by Christopher C. Walck, Associate Chief Executive Officer/Director of Accreditation

At the Commission's February 2004 Policy Meeting, the Commission conducted its yearly review of the limitations cited during school on-site evaluations. During the calendar year 2003 the NACCAS Accreditation Department conducted 300 on-site evaluations. In reviewing the statistics from those evaluations, the Commission noted that several criteria continue to be cited in Team Reports for being out of compliance with accreditation requirements, including the following criteria listed below.

Standard I, Criteria 5, 6, and 7
- outcomes assessment, improvement plan based on outcomes, and advisory committee meetings

Standard IV, Criterion 7
- enrollment agreement requirements

Standard VII, Criterion 3
- refund practices

Standard IX, Criterion 1
- practical grading criteria

Standard X, Criterion 7
- satisfactory progress

In reviewing the list, you will recall articles that have been written before that addressed why these criteria are frequently cited and the steps a school can take to ensure compliance. This year's articles will take a different approach to explaining the Commission's intent and how to comply. Please look for articles on the most frequently cited criteria in the "NACCAS Review" and on NACCAS' web-site located at www.naccas.org.

The following chart lists each standard and criterion number and the number of times a school received a limitation under each criterion during on-site evaluations in 2003.