Overview of the on-site evaluation.

Questions to ask your accreditation agency:

• How long are typical comprehensive on-site evaluation?
• How long are typical focused evaluations?
• What are typical meetings and tours?
• What is the schedule for a typical on-site evaluation?
• Which documents may team members legitimately request during an evaluation?
• What is appropriate dress?

An on-site evaluation is a planned series of focused interviews, meetings, observations or tours that provide information to validate the positive and negative findings in the self-study report and to further evaluate the institution or program. The first interview of the visit is typically with a chief executive officer, director or administrator of the institution or program. This sets the tone for the visit and gives the team the opportunity to ask about details, broad elements and vision. The last meetings, commonly called "exit interviews," are usually with chief executive officers, program directors or administrators to report on the team's findings. You should feel free at all times to ask questions to clarify unclear information in the self study, validate information or follow up on new information learned during the visit; however, requests for information about an individual's salary are generally not appropriate.

Some accrediting agencies ask team members to arrive early or the day before the start of the visit in order to get acclimated to the area. Team members will frequently hold an orientation meeting before the visit to get to know each another, discuss key issues and develop a strategy for approaching the visit.

On-site evaluations may last as little as a few hours or as long as several days. A "focused," on-site evaluation is usually short and designed to investigate issues around specific standards, whereas a "comprehensive" or "full" on-site eventuation is intended to evaluate the program or institution from the perspective of all the standards. Your schedule will be busy. During the visit, your team will meet many individuals and, depending on your agency, may tour various facilities or visit locations connected with the program or institution:

A typical day on a comprehensive, on-site evaluation may start as early as 7:30 AM with interviews, meetings and tours through the late afternoon or early evening. After a short break, the evaluation team will reconvene for a team dinner to discuss the day's findings and to begin preparing the framework for its report and exit interviews. In some cases, the team leader will continue working after the team dinner, drafting documents late into the night.

On occasion, weather, illness, or other unavoidable circumstances may make it impossible for a team member to go on a scheduled visit or fulfill his or her duties. If a team member becomes unavailable on extremely short notice, and the decision is made to continue the visit, the team leader will typically work with representatives of the program or institution to rearrange the activities on the visit schedule.