TEAC Commenting Policies

Comments about a TEAC member program

Accreditation by TEAC is an expression of confidence that a program is satisfactorily achieving its objectives and that it meets or exceeds TEAC’s standards of program quality and institutional capacity. TEAC is concerned with institutional integrity and with performance consistent with its standards and policies.

TEAC values information provided by students, faculty, and other members of the public about TEAC member programs, helping TEAC assure that a program continues to meet the standards set by TEAC.

Complaint against a TEAC member policy

Complaints by a third-party, which pertain to a program accredited by TEAC, or action involving an accredited program, shall be reviewed in accordance with the procedures for review of complaints set forth in steps 1-8 below. TEAC is concerned with programmatic integrity and performance consistent with its accreditation measures and procedures. TEAC promises serious attention to allegations that an accredited program has fallen out of compliance with TEAC’s accreditation principles and processes. TEAC will only consider written complaints where the complainant is identified. The written complaint should include relevant information to support the allegation. The complainant should demonstrate that a serious effort was made to resolve the issue through a program’s own quality control procedures before Steps 1-8 (below) are implemented.

1. A complaint received by TEAC will be acknowledged in writing and reviewed by the TEAC President.
2. If the President determines that the complaint is not within the scope of TEAC’s policies, he or she will so inform the complainant within 30 days of receipt of the complaint. If the President considers it necessary at this time, he/she will refer the complainant to appropriate federal, state, and other agencies (as outlined in the U. S. Department of Education’s regulations, §602.27 & §602.28).
3. If the complaint appears to be within the scope of TEAC’s responsibility and is documented, a copy of the complaint will be forwarded to the program head who must respond in 30 days. The identity of the complainant, if requested by the complainant, shall be held in confidence.
4. If the program acknowledges that the complaint is valid, it will advise TEAC in writing as to what actions it is taking to rectify the situation.
5. If the program denies the validity of the complaint, it must assure TEAC that the program policies, and processes are occurring as they were represented in the Inquiry Brief or Inquiry Brief Proposal and that the complaint does not represent a breach of TEAC’s principles of quality and standards of capacity for quality.
6. If no response is received from the program, a second request will be sent. If no response again is received within 30 days, or if the program is unable to provide the assurance required in Step 5 that it remains in compliance with TEAC’s principles of quality and standards, the President of TEAC will place the matter on the agenda for action at the next meeting of the TEAC Board of Directors, a special meeting of the TEAC Board of Directors, or a meeting of the Executive Committee.
7. At the next meeting of the Board or the Executive Committee, the members will review the program’s responses and decide whether (a) the complaint should be dismissed, (b) the complaint should be investigated further, (c) the complaint should be referred to an appropriate committee of TEAC, or (d) the program’s accreditation status should be changed. A written response that details the basis for the Board’s decision will be sent within thirty days of this meeting to the program head.
8. The TEAC Board will then inform the complainant and the program of the actions it has taken with regard to the complaint in writing within thirty (30) days.

 

Call for Comment Policy (XXXII)

TEAC’s standards and quality principles are subject to continuing review and, when appropriate, TEAC may consider revising its standards in accordance with its Review of Standards Policy (XXXIII). In the event that the TEAC Board considers changing or amending its standards, prior to adoption of the standard revisions it will obtain member and third-party comments in accordance with this policy.

1. Persons, institutions, and organizations with an interest in TEAC, including all programs accredited by TEAC or seeking accreditation, are advised of the proposed standard revisions and the date the TEAC Board will consider adoption of the revisions. This will be accomplished through a notice published by the President of TEAC.
2. The notice of the proposed standard revisions will seek comments from all interested persons, institutions and organizations. Parties will have 30 days to provide comments. Comments can be provided to TEAC in hard copy or electronic form at the Call-for-Comment link at www.teac.org.
3. Once the comment period has expired, the TEAC Board will consider and take action on the proposed standard revisions. The TEAC Board can adopt the standard revisions as proposed, adopt the proposed standard revisions with additional changes or modifications, defer action for further study and consideration, or reject the proposed standard revisions.
4. If the standard revisions are adopted, the TEAC Board will set a date for implementation and promptly announce the adoption of the standard revisions and their effective date.
5. The standard revisions will be published and sent to all persons, institutions, and organizations with an interest in TEAC.

Review of Standards Policy (XXXIII)

TEAC strives for a culture of inquiry in its own activities as well as the activities of its members and would see the periodic review of all aspects of its standards, principles, intellectual underpinnings, logic, and policies as the natural outgrowth the kind of culture it seeks to create.

TEAC reviews its standards and policies periodically and primarily in the following manner:

1. TEAC engages a third party to survey accredited program administrators, students, faculty, and graduates, employers, and regulators on the validity of TEAC’s standards.
2. The survey is administered once in a five-year period so that TEAC’s standards will be reviewed at least once during the period of a program’s accreditation status (preaccreditation, new program, initial, and continuing) and before any program’s reaccreditation.
3. The survey calls for a rating of each element of the TEAC system (1.0 through 4.7) with respect to its continued contribution to the assurance of program quality. The survey also calls for an open-ended response to missing categories of information that would enhance the assurance of program quality.
4. Standard survey research practices are followed with regard to sampling and response rates to insure valid interpretation of the results of the survey.
5. The Accreditation Committee reviews the results of the survey for proposals, if appropriate, to modify the TEAC standards, practices, and principles. If the Accreditation Committee determines that modifications should be proposed, it initiates this action as soon as possible, but in no event later than 12 months after making this determination.
6. Draft revisions of the standards are reviewed by the Inquiry Committees each member institution has formed, and a focus group of representatives of accredited programs, regulators, employers, students, and graduates. Third-party comment is also called for in accordance with TEAC’s Call-for-Comment Policy, XXXII.
7. The draft revisions in the TEAC system are presented for discussion at TEAC’s Annual Meeting of the members.

TEAC’s Board of Directors, or its Executive Committee, then decides whether to adopt the proposed changes in the standards. The Board, or its Executive Committee, also considers (1) comments on the value of the standards, made by the submitters of Inquiry Briefs and Proposals (2) the analysis by Inquiry Committees and TEAC staff of the literature on accreditation, (3) the members’ inquiry and research reports at the annual meetings, and (4) the contributions of the senior staff to the scholarly literature on standards and the evidence of standards. The Board of Directors, or Executive Committee’s, action on the proposed revisions will take place no later than twelve (12) months from the date of the determination by the Accreditation Committee that changes to the standards should be made.