INTEGRATING ACCREDITATION INTO STRATEGIC PLANNING

Abstract

Strategic planning and accreditation are treated as separate entities in the literature. A review of the literature shows that there are many common elements in the two processes. These include an examination of the institution's mission, goals, plans to meet the goals, and an assessment of how well the goals were met. The self‐study process for accreditation is lengthy, requires many man hours, and places additional demands on the resources of the institution. Institutional reports about the self‐study process suggest that preparation for the peer review starts about 2 years before the scheduled review. Planning is required by accrediting agencies, but preparing for an accreditation review is not implicitly addressed. When the accreditation process is included in the institution's long and medium range plans, preliminary preparation for the peer review can be accomplished without concentrating all the effort in a 1‐ or 2‐year period. The institution gains by making accreditation an ongoing process; unity is added to the process; better use is made of resources; and the institution can accomplish the self‐study more efficiently.