Q&A for international schools

Assuming no delays, the process for new schools (operational for at least two years) takes about three years. The process begins with an application, and continues to the Foundation Standards or “Eligibility” phase, and then to the Preparatory or “Candidate” phase. The cycle then continues with the Internal Reflection (also called Self-Study) phase of 12-18 months culminating in the External Review Visit which finally determines the school’s accreditation status. 

Schools follow a 5-year accreditation cycle that includes a preparatory phase, internal reflection and reporting, and culminates in an on-site visit conducted by a team of NEASC peer reviewers. For more details, please visit neasc.org > international > process

When a school is accredited by NEASC, there are several ways that the process is adapted for subsequent cycles:

• Schools accredited on the Standard pathway will generally enter the ACE Learning Pathway for their next cycle rather than continue on the Standard pathway.
• At approximately the four-year mark after initial NEASC accreditation, schools will be scheduled for a Preparatory Visit. During this Visit, the school will conduct an abbreviated Foundation Standards Review in addition to the Preparatory report and visit. This ensures that NEASC-accredited schools maintain alignment with the Foundation Standards.
• Schools that are utilizing the ACE Learning pathway for the second round will focus on only five of the ten Learning Principles in their Internal Reflection process, in recognition of the school’s previous work and desire to focus further on certain areas.

One of the key products for schools, particularly those engaging with ACE Learning, is the development of a Shared Understanding of High-Quality Learning. NEASC previously referred to this as a Definition of Learning. Our initial years of experience supporting ACE journeys by schools around the world have helped us clarify the process.

A school’s Shared Understanding is supported by a description of the specific pedagogy, chosen by the school, that is used to achieve the desired goals.

In ACE Learning Schools, the Shared Understanding of High-Quality Learning is grounded in the ten ACE Learning Principles and Impacts, as well as other Impacts a school might have chosen. As the community develops its shared understanding, it can more easily identify the Major Learning Plans that are designed to close the gap between what the school aspires to and its current reality. For schools new to NEASC, this Shared Understanding is not expected to be fully developed until the beginning of the Internal Reflection, and then to be re-assessed every five years.

NEASC Visitors look for progress throughout a school’s accreditation journey, and they also look for evidence of the 4 Cs which are:

• conceptual understanding of effective learning
• commitment to the transformational accreditation process
• capacity for change and the hard work demanded through NEASC accreditation
• competence to move beyond talk, to action and implementation

Schools currently accredited and in good standing with another NEASC-recognized accreditation agency and who wish to switch to or to add NEASC Accreditation may apply under NEASC’s Policy 1.6 which leads to an important two-day Foundation Standards review visit. Successful completion of the Foundation Standards review visit can lead to full NEASC Accreditation with no gap in accredited status. Examples include schools already accredited by COBIS or other internationally-respected accreditation agencies recognized by NEASC.

Yes. While the language of NEASC accreditation tends to be developmental in nature and recognizes that different schools will demonstrate different levels of quality, we are strict in particular about our schools aligning with our Foundation Standards. As a school moves toward later stages of the accreditation cycle, we also consider seriously how evident are the 4 Cs: Conceptual Understanding, Commitment, Capacity, and Competence.

For schools struggling to maintain sufficient progress toward accreditation or re-accreditation, we may require Special Reports and/or Special Visits. Schools may also be placed on Warning or Probation as determined by NEASC. Schools deemed by NEASC to fall short of our Standards are given opportunities to meet expectations before we would terminate a school’s accreditation journey and remove them from our directory of Candidate/Member schools.

The role of Relationship Manager (RM) has been designed to increase the contact and support provided by NEASC for international schools as they engage with the NEASC Accreditation process, as well as for support in their ongoing growth and transformation. Each school is assigned a Relationship Manager from the school’s first contact with NEASC.

The RM is the school’s point of contact for questions about: 

• their accreditation pathway
• visit preparation (including any special visits or additional reports)
• ongoing development

Questions related to visit dates scheduling, assignment of visitors, and document access should be directed to the commission office at cie@neasc.org.

While NEASC documentation, reporting and visits are conducted almost exclusively in English, the Commission on International Education team includes staff proficient in Spanish, French, Italian, and Greek. When possible, NEASC team members who speak other key languages of a school are asked to facilitate conversations during school visits with stakeholders who may be less comfortable in English. Bilingual schools and others offering at least 50% of their curriculum in English are encouraged to apply for NEASC Accreditation.

NEASC has been intentional with the language we use. We believe that a NEASC-aligned school is characterized by a community of learners. Ideally, all adults including staff, teachers, parents, and board members as well as all children are constantly learning, adapting, and trying new things. The organization itself is also learning, reflecting, and improving itself to better serve everyone in the community.

We encourage schools and NEASC Visitors to approach accreditation with all learners in mind, not just the students.

First, for each of the ten Learning Principles, a school is asked to develop plans that are aligned with each Principle and that will help the school reach the goals it has articulated as "Where we want to be". After reviewing the range of plans developed for each Learning Principle, the school — most likely led by the ACE Design Team (steering committee) — develops 4-6 Major Learning Plans that draw on the plans expressed for each Principle.

In some cases, plans for a few of the ten Principles may coalesce into one of Major Learning Plans. In other cases, a school may identify individual plans aligned with Learning Principles that would have the greatest positive impact on learning at the school, and considers those plans the ‘Major Learning Plans’. The learning community's collective efforts in the following months and years aim to achieve the goals expressed in these plans.

There are several factors involved in how schools choose to set up their committees for the 12-18 month Internal Reflection that leads to the External Review Visit. The goal is to involve the whole community in some way in the process. Ideally a workshop that includes all stakeholder groups would be held toward the end of the Internal Reflection as the school's report takes final shape.

The size of your learning community is one factor to consider. Some schools organize their committees around clusters of ACE Learning Principles, while others have ten separate committees, one for each Learning Principle. The process is yours, so you can organize it in any way that will be meaningful to your community.

• If you are a current or future school accreditation coordinator or school head wishing to pick up tips and tricks from an experienced accreditation coordinator for the internal reflection process, you may be interested in this webinar:

First, NEASC is proud to have shared in the development of many of the structures of modern American secondary schooling through our involvement with the Committee of Ten (1894) that clarified guidelines on high school curriculum and pedagogy; the College Entrance Examination Board (1900) that oversees today’s AP and SAT tests; and other early 20th century American innovations, including K-12 accreditation itself.

Today, as in the past, accreditation by NEASC shows that a school both meets high international standards and enjoys official recognition by the oldest accrediting agency in the US — a status considered essential by post-secondary institutions around the world, as well as by many international education ministries. While NEASC technically accredits schools and not diplomas, we encourage schools to share their NEASC Accreditation status with all interested parties and on relevant documents including student diplomas and transcripts. In particular, schools offering a four-year American-style high school program are well advised to obtain and maintain NEASC Accreditation.

For more information on offering a high school diploma, please contact cie@neasc.org.

NEASC offers a limited amount of consulting outside of the usual accreditation work. While all schools receive a short leadership workshop during their Preparatory visits, some schools would like more support to introduce the ideas of NEASC ACE Learning to their community or to take the conversation deeper. We are open to discussing the specific needs of a school, but we recommend checking our events page to browse the information sessions, workshops, and other professional learning we regularly offer.