This glossary is being compiled through the efforts of many accreditation agencies to broaden our collective knowledge of accreditation terminology. Often, different terms are used by accreditation agencies to refer to the same concept, or a single term may have several, nuanced or even radically different meanings from one agency to the next. We encourage individuals who are new to accreditation to contact their regional or specialized agencies for specific lists of terms; and we welcome suggestions from accreditation agencies for new additions or changes to the glossary.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

 Accreditation
A voluntary, non-governmental system of evaluation used to protect the public interest and to verify the quality of service provided by academic programs and institutions.

Accreditation Actions
Any decision made by an accreditation agency affecting the accreditation status of a program. These actions are: 1) grant precandidacy, 2) grant candidacy, 3) initially accredit, 4) continue accreditation, 5) conditionally accredit, 6) withdraw accreditation, or 7) deny initial accreditation.

Action and Recommendation Report
See "Decision Document."

Adverse Action:
Withdrawal or denial of accreditation or preaccreditation by an accreditation agency.

Appeal
The right and process available to a program or institution for a review of an adverse accreditation decision.

ASPA
Association of Specialized and Professional Accreditors. A national, non-profit organization providing a collaborative forum and a collective voice for U.S. accreditation agencies that assess the quality of specialized and professional higher education programs and schools. ASPA represents its members on issues of educational quality facing institutions of higher education, governments, students, and the public. ASPA also advances the knowledge, skills, good practices, and ethical commitments of accreditors, and communicates the value of accreditation as a means of enhancing educational quality.

Candidacy Status
A new program that has students enrolled but has not had a graduating class. Candidate status denotes a developmental program, which is expected to mature in accord with stated plans and within a defined time period. Reasonable assurances are expected to be provided that the program may become accredited as programmatic experiences are gained, generally, by the time the first class has graduated. Graduates of a class designated as having Candidate status have the same rights and privileges as graduates of an accredited program.

CAO
The chief academic officer at an academic program or institution.

CEO
The chief executive officer at an academic program or institution.

CFO
The chief financial officer at an academic program or institution.

CHEA
Council for Higher Education Accreditation. A private, nonprofit national organization that coordinates accreditation activity and recognizes regional, institutional, and professional accrediting agencies in the United States.

Compliance
The extent to which a program or institution conforms and adheres to accreditation standards

Comprehensive Review
Periodic review of a program by an accreditation agency, where the agency's decision-making body or its representatives evaluate a program’s conformity to Standards. The process typically includes the program submitting a self-study, undergoing an on-site evaluation, and an accreditation decision being made.

Conditional Accreditation (also Provisional Accreditation)
Accreditation status that is granted for a shorter-than-normal period of time, pending significant and immediate improvement to maintain conformity with the Standards.

Conflict of Interest
Any personal, financial, or professional interest that might create a conflict with an evaluator or member of a decision-making body's ability to fairly and objectively carry out accreditation responsibilities.

Continued Accreditation
Accreditation status granted to programs and institutions that continuously demonstrate evidence of their conformity to the Standards.

Criteria
See "Standards."

Decision Document (also Action and Recommendation Report)
The official document sent to a program’s dean or to an institution’s chief executive officer conveying the accreditation-agency's accreditation decision following a comprehensive of focused review.

Evaluation-Team Report
A report written by external reviewers during or following the on-site evaluation visit to validate the program self-study and document the level of compliance with standards and performance with respect to program and institutional outcomes.

Evaluation Team.
See "External Reviewers."

External Reviewers (also Evaluation Team, External Review Panel)
A group of individuals appointed by the accreditation agency with the task of visiting a program or institution for the purpose of verify information in Self-Study Report.

External Review Panel.
See "External Reviewers."

Focused Report (also Special Report)
A report submitted by a program or institution to the accreditation agency to address specific areas or concern as outlined in a decision document.

Full Accreditation
Programs or institutions which demonstrate that they comply with accreditation standards and will continue to do so receive full Accreditation in the form of Initial Accreditation for programs or institution being accredited for the first time or Continued Accreditation for those who have already been accredited.

Full Review
See "Comprehensive Review."

Initial Accreditation
Accreditation that has been granted to a program or institution being accredited for the first time.

Institutional Accreditation
The evaluation and accreditation of an institution as a whole (e.g., a university), usually by a regional accreditor.

Interim Reports
Narrative or statistical reports sent by the program or institution between Comprehensive Reviews for the purpose of updating the accreditation agency on progress towards meeting Standards.

On-Site Evaluation (also On-Site Review, On-Site Visit, Evaluation Visit, Site Visit)
The part of the comprehensive review in which members of the External Review Panel travel to the program’s location to validate the information contained in the Program Presentation. Also known as visit or site visit.

Peer Review
A process for evaluating the quality of a program or institution using one's equals from other programs or institutions to ensure that it meets accreditation Standards.

Plan for the Program Presentation
Document submitted by the program or institution to the accreditation agency one year before the on-site evaluation to ensure that the preparation for the review is done in a timely and effective manner.

Precandidate Status
Status granted by an accreditation agency prior to enrolling students. Granting precandidate status indicates that a program or institution's planning has taken into account Standards and guidelines and suggests reasonable assurances of moving to the Candidate status. Granting precandidate status brings no rights or privileges of accreditation.

Probation
Status granted by an accreditation agency to an accredited program or institution that is determined to be in non-compliance with one or more standards. Probation is not an adverse accreditation action; however, adverse accreditation action (withdrawal or denial of accreditation or preaccreditation) will be taken if a program or institution fails to come into compliance within the period specified by the agency and the U.S. Department of Education.

Program
A program of study leading to a degree.

Program Presentation
See "Self-Study Report."

Provisional Accreditation
See "Conditional Accreditation."

Public Member
A member of an accreditation agency who is appointed from the public at large to represent the public interest.

Retroactive Period of Initial Accreditation
A period of time where students are considered to have graduated from an accredited program or institution, even though initial accreditation was granted after students actually graduated.

Schedule of Evaluation Reviews
The calendar of scheduled on-site evaluations maintained by the agency.

School
An administrative unit (e.g., school, college, or department) in an institution of higher education offering one or more programs that lead to a degree.

Self-Study Report (also Self-Study; Program Presentation)
A document prepared by the program or institution as part of the comprehensive review process. This document describes the program or institution, how it meets the Standards, analyzes it strengths, weaknesses, and challenges, and sets forth the program’s plans and goals for future development and continued compliance with the Standards.

Special Report
See "Special Report."

Specialized Accreditor
An agency that accredits post-secondary professional and occupational-education programs or schools, such as medical schools, engineering schools, teacher-education programs and health-profession programs.

Standards (also Criteria)
Accreditation standards establish minimum levels of quality around which evaluations and accreditation decisions must be based. Standards are created through a consensus process that calls for input from educators, students, practitioners, regulators and the general public.

Statistical Report
Statistical information submitted to an accreditation agency. The data may include information about faculty, students, curriculum, and income and expenditures and may be collected on a regular basis as a part of routine monitoring.

Substantive Change
Significant modification, expansion or contraction in the
nature or scope of an accredited program or institution including, but not limited to mission, organization, curricular delivery, enrollment, leadership, etc.

Transparency
The concept of making accreditation processes easier to understand, including opening them to public scrutiny and making them subject to clear methods of challenge or change.

Withdrawn Accreditation
An accreditation status indicating a program is no longer accredited by an agency effective as of a specific date. Accreditation may be withdrawn by either 1) a program or institution voluntarily withdrawing from the accreditation process, or 2) the accreditation agency withdrawing accreditation for serious lack of conformity to the Standards, for failure to participate in the process, or for not meeting financial obligations to the accreditation agency.

^†Note: Many of the original terms on this page were adapted with permission from the American Library Association.