Call for Board Engagement
College governing boards need to get more involved in the accrediting process at the institutions they serve, helping to preserve a longstanding system of self regulation and peer review that is not without its critics, two major advocacy organizations said today. The Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation released a joint statement today, urging boards to play an integral role in the accreditation process.
“Beyond the heightened individual, societal, and economic pressures for accountability, American higher education remains collectively responsible to the broader public good,” the statement reads. “As such, governing boards can assure policy makers and the public that the unique U.S. higher education enterprise is operating with integrity and stability, is delivering high-quality academic programs, and is worthy of its autonomous authority and self-regulation by demonstrating their engagement in the accreditation process.”
The accreditation movement, which began for institutions and programs about 100 years ago, has emerged as academe’s standard measure for assuring academic quality. Even so, the process has become a familiar target for critics who say it fails to effectively assess learning outcomes and needs greater oversight from outside academe. Former U.S. Education Secretary Margaret Spellings called the current accreditation model “insular” and “clubby,” leaving institutions “accountable to no one but themselves.”
The push for more accountability in higher education has led to the development of a series of new tools, including the Voluntary System of Accountability and the Collegiate Learning Assessment. Those tools can be an important companion to accreditation, but not a replacement, Eaton said.
The AGB/CHEA statement lays out a series of suggestions for both governing boards and chief executive officers. Included in the recommendations are the establishment of an ongoing orientation or accreditation education program for board members; a review of key elements of an institution’s accreditation self study; and participation in the accreditation process. Chief executive officers are also advised to inform the board of specific governance-related criteria that will be evaluated during the accreditation process. [Inside Higher Ed]
