Accreditation is one of the most influential mechanisms in higher education. It determines whether institutions can access federal financial aid, impacts public trust, and signifies academic legitimacy. However, academic libraries are often underrepresented in institutional accreditation reviews and in the processes that establish accreditation standards.
The report, "Institutional Accreditation and the Academic Library: A Strategy for Engagement and Representation," outlines a path forward for academic library stakeholders. It offers practical guidance and a strategic framework for academic library consortia, systems, and stakeholders to engage with regional accreditors and contribute to the development and revision of accreditation standards.
This comprehensive report includes:
- An overview of how institutional accreditation functions and how it differs from programmatic accreditation.
- A framework for how academic library consortia can engage with regional accreditors in the Standards review and setting process.
- An analysis of the seven U.S. regional accrediting bodies, including timelines for standards revision and opportunities for external input.
- A discussion of recent federal policy changes, including Executive Order 14279, that impact the regulatory environment for accreditation and how these changes relate to library values and missions.
- A call to action for academic libraries, consortia, and professional associations to organize and participate in standards development processes in a coordinated and sustained manner.
This report is intended for academic library consortia, systems, and professional associations that aim to fully engage in accreditation standards reviews and prepare for involvement in setting or revising those standards.
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Title: "Institutional Accreditation and the Academic Library: A Strategy for Engagement and Representation"
Published: June 2025 by the EveryLibrary Institute NFP
License: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)
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