Operating Procedures
Accreditation is a service of the Association to its member schools. Accreditation is awarded on four levels, namely: licentiate, baccalaureate, masteral and doctoral.
Accreditation is a continuous process which is undertaken in the following stages:
1. Self-survey by the applicant school and the submission of Self-Survey Reports to ATESEA Office
2. Initial Accreditation Visit
3. Annual Report by Accredited Schools
4. Octennial review following visit by accreditation team
The ATESEA office will inform the schools to be visited some 5-6 months before the scheduled visit. ATESEA will request the concerned schools to:
1. Conduct Self-Survey Reports using the Standard Form (for schools undergoing initial visit) and submit the same to ATESEA or
2. Review their programmes and operations using the ATESEA accreditation standards and notations found in the report of the previous visiting team with adequate information for it to understand the school’s background, academic programme, material resources, human resources, finances, etc.
3. Schedule the sessions for the team to meet with the administration, the faculty, the student body, the Board of Trustees/Board or Governors, the representative church leaders and other stakeholders for purpose of raising questions regarding their (accrediting team members) areas of responsibility to discover the opportunities, problems, etc. facing the school.
When all requisites for the visit are complied with, ATESEA will assign Accrediting Team to visit the schools. Self-survey reports are to be submitted at the latest 3 months before the scheduled visit.
In the course of the accreditation visit, the team is requested to:
1. Exercise a pastoral, sometimes mediating function between the various sectors of the school.
2. Hold a final session with the faculty to report on its findings and discuss various options in dealing with the opportunities and problems facing the school, including review of the notations from the previous visit where applicable.
3. Meet with administrators to review its finding and evaluate the visit.
4. Prepare its recommendations for the Accreditation Commission.
5. Prepare written reports for submission to the Accreditation Commission and the schools visited.
After the initial accreditation visit, schools with accredited programmes will be sent an annual questionnaire to determine whether the standards are being maintained and whether the efforts have been exerted to remove notations.
Subsequent visits by teams to review accredited programmes will take place on a rotating basis, with schools in each of the three sub regions (Philippine-Taiwan, Indonesia and mainland South East Asia including Hong Kong and East Malaysia) being visited in three-year cycle.
The Accreditation Commission will meet annually to evaluate the reports of the Accreditation teams and review questionnaires sent in by the schools. The Accreditation Commission may recommend:
1. Accreditation of non-accredited programs
2. Changes in notation
Accreditation Costs
School shall be assessed a fee to help cover the costs for accreditation visits. Expense for food and accommodation of the accreditors during the visit shall be responsibility of the schools being visited.