due to the market size, budget availability, and the connection management has in this great country.
Saudi Arabia
In the past seven years, under King Abdullah, Saudi Arabia has spent lavishly on higher education. About a quarter of each yearly budget goes toward education and vocational training; this year's allocations, amounting to $36.5-billion, represent a 12.4-percent increase over those of 2009. The King Abdullah Scholarship Program has sent more than 90,000 Saudis to pursue graduate studies abroad. The number of public universities in the country has risen from eight to 24; a few of them now appear in world university rankings. In the 2007 "Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study," produced by the U.S. National Center for Education Statistics, Saudi schoolchildren ranked near the bottom of the 48 countries surveyed. Mr. Sfakianakis, of the Saudi bank, says government officials are well aware of the need to improve mathematics and science proficiency, and that about 30 percent of the Education Ministry's budget is going toward retraining teachers in primary and secondary schools with that in mind. In recent years the government has encouraged the private sector to enter the higher-education market, and dozens of private universities and colleges have been established. The pan-Arab newspaper Dar Al Hayat recently reported that the Higher Education Ministry is studying 120 more requests to establish private institutions. "One of the major objectives is to create competition to improve the quality of higher education" and eventually to reduce the tremendous cost of free public higher education, says Mr. Al-Ohali, the deputy minister of educational affairs. With that in mind, Saudi authorities support the establishment of private universities through loans and land grants, he says. A recent royal decree stipulated that the government would pay half the tuition costs of all students pursuing private higher education. The development plan calls for nearly doubling the number of university students, from 860,000 to 1.7 million, by 2014. The king and his allies are serious about the need to improve and expand higher education, says John Sfakianakis, chief economist at Banque Saudi Fransi, who helped draft the plan. "They understand there is a problem that has to be fixed."