Possible Program Recognition Decisions

Once the review is complete, the institution seeking accreditation will receive a program recognition report. Programs that receive national recognition through NCATE accreditation must meet all IRA standards. Reviewers look at each standard; the contextual information and assessment details provided by the institution; the content knowledge, pedagogical and professional knowledge, skills, and dispositions demonstrated by candidates; and the effects on student learning. They then make a decision for the program as a whole.

The three possible decisions are described below.

National Recognition

Criteria for making decision:

The program substantially meets standards.

The program substantially meets standards, but may have some Areas for Improvement (AFI) which may be related to standards assessments, scoring guides, or data.

In order to gain IRA national recognition, programs must meet all 5 standards and at least 15 of the 19 elements, with not more than 1 element in any standard being unmet. National recognition indicates that although the program may have some areas for improvement, it generally meets all IRA standards.

Consequences of decision:

Once the unit is accredited, the program will remain nationally recognized until the next unit accreditation decision is made.

It is recommended that program Areas for Improvement (AFIs) be addressed in Annual Report Part C along with Unit AFIs.

Institutions will be expected to remediate AFIs prior to next program review.

Implications for further action:

Reviewers should delineate AFIs in Part E of SPA report and limit them to address broad programmatic issues only.

NCATE will provide training to reviewers, SPA Coordinators, and Audit Teams on how to construct AFIs.

At the next program review, NCATE will provide reviewers with AFIs from previous recognition reports.

National Recognition with Conditions

Criterion for making decision:

The program generally meets standards; however, one or more conditions must be remediated within 18 months to extend national recognition for the full 5–7 year accreditation period. The response to the conditions must be submitted within the same 18 months. Conditions are limited to one or more of the following:

Insufficient data to determine if standards are met
Assessments are well designed, of good quality, aligned with the IRA standards, and are being implemented. However, due to lack of time or other issues, insufficient data have been collected.

Insufficient alignment among standards or scoring assessments or scoring guides
Data are being collected, but a few assessments are not aligned with standards or appropriate to the standards.
Current assessments do not fully address all of the IRA standards.

Lack of quality in some assessments or scoring guides

The SPA-required number of standards is not met.

The NCATE requirement for an 80% pass rate on state licensure tests is not met

Consequences of decision:

Program must submit Conditions Report within 18 months of the original recognition decision in order to maintain national recognition.

If conditions are adequately remediated the program will receive full national recognition. Recognition is valid until the next unit accreditation decision is made.

If conditions are not adequately remediated, the program’s status will change to Not Nationally Recognized. A new program report can be submitted to reapply for national recognition.

Implications for further action:

Conditions must be explicit and clearly stated in Part E of the National Recognition Report. If possible, the report will be sent to the original team for review.

NCATE will provide training to reviewers, SPA Coordinators, and Audit Teams on writing explicit and specific conditions statements.

Not Nationally Recognized

Criterion for making decision:

The standards that are not met are serious and more than a few in number OR are few in number but so fundamental that recognition is not appropriate.

Consequences of decision:

The unit may submit a revised program report addressing unmet standards within 18 months. [This report will be sent to the original team if at all possible.]

The unit may submit a new program report for national recognition within 18 months. [This report will be sent to a new team of reviewers.]

BOE team automatically cites program in Areas for Improvement.

Additional aspects of the program recognition report

The report summarizes the program’s strengths (Part A.3), along with outlining areas for improvement (Part E or F). In the former area, reviewers look for aspects of the program that are unique or particularly strong. These can be either specific aspects of the program (e.g., diversity of clinical sites) or more global statements (e.g., a major focus on teaching in urban settings). Items cited as areas for improvement could reflect concerns about faculty, the curriculum, clinical practice activities, or other issues.