Accreditation & Program Review Flashcards

What role does strategic planning play in the accreditation cycle?

Answer: It provides the institutional vision and goals against which program review findings are aligned and prioritized

Strategic planning connects program review outcomes to institutional mission and priorities, ensuring that improvement efforts are purposeful and resource-aligned.

Which factor most directly demonstrates a program's 'educational effectiveness' to an accrediting body?

Answer: Documented student learning outcomes with evidence that graduates achieve them at acceptable rates

Accreditors define educational effectiveness through evidence that clearly stated learning outcomes are assessed and that students are meeting them at defined threshold levels.

A postsecondary institution discovers midcycle that its graduation rate has dropped significantly below its accreditor's expected range. What is the appropriate immediate step?

Answer: Notify the accreditor, conduct an internal root-cause analysis, and develop a documented corrective action plan

Transparency with the accreditor and proactive corrective action are required; concealing or ignoring significant performance drops can escalate to sanctions.

Which statement best describes the difference between 'formative' and 'summative' program assessment?

Answer: Formative assessment occurs during the program to guide improvement; summative assessment evaluates overall program outcomes at a defined endpoint

Formative assessment provides ongoing feedback during delivery, while summative assessment measures cumulative outcomes at program completion or the end of a review cycle.

How does accreditation differ from state licensure for a postsecondary institution?

Answer: State licensure grants legal authority to operate; accreditation is a voluntary peer-review process affirming educational quality

State licensure is a legal requirement to operate as an institution, while accreditation is a voluntary quality-assurance process that unlocks benefits such as federal financial aid eligibility.

In preparing curriculum maps for accreditation, what is the primary goal?

Answer: To visually demonstrate how and where in the curriculum each program learning outcome is introduced, reinforced, and mastered

Curriculum maps align courses to learning outcomes, helping evaluators verify that outcomes are systematically addressed throughout the program rather than left to chance.

Which accreditation principle is violated when an institution reports assessment data selectively, omitting cohorts with poor outcomes?

Answer: Integrity and transparency

Accreditation requires complete and honest reporting; selectively omitting unfavorable data violates the integrity and transparency standards central to the accreditation relationship.