ALA Accreditation Process
ALA Accreditation Process
The American Library Association has a Frequency Asked Questions page regarding accreditation. The following information is an adaptation of the St. John's University page on the ALA Accreditation Process.
What is ALA Accreditation?
- The American Library Association accredits MLS programs that meet appropriate standards of quality and integrity as stated in the published ALA Standards for Accreditation. Accreditation is a collegial process of self-evaluation and peer-assessment for improvement of academic quality and public accountability.
- 56 programs are accredited by the ALA in the United States and Canada.
- The published Standards for Accreditation (ALA, 1992) provide the basis for evaluation.
- View 1992 standards
- View 2008 standards
Who conducts the reviews?
- ALA's Office for Accreditation (OA) is responsible for coordinating the work of the Committee on Accreditation (COA). The OA provides planning, leadership, and administrative functions in implementing the accreditation process.
- The COA is a standing committee of the ALA and is "responsible for the execution of the accreditation program of ALA, and … [develops] and formulate[s] standards of education for library and information studies for the approval of Council." (ALA Handbook of Organization) There are 12 members on the committee of which two are public members who are not part of the library and information science profession. Public members have 2 year appointments up to two terms; regular members serve 1 term 4 year appointments.
- The OA is staffed by full-time employees and the COA is comprised of individuals who serve terms from the ranks of library and information science educators and librarians interested in the quality of MLS programs.
- An External Review Panel (ERP) that visits the program is established by a cooperative process involving the dean, director, or department chair of the program, the COA, and the Office for Accreditation. A panel typically consists of 6 members and reflects the emphasis of the Program Presentation and any special requests for areas of expertise.
- The COA makes the decision regarding accreditation. Decisions are based on a simple majority; the COA Chair votes only in order to break a tie. Accreditation decisions require a quorum of at least 8 voting members of the COA and require an affirmative vote by at least 8 voting members.
How does the process begin?
Here is the ALA Accreditation Cycle.
Schools are accredited for a specified period of time until the next review which is usually seven years. The self-study process is started by the faculty of the MLS program, who determine:
- The focus of the upcoming self-study or Program Presentation
- The structure of the report (called the Program Presentation) to COA
- The assessment methods to be used
What happens next?
The plan for the Program Presentation is accepted by COA and—based upon the areas to be studied—a committee, called an External Review Panel (ERP) is selected by the Chair, who has been appointed by COA. The faculty of the MLS program begin the data collection phase of the report.
How is data obtained?
- Different methodologies are used, including Qualitative (focus groups, interviews, etc.) and Quantitative (surveys, institutional statistics, etc.
- Various constituents are asked to participate, including Alumni, Current students and Employers of graduates
How is the Presentation written?
- Faculty analyze the data, discuss findings, and write respective sections
- Students, alumni and employers may attend some meetings and provide input
- Drafts are written and a final draft is sent to COA and the ERP (Chair and members), who may comment on the contents
- The final version is sent to COA and the ERP six weeks before the site visit.
What happens during the site visit?
The ERP members visit the school and interview alumni, students, faculty, the Dean, the Provost and the President. They also examine documents and records that are available on site and may sit in on classes. Members also inspect facilities and resources for teaching and research.
What happens after the site visit?
The ERP sends a report of the visit to the school and the faculty are invited to comment and/or correct errors of fact. The final report of the ERP is submitted to COA and the decision to reaccredit is announced at the next ALA meeting.
Where is UB-LIS in this process now?
At the June 2006 ALA Annual Meeting in New Orleans, the ALA Committee on Accreditation granted conditional accreditation of the MLS program through its next scheduled review in Spring 2009. Below is the timeline for our review process.
- The Plan for the Program Presentation is due Wednesday, March 26, 2008.
- A phone call with the Office for Accreditation regarding the Plan for the Program Presentation takes place April 2008.
- The draft of the Program Presentation is due NO LATER than November 26, 2008 (4 months before the visit).
- The *final* Program Presentation is due no later than February 12, 2009 (six weeks before the visit).
- March 26-27, 2009 is the External Review Panel (ERP) visit.
- July 11, 2009 Committee on Accreditation Decision Meeting, ALA Annual Meeting, Chicago.
