Chief Learning Officer - October 2008 - (Page 50)

CASE STUDY: DEFENSE ACQUISITION UNIVERSITY An Accredited Learning Organization DR. CHRIS HARDY For Defense Acquisition University, getting accredited was more than just a status symbol. It was a natural progression that drove the integration of continuous improvement and performance management. ccreditation is very important to degreegranting colleges and universities. Prospective students want to know if they are enrolling in an accredited institution. They want to know if the degree they earn (and pay for) will be recognized and valued by employers, other academic institutions and society in general. But what about corporate learning organizations that do not grant degrees? Can they and should they become accredited? To better consider that question, let’s look at two deﬁnitions of the term “accreditation” from relevant sources: 1. “Accreditation is a status granted to an institution that meets or exceeds the stated criteria of educational quality. The purposes of accreditation are to assess and enhance the educational quality of an institution, to assure consistency in institutional operations, to promote institutional improvement, and to provide for public accountability.” – Accrediting Council for Continuing Education and Training (ACCET) standards handbook 2. “Accreditation is either institutional or programmatic in nature, and it is intended to assess and enhance the educational quality of either an entire institution or a speciﬁc program of study within an institution. Programmatic accreditation is an assessment of a particular program of study such as law, music, or library science offered at an institution. Institutional accreditation means the entire institution has been assessed, from the governance and ﬁnancial stability to the programs of study and student services of that institution.” – Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS) 50 Chief Learning Ofﬁcer • October 2008 • www.clomedia.com A Within the higher education community, accrediting agencies, state regulatory agencies and the U.S. Department of Education all are involved in institutional oversight. Accrediting agencies are responsible for determining educational quality. State regulatory agencies are responsible for granting the legal authority for institutions to operate in their states and for consumer-protection matters. The U.S. Department of Education (DOE) is responsible for determining the eligibility of institutions to participate in federal assistance programs and for enforcement of the regulations governing the administration of federal student assistance programs. In addition, the DOE, using congressionally mandated criteria, recognizes accrediting agencies to ensure these agencies are, for the purposes of the Higher Education Act, “reliable authorities regarding the quality of education or training offered by the institutions or programs they accredit,” according to the Council of Occupational Education (COE) standards handbook. Beneﬁts of accreditation for academic institutions may seem obvious, but is it really worth expending the time, resources and effort to accredit your learning organization? To answer this question, learning leaders not only must understand their environments, but also must have a need to measure the learning organization against a set of external standards. Undergoing accreditation involves the entire organization, and accreditation must become the bedrock of a comprehensive continuing-improvement program. For Defense Acquisition University (DAU) — which provides training for the Department of Defense’s Acquisition, Technology and Logistics http://www.clomedia.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Chief Learning Officer - October 2008

Chief Learning Officer - October 2008 Editor’s Letter Connections Business Impact Best Practices Effectiveness Guest Editorial How Fast Is Your ‘B’ Team? Hampton Hotels CLO Profile Save the World, Make a Buck: Seven Ideas From the Nonprofit Sector Developing Leaders at Amnesty International Learning Measurements: It’s Time to Align Aligning Measurement to Business Success Training Employees With Special Needs How to Reach Disabled Learners Hands Off: Facilitating Informal Learning Who Owns Informal Learning? Case Study Business Intelligence Advertisers’ Index Editorial Resources In Conclusion

Chief Learning Officer - October 2008

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