Academic Quality Improvement Program (AQIP)

Launched in July 1999 with a generous grant from the Pew Charitable Trusts, the Commission's Academic Quality Improvement Program infuses the principles and benefits of continuous improvement into the culture of colleges and universities by providing an alternative process through which an already-accredited institution can maintain its accreditation. An institution in AQIP demonstrates how it meets accreditation standards and expectations through a sequence of events that align with the ongoing activities of an institution striving to improve its performance.

The Academic Quality Improvement Program (AQIP) provides an alternative evaluation process for organizations already accredited by the Commission. AQIP is structured around quality improvement principles and processes and involves a structured set of goal-setting, networking, and accountability activities. AQIP uses direct, cost-effective processes including AQIP’s Strategy Forums, Systems Appraisals, and various other services.

Read the Commission's Introduction to AQIP.

Scheduled Quality Checkup Visits

During the 2010–2011 academic year the Commission will conduct Quality Checkup visits to ten institutions as part of their participation in the Academic Quality Improvement Program.

These are institutions that will undergo Reaffirmation of Accreditation in the 2011–2012 academic year.

Allen County Community College, Iola, KS
College of Saint Mary, Omaha, NE
Dakota State University, Madison, SD
Lamar Community College, Lamar, CO
Lewis University, Romeoville, IL
North Arkansas College, Harrison, AR
North Central State College, Mansfield, OH
Northern Wyoming Community College District, Sheridan, WY
Shawnee State University, Portsmouth, OH
Urbana University, Urbana, OH

A Quality Checkup typically begins Wednesday at noon and ends Friday at noon, and involves a two-person team visiting the campus or headquarters to meet with various groups from the institution. Specific planning for the visit—creation of an agenda and institutional preparation of materials for the team—will begin late spring or next fall, depending on the specific date each visit is scheduled. The visit helps assure both the institution and the Commission that the institution’s reaccreditation in the following year will go smoothly, that it meets all of the Commission’s accreditation expectations fully. The Quality Checkup is not a visit that makes a determination on accreditation.