What is Accreditation?
Institutional accreditation is provided by regional and national associations of schools and colleges. There are six regional associations, each named after the region in which it operates (Middle States, New England, North Central, Northwest, Southern, Western). An institutional accrediting agency evaluates an entire educational organization in terms of its mission and the agency’s standards or criteria. Besides assessing formal educational activities, it evaluates such things as governance and administration, financial stability, admissions and student services, institutional resources, student learning, institutional effectiveness, and relationships with internal and external constituencies.
The North Central Association (NCA)
The North Central Association of Colleges and Schools was founded in 1895 for the purpose of establishing close relations between the colleges and secondary schools of the region. The Association is a membership organization of colleges and schools in nineteen states (Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming).
Two independent corporations also hold membership in the Association. The Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement (CASI) accredits its schools offering education at the kindergarten through twelfth-grade levels as well as non-degree-granting post-secondary schools. The Higher Learning Commission (HLC) accredits degree-granting organization of higher education. The Commission provides two programs for maintaining accredited status: the Program to Evaluate and Advance Quality (PEAQ), and the Academic Quality Improvement Program (AQIP).
Academic Quality Improvement Program (AQIP)
CCD’s application to participate in AQIP was accepted and approved in 2002. AQIP is structured around quality improvement principles and processes and involves a structured set of goal-setting, networking, and accountability activities. AQIP employs the following steps to reaffirm an organization’s accredited status:
| TIMELINE |
ACTIVITIES |
STATUS |
| Annually |
Action Project Updates |
Due each Fall in September |
| Every 3-5 years |
1. Strategy Forum
2. Systems Portfolio Appraisal
3. On-Site Check-Up Visit |
1. First Forum attended Fall od 2002; next one in March od 2007
2. First Systems Portfolio completed in Fall of 2006; Appraisal received Spring of 2006
3. On-Site check-up visit to occus in 2008-09
|
| Every 7 years |
Formal Reaffirmation of Accreditation |
Due in 2009/10 |
CCD Action Projects
- Develop Early/Middle College Model - Recommit to Learning College Principles
- Creating Strategic Campus Expansions - Enhance Campus Communication & Collaboration:
- Develop Model Planning Process Implementation of Faculty Voice Instrument
- Development of a Student Communication System
CCD Touchstones: AQIP Quality Categories
1. Helping Students Learn
2. Accomplishing Other Distinctive Objectives
3. Understanding Students’ and Other Stakeholders’ Needs
4. Valuing People
5. Leading and Communicating
6. Supporting Institutional Operations
7. Measuring Effectiveness
8. Planning Continuous Improvement
9. Building Collaborative Relationships
For more information, contact:
The Higher Learning Commission
30 North LaSalle Street, Suite 2400
Chicago, Illinois 60602-2504
Phone: (800) 621-7440 / (312) 263-0456-Fax: (312) 263-7462
http://www.ncahigherlearningcommission.org/
CCD Nursing Accreditation
National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission (NLNAC)
The Practical Nurse Program and the Registered Nurse Program achieved Candidate Status from the National League for Nursing Acrediting Commission on March 12, 2010.
For more inforamtion, contact:
The National League for Nursing Acrediting Commision
3343 Peachtree Road NE, Suite 500
Atlanta, Georgia 30326
Phone: (404) 975-5000
Fax: (404) 975-5020
The nursing program also participates in the Colorado Nursing Articulation model through which nursing credits are accepted by other Colorado nursing programs for applicants seeking baccalaureate degrees in nursing.
CCD’s nursing program is approved through the Colorado State Board of Nursing.
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