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ERIC Number: EJ833655
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2009
Pages: 11
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0271-0560
EISSN: N/A
Musings on the Future of Accreditation
Crow, Steven
New Directions for Higher Education, n145 p87-97 Spr 2009
In this chapter, the author contemplates the future of accreditation in the changing landscape of higher education in the United States. He presents a set of proposals for how accreditation can regain the confidence of college leaders and public policymakers. He begins with the assumption that changes in accreditation--some significant in their impact--are warranted. Since regional institutional accrediting commissions need to coordinate their voices and activities such that they have strong backing and support in asserting their influence in the making of higher education public policy, the author suggests five keys to success. These include: (1) give constant attention to the relevance of accreditation processes and standards; (2) show that accreditors have a reasonable sense of when good enough is good enough; (3) validate anew the legitimacy of peer review; (4) test long-held conceptions about accreditation; and (5) experiment with partnering and collaborating. The author proposes that accreditation is and can continue to be as constructive a force in U.S. higher education as the leaders of accrediting agencies wish to make it. Thus, he concludes with the last proposal: lead. He argues that to be effective in the future, regional accreditation must be ready to pool resources, talents, and its collective learning to ensure that it is always ahead, and being there is actually shaping the environment in which U.S. higher education will both flourish and meet expectations of the society it serves.
John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Subscription Department, 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774. Tel: 800-825-7550; Tel: 201-748-6645; Fax: 201-748-6021; e-mail: subinfo@wiley.com; Web site: http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/browse/?type=JOURNAL
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Opinion Papers
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: United States
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A