ERIC Number: EJ1095137
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2014
Pages: N/A
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0024-1822
EISSN: N/A
Accreditation's Alchemy Hour: Riding the Wave of Innovation
Gaston, Paul L.
Liberal Education, v100 n2 Spr 2014
This article was adapted from Paul L. Gaston's address to the 2014 annual meeting of the "Association of American Colleges and Universities." The panel session talk "Accreditation: Riding the Wave of Innovation--or Going Under?" addressed issues surrounding the many proposals for demolishing and rebuilding higher education accreditation. Gaston noted, rather than an indictment, on the one hand, or a defense, on the other, that what was needed was a substantive overview of how accreditation operates these days: "how it is structured," "the principles it follows," "the protocols it observes," and "how it's changing, and why it must." Gaston described how the mission of higher education accreditation had evolved over the years from a fairly simple charge centered on defining "real" colleges and regulating transfer of credits to what is now a complex, multifaceted obligation for accountability and improvement. Gaston concluded with some broad recommendations for change that panel session members could review.
Descriptors: Accreditation (Institutions), Accountability, Educational Improvement, Higher Education, Institutional Mission, Educational Innovation, College Credits
Association of American Colleges and Universities. 1818 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20009. Tel: 800-297-3775; Tel: 202-387-3760; Fax: 202-265-9532; e-mail: pub_desk@aacu.org; Web site: http://www.aacu.org/publications/index.cfm
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A