ACCREDITATION PROCESS

PHASE I - APPLICATION

  1. The school writes the agency a letter of intent/ application
  2. The agency responds and requires the school to submit the following documents:
    • Certificate of Recognition
    • Mission, Goals and Objectives
    • History of the School
    • By-laws and Article of Incorporation
    • Organizational set-up
    • List of Administrators and their Academic Qualification
    • Faculty line-up and their Academic Qualifications
    • Percentage of full-time and part-time faculty
    • Enrolment data for the last five (5) years
    • Board Examination results for the last five (5) years
    • Student Handbook
    • Faculty and Administrative Manual
  3. The agency reviews the documents and informs the applicant school regarding the status of their application.
    If approved, the agency sends the manual/ survey instrument to the applicant school.
    If not, the agency informs the school that the basic requirements have not been met. The school
    is given a maximum of 1 to 2 years to comply with the requirements. Failure to comply means the submission of a new set of requirements.
  4. The agency provides consultancy services

PHASE 2 – INSTITUTIONAL SELF-SURVEY PROCESS

An analysis of the institution’s resources and its effectiveness conducted by its own staff using a valid and tested instrument.

  1. The school creates the self-survey committees headed by a Chair. The members of the committees correspond to the number of sections in the Survey Form.
  2. The self-survey committees study and accomplish the self-survey instrument.
  3. The school undertakes the self-survey process by gathering the needed data and responding to the different criteria stated in the instrument. Appropriate exhibits are prepared.
  4. Results of the self-survey are presented to the academic community in a plenary session.
  5. The report is finalized and the required documents are submitted to the agency.
  6. The school submits the reports and required documents to the agency one month before the scheduled visit to give the agency time to review the documents.

If approved, the agency confirms the visit.

If not, the agency informs the school of the deficiencies noted in the report.

PHASE 3 – ORGANIZATION / TEAM VISITATION

  1. Organization of the Accrediting Team
  2. Stages of the Accreditation Visit

Preliminary Visit

  1. The visiting team verifies the self-survey report submitted by the school through formal and informal interviews, review of exhibits, ocular visits/classroom observation and dialogues with various stakeholders in the academic community.
  2. The visiting team prepares a report for submission to the accrediting agency, indicating the strengths, weaknesses and recommendations.
  3. The Commission/Board reviews the team’s report and acts based on the following options:
    • The school is given six (6) months to two years to apply for a formal survey.
    • The school is required to comply with major recommendations and undergo another preliminary survey.
  4. The accrediting agency transmits the decision of the Board to the school. A formal report containing recommendations for each of the areas is also sent to the school.
  5. The accrediting agency transmits the Board decision to the FAAP Board for certification.
  6. FAAP grant candidate status to the program and issues the corresponding certificate.

Formal Visit – upon implementation of the recommendations of the accrediting agency, the school/program informs the agency of its readiness for a formal survey visit.

  1. The school has to undergo an institutional self-survey process again and should include in its report the actions taken on the recommendations of the preliminary survey team.
  2. The school submits the report and the required documents to the agency one month before the scheduled visit to give the agency time to review the reports. If it is in order, the agency confirms the visit and transmits to the applicant school the name of the accreditors commissioned by the agency to conduct the formal visit.
  3. The agency then transmits to the accreditors the self-survey report of the school for them to study.
  4. The formal survey team visits the school to validate its findings with special emphasis on the level of compliance of the recommendations of the previous survey team.
  5. The visiting team prepares the report indicating the strengths, weaknesses and recommendations for submission to the accrediting agency.
  6. The Commission/ Board reviews the team’s report and acts based on the following options:
    • The program is granted initial accredited status for three years.
    • Accreditation is deferred until such time the school acts on the recommendations given by the Formal Survey Team. The school is granted a maximum period of one year to implement the recommendation.
  7. The accrediting agency transmits the Board’s decision to the FAAP Board for certification.
  8. FAAP grants Level I initial accredited status to the program and issues the corresponding certificate.

Resurvey Visit 

  1. A year before its Level II accreditation expires, the school undergoes an Institutional Self-Survey and prepares for a visit of an accrediting team. The ISS report should include the actions taken by the school on the recommendations of the formal survey team.
  2. The school informs the agency of its readiness for the resurvey visit
  3. The school submits the self-survey report to the agency. The agency reviews the documents submitted by the school.
    • If approved, the agency confirms the visit
    • If not, the agency notifies the school of the deficiencies found in the report.
  4. The agency organizes the team that will visit the school.
  5. The agency informs the school of the team line-up
  6. The agency transmits the school’s report to the accreditors for them to study.
  7. The accreditors review the self-survey report of the school prior to the visit.
  8. The survey team validates the self-survey report submitted by the school through classroom observations, formal and informal interviews, ocular visits, dialogue with various stakeholders and the academic community.
  9. The visiting team prepares a report indicating the strengths, weaknesses and recommendations for submission to its accrediting agency.
  10. The Commission/Board reviews the team report and acts based on the following options:
    • The school is granted re-accreditation status for three to five years.
    • The school is granted re-accreditation status with an interim visit.
    • The school is granted re-accreditation status with a progress report.
    • Accreditation is deferred until such time the school acts on the recommendations given by the resurvey team. The school is granted a maximum of one year to implement the recommendations.
  11. The accrediting agency transmits the Board’s decision to the FAAP Board for certification.
  12. FAAP grant Level II re-accredited status to the program and issues a corresponding certificate.

Level III Accreditation – Eligibility Requirement – An accredited program must have successfully undergone its resurvey visit and must have been awarded a five (5)-year clean re-accreditation status. (meaning that no progress report or interim visit is required within the five-year re-accreditation period)

  1. The accrediting agency invites the school/ program with five (5)-year clean re-accreditation status to apply for Level III.
  2. The agency sends the criteria and the corresponding forms to the institution to be filled out. The agency determines the time frame within which the applicant school/program should submit the documents.
  3. The accrediting agency reviews the documents submitted and verifies compliance with the criteria set by CHED and FAAP (Note: documents to support the different criteria should be within the last five years). No visitation is required for program/s invited to apply for Level III.
  4. If found worthy of level III status, the accrediting agency recommends to the FAAP that the accredited program be granted Level III status based on the following documents.
    • Name of institution, school head, address, program applying for Level III, date of initial accreditation, date of last re-accreditation status.
    • Identification of the group, Commission or Board members who shall pass decision over the Level III applicant/s.
    • A brief description of the documentary evidence for each indicator used.
    • A statement on where said evidence could be located should a need arise to review them.
    • The report should be notarized.
  5. The FAAP Board during a regular or special meeting shall review the report submitted by the agency and certify that the program is granted Level III status. The new status shall be co-terminus with the number of years granted during the last accreditation.
  6. The FAAP shall issue the corresponding certificate attesting to the Level III status of the program.

Level IV Accreditation – Eligibility Requirement – The accredited program must have maintained its Level III for a minimum period of five (5) years.

  1. The accrediting agency invites the school with Level III accredited program/s to apply for Level IV.
  2. The agency sends the criteria and the corresponding forms to the institution to be filled out. The agency determines the time frame within which the applicant school/program should submit the documents.
  3. The accrediting agency reviews the documents submitted and verifies compliance with the criteria set by CHED and FAAP (Note: documents to support the different criteria should be within the last five years). No visitation is required for program/s invited to apply for Level IV.
  4. If found worthy of level IV status, the accrediting agency recommends to the FAAP that the accredited program be granted Level IV status based on the following documents.
    • Name of institution, school head, address, program applying for Level IV, date of initial accreditation, date of last re-accreditation status.
    • Identification of the group, Commission or Board members who shall pass decision over the Level IV applicant/s.
    • A brief description of the documentary evidence for each indicator used.
    • A statement on where said evidence could be located should a need arise to review them.
    • The report should be notarized.
  5. The FAAP Board during a regular or special meeting shall review the report submitted by the agency and certify that the program is granted Level IV status. The new status shall be co-terminus with the number of years granted during the last accreditation.
  6. The FAAP shall issue the corresponding certificate attesting to the Level IV status of the program.