2022 ABHE Comprehensive Standards Review

The ABHE Commission on Accreditation reviews Standards and policies on a regular basis in order to maintain currency; but every ten years, the Commission undertakes a comprehensive review of standards in compliance with Title 34, section 602.2 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

Overview

The Commission launched a comprehensive review of Standards at the 2022 ABHE Annual Meeting in Orlando with an announcement at the Delegate Assembly and a Listening Session during the seminar programming. Based on the Listening Session and national conversations curated by CHEA and the US Department of Education, the Commission has developed the following plan for the 2022 Comprehensive Standards Review.

Goals

1. Engage institutions and programs served by the ABHE Commission to provide input for Standards revision and leadership for the Standards review process.
2. Update the Conditions of Eligibility, Standards for Accreditation, and Essential Elements to ensure that they are effective to evaluate the quality of education provided by ABHE applicant, candidate, and accredited institutions and programs.
3. Reduce the total number of Standards and/or Essential Elements while maintaining sufficient specificity to support ongoing development of applicant and candidate institutions.
4. Develop updated guidance for institutions regarding the evidence expected for each requirement or standard.

Five Areas of Focus

To support an effective and future-oriented Standards review process, the Commission is seeking input on five specific areas of focus:

1. What revisions are appropriate to address the success of an increasingly diverse student population?
2. How can ABHE Standards and policies more effectively support institutional innovation?
3. What revisions would more effectively promote the use of data to demonstrate achievement of program-level and institution-level goals and to identify areas of needed improvement?
4. How can ABHE Standards and policies foster spiritual vitality and commitment more effectively?
5. How can the Commission on Accreditation best ensure institutional compliance with accreditation-related regulatory requirements?
The Commission is accepting comments from its constituents on the focus areas through the electronic form below and at three virtual listening sessions scheduled for May 2022. The virtual sessions will be offered from 12-1pm ET on the following dates:

May 18
May 20
May 26

Comments will be limited to 5 minutes in order to hear from as many individuals as possible. To register for one of these listening sessions as a commenter or attendee please click HERE.

Timeline

2022

APR 2022 – COA Survey on Standards and Processes
MAY/JUN 2022 – Constituent Comment on Five Areas of Focus
JUL 2022 – Nominations for Standards Taskforce Leaders/Members
SEP 2022 – Public Comment on Current Standards
OCT 2022 through JAN 2023 –Taskforce Development of Standard Drafts

2023

FEB 2023 – Discussion Forum on Standard Drafts at Annual Meeting
SPRING 2023 – Commission Review/Revision of Standard Drafts
JUN 2023 – Public Comment on Proposed Standards
SEP/OCT 2023 – Commission Review/Revision of Proposed Standards based on Public Comment
NOV 2023 – Commission Approved Standards Published for Review and Action by Delegate Assembly

2024

FEB 2024 – Action by Delegate Assembly. Institutions have two years to comply with newly adopted standards.