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What is AdvancED?
AdvancED represents the unification of the North Central
Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement (NCA
CASI), the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Council on
Accreditation and School Improvement (SACS CASI), and the National
Study of School Evaluation.
AdvancED is committed to advancing excellence in education worldwide and serving as a national leader for quality education. This commitment comes to life as we work to provide accreditation and continuous improvement services that:
- Help schools maximize student success
- Build the capacity of schools and school systems to achieve excellence through high standards, quality assurance, and continuous improvement
- Bring together research and resources for student, school, and system improvement
How does NCA CASI/SACS CASI relate to AdvancED; does this
change who I contact with questions?
As part of AdvancED, NCA CASI/SACS CASI become a part of the
world's largest education community uniquely positioned through our
strong state presence and volunteer network to deliver the powerful
combination of accreditation, research, and school improvement in a
customized way to every school and district we serve.
However, the aspects schools value about NCA CASI and SACS CASI accreditation are not changing. All schools and districts will continue to receive the NCA CASI or SACS CASI accreditation seals that are recognized around the world. Schools and districts will continue to work with their state NCA CASI or SACS CASI office.
We currently use the NCA CASI/SACS CASI logo on our materials
and we place the seals on our students' diplomas; can we continue
to use these?
Yes. You should continue to use the NCA CASI/SACS CASI logo as
recognition of your accreditation. We will be maintaining the NCA
CASI/SACS CASI logos as the accreditation seals for the unified
organization. Student diplomas and transcripts should continue to
have the NCA CASI/SACS CASI seals, as these are recognized by
schools, higher education, the military, loan programs and
scholarships, as the official accreditation seals of our
organizations. The new organization's name will be used on
products, resources and services, and to refer to activities of the
collective entity.
How will the unification affect my current accreditation
status?
The unification will not affect your current status. If you are an
accredited or candidate school/system with NCA CASI/SACS CASI, you
will remain that way. The unification, however, enhances your
accreditation status from a regional mark to one that transcends
regions and is shared by 23,000 schools in 30 states and 65
countries.
Why is NCA CASI/SACS CASI making changes to the
standards/accreditation process?
The changes to the standards and accreditation process are intended
to enhance quality, reduce duplication of effort with state
processes, and simplify procedures. The standards are fewer in
number and focused directly on what the research indicates impacts
student learning. The accreditation process eliminates annual
online reporting, a function that schools have repeatedly told us
is a duplication of effort with state and other processes. The
accreditation process allows schools to use the school improvement
process of their choice, rather than requiring any specific
processes, forms, or rubrics. In addition, the accreditation
process allows schools to use existing documentation to provide
evidence of adherence to the standards, rather than creating new
documents or filing paperwork to meet the needs of the review
team.
The enhanced connection to research, national training of Quality Assurance Review chairs, Commission/Council-level review of all Quality Assurance Review reports, and the on-line progress report - are all strategies aimed directly at enhancing the quality and meaning of the accreditation experience.
How will the Quality Assurance Review visit be scheduled? How
will it work with my current cycle/schedule?
If you are scheduled for a review visit in the 2006-07 school year,
you will continue to follow your current NCA CASI and SACS CASI
accreditation process. For schools scheduled for review after
2006-07, the state office staff will work with you to schedule your
Quality Assurance Review visit. To the extent possible, schools
will remain on their current visit schedule. For NCA CASI schools
that have been using the multiple visit protocol of Performance
Accreditation, the Quality Assurance Review will likely serve in
place of your Plan or Documentation Visit, depending on which
structure best suits your needs and the state office's management
of the schools in the state. As the visit schedule is developed by
the state office, you will be notified of the anticipated year of
your Quality Assurance Review.
