Higher Education Accreditation: How It's Changing, Why It Must

After a workshop on the Degree Qualifications Profile led by Dr. Gaston, I came across this book. It has been helpful in setting the stage for accreditation in the United States. It provides a chronology of the dynamic tension between federal and state governments and the different accrediting entities in the US. It also presents some important and difficult questions as it traces the struggles to remain accountable without turning the process over to bureaucrats in Washington.I recommend the book for those who are involved in (or overwhelmed by) the accreditation-related initiatives and projects in higher education. It's not a book for the bedside (unlike the latest mystery or SF novel, it's too dense and likely to induce sleep if tired from a long day), but worth investing some of the work day in reading it.

There's a set of objectives accreditation is designed to achieve, not all of which have proven themselves; there are tasks better left outside of the accreditors' focus on quality (e.g. requiring student data reporting from institutions); and there are directions in which it has to move with greater force, following the lines set in motion by The Degree Qualifications Profile,AA&U's work, and the Tuning enterprise. Gaston gets almost all of them on the table in a prodding, persuasive way. I wish we had heard more of the Degree Qualifications Profile as a model, and, in the context of the vast enterprise of specialized accreditation, about Tuning (its successes and less-than-successes). Overall, though, worth your time and read.

His writing can be dry at times, but quite informative for anyone who wants to know the weaknesses of our present system and where we need to go.

This books provides a thorough overview of regional, national, and specialized accreditation, and analysis of issues, and possible solutions. There's a good balance and its well-organized. I found this book very informative.