APPLICATION PROCESS FOR INSTITUTIONAL ACCREDITATION

A degree-granting institution located in New York State that has met all the requirements of the Board of Regents and the Commissioner of Education, acting as a State approval agency, may apply to the Regents and the Commissioner for institutional accreditation by them, acting in their capacity as a nationally recognized institutional accrediting agency.  Institutional accreditation by the Regents and the Commissioner establishes eligibility to participate in Title IV programs available under the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended.

An institution will not be considered for institutional accreditation for purposes of establishing eligibility for Title IV participation until it can document success with respect to student achievement in relation to the institution’s mission, including, as appropriate, consideration of graduation rates and, as appropriate, State licensing examination scores and job placement rates in accordance with the standards of quality for institutional accreditation set forth in §4-1.4 of the Rules of the Board of Regents.  If the institution has not graduated at least one class, it must demonstrate how it will meet the standards.

The applicant institution is encouraged to review closely all materials related to accreditation before deciding to pursue accreditation by the Regents and the Commissioner.  Having done so, it sends a letter of interest to:

 

The letter encloses evidence that all required State approvals have been met. (These normally include a Regents charter or permission to confer degrees and program registration letters from the State Education Department.) An application will not be entertained if any significant conditions related to compliance with the Rules of the Board of Regents or the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education are attached to any State approvals.

After a review of these materials and the Department’s State approval files, the Department will determine whether the institution is in compliance with State approval requirements and whether the institution is under any adverse action by the Federal government with respect to Title IV responsibilities or by any other nationally recognized accrediting agency. If there are no concerns in regard to these matters, a designated accreditation staff member will send the applicant a packet on institutional accreditation, including this Handbook. Once it has submitted an application for accreditation, the applicant institution should maintain ongoing contact with the assigned review coordinator in the Department’s Office of Higher Education.