Within the TEAC system there is always considerable latitude in how the program faculty will make its case and what kinds of quantitative and qualitative evidence it will bring forth to support the case that it has fulfilled the requirements of TEAC’s system of accreditation.

However, as long as the Brief has verifiable authorship and program approval, is concise and linguistically precise, and contains the required components, a program faculty may use any format that allows it to best make its case: an essay with sections corresponding to each of TEAC’s quality principles and standards, a standard research article in conventional sections, or a comprehensive internal audit report that addresses the three TEAC quality principles and the standards for capacity. Program faculty members might present a qualitative case study about their students’ accomplishments and the program’s role in fostering them. TEAC staff hopes that whatever the format, writing the Brief serves the program’s needs apart from TEAC accreditation.

TEAC does not require a particular citation style for the Inquiry Brief or Inquiry Brief Proposal, but because the document is a research monograph, TEAC recommends the elements of style required by the American Psychological Association (APA) and the American Educational Research Association (AERA) for journal articles and monographs.

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Sample format. Program faculty may choose to organize the Brief by simply building on TEAC’s seven required components. This format allows the program faculty to efficiently and effectively document the program’s quality:

See Details of the content of the Inquiry Brief Proposal

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