The Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools has brought a new emphasis to the process of institutional accreditation through approval of Section III of the Criteria for Accreditation. This section represents an expansion of the process to emphasize the results of education and to focus on the extent to which the institution uses assessment information to reevaluate goals, to make essential improvements, and to plan for the future.
The institutional effectiveness Criteria are designed to encourage the establishment of an internal planning and evaluation system through which institutional self-examination becomes a continuous process rather than a periodic event. In addition, the evaluation of the extent to which an institution’s statement of purpose is being accomplished will focus not only on institutional resources and processes, but also on the results of those processes and the use of those results for institutional improvement.
The statements comprising Section III of the Criteria for Accreditation, “Institutional Effectiveness,” address relatively familiar concepts:
- Establish a clearly defined purpose appropriate to collegiate education;
- Formulate educational goals consistent with the institution’s purpose;
- Develop and implement procedures for evaluating the extent to which these educational goals are being achieved; and
- Use the results of these evaluations to improve educational programs, services, and operations.
The greatest benefit of this emphasis on institutional effectiveness should be the continuing improvement of quality in education.
(Resource Manual on Institutional Effectiveness, Commission on Colleges, Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, 1996)
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