Accreditation
The accreditation process is a seven-year cycle of activities, including annual data analysis, preconditions review, Common Standards review, program review, site visit, and a seventh-year follow-up.
The Accreditation Cycle
| Year | Accreditation Activities |
|---|---|
| 1 | Collect and Analyze Data, Preconditions Review (Due March 31st in Years 1 and 4) |
| 2 | Collect and Analyze Data |
| 3 | Collect and Analyze Data |
| 4 | Collect and Analyze Data, Preconditions Review (Due March 31st in Years 1 and 4) |
| 5 | Collect and Analyze Data, Common Standards Review (Due February 28th in year 5), Program Review (Due October 15th in Year 5) |
| 6 | Collect and Analyze Data, Site Visit (Year 6 Fall or Spring). Note: Site visit dates are scheduled approximately one year before the site visit takes place. |
| 7 | Collect and Analyze Data, Annual Data Submission |
Need help? The Commission hosts a variety of Accreditation Office Hours to provide technical assistance and support the sharing of best practices.
Accreditation Site Visit Reports
Accreditation Reports summarize the Site Visits to institutions/program sponsors offering educator preparation programs. These visits are completed by teams of trained reviewers. Visits take place from Sunday through Wednesday of a week. Team members review documentation and interview candidates, program completers, employers, faculty, administrators and other stakeholders. The review team makes a determination as to whether or not each Common Standard and each Program Standard is met. They also make an accreditation recommendation. The recommendation is made to the Committee on Accreditation (COA) which meets 60-90 days after the site visit and determines the accreditation decision.
Accreditation Cohorts
All Commission-approved program sponsors have been assigned a color cohort for the purposes of accreditation activities. There are specialized email accounts for institutions to submit documentation and questions related to the Commission’s accreditation system. For additional information on the Accreditation activity schedule for your cohort, refer to the Accreditation Cohorts webpage.
Accreditation Data Dashboards
The Commission’s Accreditation Data Dashboards (ADD) provide data visualizations of credential, Title II, annual data reported in the Accreditation Data System (ADS), survey, and assessment data. The ADD is intended to support institutional analysis of data for improvement purposes. In addition, members of review teams will have access to the visualizations during Common Standards and Program Review and to support the development of interview questions during the site visit.
The types of data and information available in the ADD include:
- Accreditation status, location, and contact information
- Educator preparation programs and/or subject matter preparation programs offered
- Annual data submitted by the institution through the Accreditation Data System (ADS)
- Annual Report Card (Title II) data
- Pass rates for assessments (i.e., RICA, TPA)
- Program completer, master teacher and employer survey results
- Five-year trend of credential data
The ADD is accessible via the Accreditation Data System (ADS). For more information, review the Overview of the Accreditation Data Dashboard.
National Accreditation Information
For information on alignment between the California Accreditation system and national professional organizations please review the information on the National Professional Organization Accreditation web page.
Guidance for Program Sponsors on Granting Equivalencies for Educator Preparation
The following document provides guidance for Commission approved educator preparation programs in considering whether to grant equivalencies to candidates toward completion of program requirements.
Commission on Teacher Credentialing
651 Bannon Street
Sacramento, CA 95811