Volume 81 - Spring / Summer 2002	Download

President's Report NAACLS and the CHEA Recognition Process by Kathy V. Waller, PhD, CLS(NCA) President, NAACLS Board of Directors

Just as all NAACLS accredited and approved programs must undergo periodic internal and external review, so must NAACLS participate in a periodic external review known as "recognition." Recognition is carried out by either the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA), a private organization, or the United States Department of Education (USDE). The USDE recognition standards place major emphasis on qualifying for federal funding for student financial aid. CHEA recognition grants an academic legitimacy to accrediting agencies, such as NAACLS, in the higher education arena.

NAACLS was previously recognized by the USDE, but chose to relinquish that recognition last year. There were several reasons for this. Some criteria for USDE recognition no longer applied to the majority of NAACLS programs. NAACLS was investing an exorbitant amount of money and time to attend USDE programs and to meet regulations not germane to our profession. Recognition by the USDE was concluded to be of questionable value to NAACLS and its programs. When NAACLS left CAHEA in 1994, the Board of Directors believed that USDE recognition would yield some advantages as an accrediting body. However, over time, this recognition became less necessary, especially in light of recognition by CHEA. Currently, NAACLS is recognized by CHEA as a result of a previous COPA (Council on Postsecondary Accreditation) and CORPA (Commission on Recognition of Postsecondary Accreditation) recognition. We are in the process of re-recognition by CHEA.

The CHEA recognizes higher education accrediting bodies in the United States. It is a private, non-profit national organization representing more than 3, 000 colleges and universities and 60 national, regional and specialized accreditors.

Why is recognition necessary? Basically recognition holds the accrediting body accountable to the institutions and programs it accredits. It is a process to make public as well as to validate our goals, objectives and processes.

The CHEA utilizes five recognition standards by which it reviews accrediting agencies for recognition. These standards emphasize academic quality assurance and program improvement. The standards require NAACLS to advance academic quality, demonstrate accountability, encourage purposeful change and needed improvement, employ appropriate and fair procedures in decision-making, and continually reassess accreditation practices.

Accrediting agencies are typically reviewed on a 10-year cycle with a five-year interim report. This review is performed by the CHEA Committee on Recognition that reviews the accreditor's self-study and holds a public hearing. Dr. Olive Kimball and I attended the public hearing in Washington, DC, on March 18, 2002. The Committee on Recognition is recommending to the CHEA Board of Directors that NAACLS be recognized by CHEA. This is an interim determination only. The committee on recognitions recommended to the CHEA Board of Directors that NAACLS be recognized. The Board upheld the recommendation at its April 30, 2002, meeting, and NAACLS is fully recognized by CHEA.

Top of the News
			2002 NAACLS Meetings
			Evaluating Programs Through a Formal Process of Data Collection, Analysis and Modification by Karen M. Myers MA, MT(ASCP)SC, CLS(NCA) Programs Approval Review Committee Member
			Human Genetics: Health Professions Curricula by Dr. David D. Gale Member, NAACLS Board of Directors
			Identifying Instructional Areas in CLS/MT Standards by Shauna C. Anderson, PhD Secretary, NAACLS Board of Directors
			Outcomes Assessment: Its Importance to Programmatic Accreditation by Kathy V. Waller, PhD, CLS(NCA) President, NAACLS Board of Directors
Features
			*Note: this information has been supplanted by more recent policy changes. Please view Adding Clinical Affiliates
			CEO's Corner NAACLS Elections Held by Olive M. Kimball, PhD, EdD NAACLS Chief Executive Officer
			NAACLS Initially Accredited and Approved Programs April 2002
			President's Report NAACLS and the CHEA Recognition Process by Kathy V. Waller, PhD, CLS(NCA) President, NAACLS Board of Directors
			Programs to be Site Visited Fall 2002/Winter 2003 Cycle

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