Program Accreditation

Accreditation offers a way to indicate that a program is meeting standards about high-quality programming in key areas. Accreditation of programs creates quality benchmarks for programs that are useful to students and parents when comparing programs. It provides legitimacy for programs that meet the standards and guidelines for colleges and universities who are considering establishing or expanding high-quality programs.

Yes! in March 2023 the Inclusive Higher Education Accreditation Council (https://www.iheacouncil.org/) was founded. The four founding board members of their IHEA Council (a non-profit) all have expertise in inclusive higher education and intellectual disability. The IHEA Council is the decision-making body for program accreditation. The NCC Accreditation Workgroup is leading the way on piloting the accreditation pilot. To find out more about the partnership and launch of the IHEA Council click here.https://thinkcollege.net/think-college-news/accrediting-agency-for-highe...

The first program that piloted the accreditation process with the NCC Accreditation Workgroup was the UP Program at Western Carolina University (https://www.wcu.edu/learn/departments-schools-colleges/ceap/stl/special-...). The UP Program was awarded accreditation in May 2023 by the Inclusive Higher Education Accreditation Council. (https://thinkcollege.net/think-college-news/western-carolina-university-...)
Programs can prepare for accreditation by visiting the Think College NCC Program Accreditation Resource page (https://thinkcollege.net/resources/innovation-exchange/accreditation). There programs will find the standards and the accreditation tools developed by the Think College National Coordinating Center (https://thinkcollege.net/think-college-news/tools-for-preparing-for-prog...).
Also contact thinkcollegeTA@gmail.com and request access to free Learning Modules about the Program Standards.

The goal is for program accreditation to be open for all interested programs in Fall 2025. Sign up to receive news and key updates via LinkedIn, Facebook or the Inclusive Higher Education Accreditation Council website (https://www.iheacouncil.org/).

The first program that piloted the accreditation process with the NCC Accreditation Workgroup was the UP Program at Western Carolina University ( https://www.wcu.edu/learn/departments-schools-colleges/ceap/stl/special-...). UP Program was awarded accreditation in May 2023 by the Inclusive Higher Education Accreditation Council.

The second and third programs recruited to pilot the accreditation process with the NCC Accreditation Workgroup are ACE-IT in College at Virginia Commonwealth (https://aceitincollege.org/) and Inclusive Services at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs (https://inclusiveservices.uccs.edu/). These two programs were among a group of 25 program directors who had expressed interest to Think College and the NCC Accreditation Workgroup.

The first National Coordinating Center Accreditation Workgroup was established in 2011 and completed its work in 2015. That Workgroup developed, for the first time, model program accreditation standards for these programs by consulting with existing accreditors, working with experts in the fields of higher education for students with intellectual disability and gathering input from hundreds of key stakeholders such as family members, educators, and accreditors.
The second NCC Accreditation Workgroup began its work in 2016 and concluded in 2020. This Workgroup conducted a field test of the model standards developed by the first Workgroup, held sessions to gather public input, surveyed programs regarding their interest in becoming accredited, and reached out to existing accreditors to ascertain interest in using the model standards.

While the goal is for program accreditation to be open for all interested programs by Fall 2025, do not wait to prepare, START NOW! There are many ways you can prepare your program for accreditation.

Get started by visiting the Think College NCC Program Accreditation Resource page. There programs will find the standards and the accreditation tools developed by the Think College National Coordinating Center. (https://thinkcollege.net/think-college-news/tools-for-preparing-for-prog...).
Contact thinkcollegeTA@gmail.com to request access to the free Learning Modules developed by the Think College about the Program Standards.

Coming Soon! The guide to accreditation which explains the application, self-study and site visit processes is expected by November 1, 2023. The manual will be posted on this webpage.

In 2025 there will be a cost for programs to pursue accreditation. The IHEA Council (a nonprofit) has not yet determined the cost but understands the need to keep costs low.

Colleges and university leaders are familiar with budgeting for program accreditation costs within their schools and departments to ensure that programs meet the highest standards in a particular field (continuing ed, nursing, education etc.).

All program accreditors must charge for the services to cover the cost of the accreditation process.

Weave is partnering with the NCC Accreditation Workgroup and the IHEA Council to provide an online portal where programs can apply for accreditation, upload their self-study, and peer reviewers can submit their report.

Currently, only the programs piloting the accreditation process may access Weave and login. In the future, at the necessary time, programs who pursue program accreditation will be assigned a login.

A system for organizing information via a Google folder structure has been developed by the Think College National Coordinating Center and mirrors Weave. Utilize this free resource by visiting the Standards tools page on this website (https://thinkcollege.net/think-college-news/tools-for-preparing-for-prog...)