The United States government does not regulate the quality of educational programs offered at American schools and universities. Instead, the accreditation of a school tells you that the school has met a minimum standard of quality in its academic programs. Accrediting organizations are authorized by the US Department of Education to set these standards and then evaluate whether a school’s program meets them. If so, then the school is said to be “accredited” by that body.
AAC is accredited by two organizations:
The Commission on International and Trans-Regional Accreditation
North Central Association
Reasons Why AAC Sought Accreditation
- To add focus to our improvement efforts
- To objectively confirm our belief we do an excellent job
- To test assumptions we make about the quality of our school
- To give us a better idea of where we stand in the quality "big picture"
- To show us what does and does not work
- To present a more complete picture of our school to the community
- To accelerate our drive for excellence
- To strengthen and reward our teachers’ feelings of success and efficacy
- To prove we’re not afraid of an external assessment
- To be competitive
- To be accountable to our school community (parents, students, teachers and staff)
