INTRODUCTION 

• The Council for ICA Accreditation was formed as an extensive and search debate about the appropriate role a national organization concerned with accreditation of higher Christian education institutions. (“Institution” as used in this schools and programs).(As our mission statement provides,) “The ICA Council for Higher Education Accreditation will serve students and their families, colleges and universities, promoting academic quality through formal recognition of higher education accreditation bodies and will coordinate and work to advance self-regulation through accreditation.”

• ICA carries forward that recognition of accrediting organization should be a key strategy to ensure quality, accountability, and improvement in higher education.  Recognition by ICA affirms that standards and processes of accrediting organization are consistent with quality, improvement and accountability expectation that ICA established.  ICA will recognize regional, specialized, national, and professional accrediting organizations.  Pending development of an ICA recognition policy and procedures and ICA review of an accrediting organization’s application for recognition, ICA honors recognition provided by U.S. Department of EducationAccreditation.

• Accreditation, as distinct from recognition of accrediting organization, focuses on higher education institutions.  Accreditation aims to assure Christian academic quality and accountability and to encourage improvement.  Accreditation is a voluntary, non-government peer review process by the higher education community.  It extends the tradition of collegial governance within the decentralized and diverse higher education enterprise.  The work of accrediting organization involves hundreds of self-evaluations. And site visits each year, attracts thousands of higher education volunteer professionals, and calls for substantial investment of institutional, accrediting organization, and volunteer time and effort.

• Recognition by ICA shall be understood to convey only that the organization meets ICA’s recognition standards.  Such recognition standards are not in any way intended to infringe on the right of any academic institution to determine for itself whether it should affiliate with any accreditingorganization.Recognition and accreditation occur in the context of other reviews.  The federal government, through the United States Department of Education, also recognizes accrediting organizations.  Federal, as distinct from ICA recognition aims to assure that the standards of accrediting organizations meet expectations for institutional and program participation in federal initiatives, such as students aid.  State licensure reviews, too, serve important public purpose, including consumer protection in the higher education field.