| When will TEAC conduct the audit? |
During the formative evaluation, TEAC staff review drafts of the Brief. When TEAC finds the Brief complete, it is then ready for audit, or auditable, and the program submits a final version of the Brief. Only after an Inquiry Brief or Inquiry Brief Proposal is declared auditable will TEAC schedule an audit of the program.
Because TEAC audits programs only while courses are in full session, with most students and faculty on campus, there are two audit periods during each academic year: from September 15 to December 15; and from January 15 to April 15. Please check the TEAC schedule 2006 - 2009 that presents the schedule of actions from the time a Brief is declared auditable through the decision about the program’s accreditation.
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| Will the audit take place over the weekend? |
Because the audit must take place at a time when the auditors have access to faculty, staff, students, and facilities, the audit is usually scheduled over consecutive weekdays. However, the auditors might work on a weekend day: if the audit begins on a Monday, the team members would travel on Saturday or Sunday and work together before arriving on campus; the audit might end on a Friday afternoon, but the team would spend part of Friday evening and Saturday in their post-visit activities. The program must make sure that the auditors have accommodations if they will be arriving or leaving during the weekend.
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| Who are the TEAC auditors? What do they do while they are on our campus? |
In addition to the TEAC staff auditors, the team includes consulting auditors . The consulting auditors are faculty and administrators from colleges and universities; staff from state education agencies; and practitioners in the K-12 schools. TEAC provides special training for the consulting auditors and also for the practitioners and others who are members of the on-site audit team. Each audit team meets before the audit for a review session on the TEAC principles and audit process.
The auditors visit the campus to examine and verify on site the evidence that supports the claims made in the professional education program’s Inquiry Brief or the Inquiry Brief Proposal . They determine if the descriptions and characterizations of evidence in the Brief are accurate. Based on the evidence, they also make a judgment about the institution’s commitment to the program.
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How much does the TEAC audit cost?
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Currently, the TEAC audit fee is $2,000 per Brief.
In addition, the institution is responsible for all costs related to each audit and audit team (two to four people, over two to four days): lodging (three to four nights), food, travel, and fees ($1,500 per auditor; an honorarium of $100 per day for the on-site practitioner who is a member of the audit visit team and the cost of a substitute if the practitioner is a classroom teacher).
The audit fee and related audit costs are separate from the membership dues, which are, at present, $2,625 per year, per institution.
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| Who arranges travel and lodging for the auditors?
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TEAC makes the travel arrangements for the auditors and bills the program for reimbursement after the audit. The program arranges and pays for local transportation and lodging for the audit team and for any state education representative who may participate in the audit.
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| Our audit is complete. When will we know the audit opinion? |
After the audit, or after the program has sent any follow-up materials requested by the auditors, the auditors send their audit report to the program, TEAC, and TEAC’s Accreditation Panel. The program then has two weeks to respond to the report. The report then becomes part of the materials reviewed for the accreditation decision.
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| When will we know the accreditation decision? |
Once the audit is complete, the process to the accreditation decision takes four to eight months (see Accreditation process at a glance).
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| Once accredited, what is our obligation to TEAC? |
Accredited TEAC members must keep their annual dues current, submit annual reports, and stay in compliance with TEAC’s eligibility requirements, quality principles, and standards of capacity.
Annual reports are due on the anniversary of the accreditation decision.
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