Adopted March 2008

Submission/Transmittal Guidelines

To facilitate the proposal review and approval process, Commission staff has developed the linked instructions for organizations submitting programs for approval. It is essential that these instructions be followed accurately. Failure to comply with these procedures may result in a proposal being returned to the prospective program sponsor for reformatting and/or revision prior to being reviewed.

Initial Program Review (IPR) is the process through which new program proposals are reviewed prior to approval. The new program proposals are reviewed by two trained Board of Institutional Review (BIR) members or specialists in the credential area who must come to consensus about the program’s alignment to standards. Once the proposal has met all standards, the program is recommended to the Committee on Accreditation (COA) for initial approval. An Intent to Submit form is due a minimum of 60 days prior to the intended submission date. The full program proposal must be received at the Commission a minimum of 30 days prior to a scheduled IPR reading session.

For technical assistance in the initial program submission process, please visit the Prospective Program Sponsors web page to identify the consultant assigned to this content area: Program Area Specific Technical Assistance

Program Assessment is the accreditation activity that takes place in year 4 of the accreditation cycle. If a program has received initial approval within 12 months of the scheduled Program Assessment submission, the program does not participate in a full Program Assessment. Instead, an updated narrative is submitted addressing any program modifications that have been made in the first year of implementation. For the accreditation site visit, in two years, the narrative needs to be updated again to reflect actual program implementation which often requires modifications to classes, syllabi, and assessment processes.

Maintaining a Current Program Document
The Commission expects all approved educator preparation programs to change over time. This Program Sponsor Alert (PSA) provides guidance on how to keep your program document current and how to respond to reviewer feedback during IPR or Program Assessment

 

Updated December 19, 2023