Quality Assurance in Higher Education pp 149-159 | Cite as
Recent Trends in US Accreditation
Chapter
Abstract
Accreditation plays a central role in higher education in the US, with more than 8,200 institutions and 20,000 programs accredited by one or more of the 85 recognised accrediting organisations operating throughout the country (Council for Higher Education Accreditation, 2013). This paper examines three dimensions of US accreditation: what it has been, recent trends affecting its operation, and its likely future. It concludes by contrasting this likely future with a more desirable scenario, urging that the higher education and accreditation communities work to realise a future of the desirable rather than the likely.
Keywords
High Education Academic Freedom Intellectual Development Academic Quality Qualification Framework
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
- Council for Higher Education Accreditation (2012) CHEA Almanac of External Quality Review (Washington, DC: Council for Higher Education Accreditation).Google Scholar
- Council for Higher Education Accreditation (2013) Database of Institutions and Programs Accredited by Recognized United States Accrediting Organizations, http://www.chea.org/search/default.asp (accessed 22 September 2013).Google Scholar
- European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (2011) ENQA Position Paper on Transparency Tools, 4 March.Google Scholar
- Hazelkorn, E. (2011) ‘Questions abound as the college-rankings race goes global’, The Chronicle of Higher Education, 13 March, http://chronicle.com/article/Questions-Abound-as-the/126699/(accessed 23 September 2013).
- Lumina Foundation (2011) The Degree Qualifications Profile, http://www.luminafoundation.org/publications/The_Degree_Qualifications_Profile.pdf (accessed 23 September 2013).Google Scholar
- Orlans, H. (1975) Private Accreditation and Public Eligibility (Lexington, MA: Lexington Books, D.C. Heath and Company).Google Scholar
- Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (2013) Testing student and university performance globally: OECD’s AHELO, http://www.oecd.org/education/skills-beyond-school/testingstudentanduniversityperformance globallyoecdsahelo.htm (accessed 23 September 2013).Google Scholar
- Straighter Line (2013) Earn College Transfer Credit, http://www.straighterline.com/how-it-works/credit-transfer/(accessed 23 September 2013).Google Scholar
- The Chronicle of Higher Education (2013) ‘College Completion: Who graduates from college, who doesn’t and why it matters’, http://collegecompletion.chronicle.com/about/(accessed 23 September 2013).Google Scholar
- The Education Trust (2013) College Results Online, http://www.edtrust.org/issues/higher-education/college-results-online (accessed 23 September 2013).Google Scholar
- Thrift, N. (2012) ‘The future of big ed’, The Chronicle of Higher Education, 6 December, http://chronicle.com/blogs/worldwise/the-future-of-big-ed/31122 (accessed 23 September 2013).
- US Department of Education (2006) A Test of Leadership: Charting the Future of US Higher Education: A Report of the Commission Appointed by Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings, http://www.ed.gov/about/bdscomm/list/hiedfuture/index. html (accessed 18 September 2013).Google Scholar
- United States Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics (n.d.) College Navigator, http://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/(accessed 21 September 2013).
- US News and World Report (2013) http://www.usnews.com/rankings (accessed 23 September 2013).
- Williamson, J. (2012) ‘Massive online open courses: What they are and how they help students’, Distance Education.org., 30 April, http://www.distance-education.org/Articles/Massive-Online-Open-C (accessed 21 September 2013).
Copyright information
© Judith S. Eaton 2014