Even with correct postal or email addresses, return rates of the post-graduation surveys can be low. Thus, encouraging students before they graduate to return these surveys when they receive them will be important. Similarly, getting job placement data may also be difficult. Since students in the health professions are typically in demand, they often have jobs lined up before they graduate. Collecting this information while students are in school will reduce the number of graduates that must be contacted following graduation. Finally, collecting employer satisfaction data can also be challenging. However, most accrediting agencies either require or suggest that the school/programs have advisory councils made up of representatives from employers typically hiring your students. Not only can the members of these committees provide insight into what employers want from new graduates in general, they also can provide you with specific information regarding how graduates from your school or program are doing post-graduation. The Site Visit 4. After staff of the accrediting agency has reviewed the self-study, a site visit will be scheduled. The accrediting agency will select the team who will make the site visit. The site visitors will be qualified by education and experience to evaluate your program. The Evaluation team will usually include a faculty member of a similar (but not competing) school/program and an administrator. If it is a programmatic accreditation visit, a practitioner of the relevant discipline may also be included. Again, the purpose of the site visit is to validate the information provided in the self-study report. If you have additional clarifying information regarding any of the standards, this should be available to the site visitors. In addition, the team will likely want to see (electronically or in published form) at a minimum, the following: § Administrator and faculty vitae § Course catalog § Syllabi for all courses § Examples of student work § Policies and procedures Many schools will designate a “reading room” where the team can work during the visit. This room should include computers for accessing electronic materials as well as paper copies of selected documents. The team will likely want to meet with the following groups: § Board of Directors’ representative § Administration § Financial officer § Faculty teams § Selected students § Advisory committee(s) and representatives of communities of interest They will also want to tour the facilities and visit various classes, labs, and clinical experiences. The accrediting body will give you specific instructions regarding the site visit, but you can see from this list, planning a site visit and ensuring materials and people are available at the appropriate place and time to interact with the team is quite time consuming. Typically, at the end of the visit, the team, will give the school a verbal report of their findings, followed by a written report after they leave. The school/program will likely have an opportunity to respond in writing to the team’s written report to correct any errors of findings. The governing board of the accrediting agency will meet, usually on a quarterly basis to make accreditation decisions for the schools who have recently had a site visit.
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