After more than a decade of existence one of the most innovative and ambitious alternatives to traditional higher education reaccreditation is undergoing a process of review and change. The Academic Quality Improvement Program (AQIP) serves as a voluntary and substitute path to accreditation for the over 1,000 institutions of higher education that belong to the Higher Learning Commission (HLC). Originated in 1999, AQIP is now used by more than 180 higher education institutions. However, colleges and universities must think carefully before selecting the AQIP pathway to accreditation as the business-modeled paradigm of quality improvement requires a cultural change at many higher education institutions. Other than the staff at the HLC and peer AQIP institutions, there exists very little other guidance to assist colleges and universities in successfully navigating the AQIP process to reaccreditation. Current and future AQIP institutions could benefit by learning from the collective experience of those colleges and universities that have gone before them. This dissertation research explored key elements related to the successful implementation of the AQIP process at participating colleges and universities. A mixed-method, non-experimental, descriptive design was utilized to study the effectiveness of the AQIP process. Specifically, the form of mixed-methods is a sequential exploratory strategy involving two phases. A historical document was used in the first phase of qualitative analysis which contributed to the second phase of quantitative data collection and analysis. A survey was designed and sent out to the chief executive officers at all 183 participating AQIP institutions. The instrument included both open-ended and scaled-response type questions. The results indicated that colleges and universities share much in common with other industries when it comes to quality improvement initiatives. Participating AQIP institutions identified leadership commitment, customer focus, and continuous improvement being embedded in the planning process as the most critical factors to successful implementation. AQIP colleges and universities were generally positive as to the assistance received from the Higher Learning Commission and the cost-benefits of utilizing the AQIP pathway for reaccreditation. The study concludes with recommendations for the Higher Learning Commission and participating AQIP institutions. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]