It seems like just yesterday you were researching library programs for your master's, doing your due diligence and finding out which school fit your interests. You finally settled on one with the fancy ALA-seal all over the website. A year later, and that seal is nowhere to be found; your school has lost accreditation. Graduating from an ALA-accredited program may not sound all that important, until it’s no longer an option.
On Friday, Laura Dare and Karen O'Brien from ALA’s Office for Accreditation presented a program on ALA accreditation appeal process training at the Hilton Chicago during the 2013 Annual Conference.
If the Committee on Accreditation (COA) accredits library programs, that is, provides a quality assurance function that a program is meeting the Standards for Accreditation of Master’s Programs in Library and Information Studies. If COA withdraws its accreditation from a program, the institution can appeal the decision only if the committee's action was taken as a result of a failure to observe due process, or was not supported by relevant information. While appealing a COA decision is a rare occurrence—the last instance was in 1998—the Accreditation Process, Policies, and Procedures (AP3) were updated in 2012. Together with the Standards, AP3 helps guide the ALA accreditation process.
Once a program files an appeal, an Appeal Review Committee (ARC)—composed of five members and two alternates appointed by the ALA president—reviews the COA’s decision for any sign of failure to adhere to procedure, bias, or malicious intent. The appealing institution has the burden to prove that the COA committed clear error in the accreditation decision, that such error resulted in an unfair decision, and that such error falls within the grounds for appeal. The ARC then discusses the evidence and makes one of two recommendations: 1) uphold the COA decision, or 2) remand the decision back to the COA with comment.
That recommendation is then sent to the ALA Executive Board (EB), which reviews the ARC report and determines whether to uphold the COA decision or send it back with comment. The role of the ARC and the EB is not to determine whether or not they would have made the same decision as COA regarding a program’s accreditation, but to determine whether the COA reached its decision in a fair manner and followed established procedures and policies. The COA then reviews all the information, and makes a final decision to withdraw/deny accreditation or to change their previous decision.
What do you do if your library program loses accreditation? Don’t panic. As part of the ALA accreditation process, students currently enrolled in a program that has had accreditation withdrawn have 24 months to complete their degree and graduate.
Find out more about ALA accreditation at the Office for Accreditation’s website.
