Our program meets TEAC’s eligibility criteria. How do we join?
Complete a membership application form (available from the director of membership services or on the Web). A completed application includes the application form, documentation of the institution’s regional accreditation, evidence that the program’s graduates are eligible for state licensure, a copy of the institution’s current catalog, and a check to cover the membership fee.

How much does it cost to be a member of TEAC?
At the present time, annual membership dues for the institution are $2,625. Affiliate members (institutions and organizations) pay $630 annually; they are not eligible for accreditation.

Members receive invoices for their dues by June 15. Payment is due by July 1.

For the year in which a program’s Brief is audited, the institution pays an audit fee of $2,000 per Brief. (See What is a program?) 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 (up to four nights), food, travel, and fees ($1,500 per auditor; an honorarium of $100 per day for the on-site practitioners 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.

How long does it take to complete TEAC accreditation?
The time it takes a program faculty to prepare an Inquiry Brief or Inquiry Brief Proposal varies, depending on local circumstances such as program structure, available documentation, state context, and the institution’s commitment to the process. The amount of time it takes to complete a research article or monograph is a good guide for the time needed to write a Brief.

Once the Inquiry Brief or Inquiry Brief Proposal is accepted for audit, the process to the accreditation decision takes eight to ten months (see Process at a glance for details of the accreditation process; and see TEAC’s audit schedule, below).

Who should write the Brief and how long should it be?
The program faculty should produce the Brief. All faculty members of the programs represented in the Brief should contribute to the process, and they are required to approve the final Brief before it is submitted to TEAC for audit. The Inquiry Brief or Inquiry Brief Proposal should run about 50 pages, exclusive of appendices.

Will TEAC give us any guidance as we prepare our Brief?
TEAC offers guidance and feedback in a variety of ways. TEAC’s comprehensive  Guide to Accreditation gives detailed instructions on writing the Brief, and two copies are available as part of membership in TEAC (extra copies may be purchased).  

In addition, TEAC provides a staff liaison to assist the program over a period of weeks and months in the writing and editing of the Brief, methodological design, statistical analysis, interpretations of evidence. TEAC funds this service from the audit fees all programs pay in the year of their audits. 

To further guide members in their process, TEAC offers a variety of additional formative evaluation services. Each of these services has a fee (for workshop dates, fees for all services, and ordering information, see www.teac.org):
1. Each October and March, TEAC conducts workshops for those who would like more assistance. The workbook given to participants is designed to help program faculty get started on a Brief; extra copies for campus colleagues are also available for purchase.
2. On request, TEAC can provide tailored workshops on-site for a program or group of programs (such as a sector- or state-based consortium).
3. TEAC can provide individual consultation for a program, in TEAC’s offices.
4. In rare cases where a program requires or desires more help than the staff liaison can provide, TEAC can provide consultants on an individually negotiated cost basis.

Are the TEAC staff providing formative evaluation involved in the accreditation decision? There is a “firewall” between TEAC's formative evaluation and its summative evaluation: the staff who conduct one do not conduct the other.

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 or, if the program has a target audit date because of state requirements, confirm a scheduled audit.

TEAC audits programs only while courses are in full session, when most students and faculty on campus. Thus, TEAC has two audit periods during each academic year: from September 15 to December 15; and from January 15 to April 15. The current TEAC audit schedule, below, includes a period for formative evaluation and the timing of accreditation decision.

To allow sufficient time for both our review and any revisions you may make in your Brief, TEAC asks each candidate for accreditation or continuing accreditation to develop and commit to an accreditation plan, which you can download from the TEAC Web site and submit to TEAC.

Start by using the schedule below to identify your target audit period and accreditation date. If you want to take advantage of any of the optional formative evaluation services we offer, you must submit an initial full draft for review at least six months before your audit date to allow sufficient time both for our staff to study your draft and for the program faculty to meet and address TEAC feedback and make any revisions that may be required or advisable. Whether you engage the optional formative evaluation services or not, you should plan to submit your last revised draft of the Brief at least two months before your target audit date for an auditability decision. If TEAC finds the Brief auditable, your audit date will be confirmed. If, however, the Brief needs more than very minor revisions, the review process will have to continue into the next audit period and you will need to schedule a new audit date.

TEAC schedule 2006–2009

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.

What kind of information can we find on TEAC’s Web site, www.teac.org?
TEAC’s Web site provides information on membership (how to join and participate), upcoming workshops and meetings, full details on TEAC’s accreditation process, links to TEAC member institutions and their accredited program status, forms for use in the Brief, access to TEAC literature and related articles, and important updates to TEAC policies and the accreditation process.