Procedures for Accreditation of Programs

 

 

Incorporates all changes approved by the Accreditation Council on April 19, 2022
Chapter 1 General Provisions
     Article 1 The Accreditation Council, hereafter called the Council, authorizes its accreditation commissions to enact the Procedures for Accreditation of Programs and to plan and execute accreditation in accordance with Article 5 of the Policies for Accreditation of Programs for the purpose of governing all matters concerning accreditation. 
Chapter 2 Registration
     Article 2 The Council promulgates accreditation timetable and related documents annually on the IEET website: http://www.ieet.org.tw.
     Article 3 Request for Review
  • Program seeking accreditation must officially submit a complete Request for Accreditation by the deadline using the Accreditation Management System, hereafter called the AMS, at https://ams.ieet.org.tw. Upon completion of the request, the program is to submit an official letter with program name criteria to be accredited by the Council and the registration payment receipt.
  • Based on its characteristics and discipline, a program should choose among the Commissions for review. If a program is of multiple concentrations, provided all concentrations have graduates and applying for the same accreditation criteria, the Council shall consider all concentrations as one unit and require all concentrations to satisfy the accreditation criteria. If differentiation exists between the concentrations as presented on diplomas and each applying for different accreditation criteria, the Council shall view each concentration as a separate program.
  • Once the Request for Review is accepted, the Council shall issue a letter to the university stating the deadlines for submitting further documents and the date of the on-site visit. The program must then submit a self-study report with the on-site visit fee paid before the deadline and prepare for the on-site visit accordingly.
  • A newly established program or program that has yet to produce the first class of graduates may also request accreditation in accordance with Section 1 of this Article.
  • If a program cannot continue the review with cause after having request for review, the Council should be officially notified. The Council shall decide whether to refund fees in full or in partial.
  • Accreditation fee is charged based on The Accreditation Fee Schedule.
  • For the program under review, the program chair must attend at least one accreditation workshop during the year or the year prior to a general review.
  • The university or program that underwent name change must inform the Council; the program that underwent re-organization must update information online using AMS.
     Article 4 Composition of accreditation team and editors 
  • Upon accepting the Request for Review from a program, the Chair of an accreditation commission shall nominate the accreditation team which is composed of one team chair and additional one to four program evaluators who have expertise in the professional domain of the program. Should there be two or more programs from one university seeking accreditation during the same academic year, the accreditation commission Chair shall nominate an accreditation team convener to coordinate consistencies among the teams; for ten programs or more, an accreditation team co-convener shall be nominated along with the convener. In special cases, the number of program evaluators in a team may be exempted from the restrictions above.
  • The Office of the Executive Director (OED) shall assign a liaison to each university to handle administrative matters. 
  • To ensure consistency in accreditation actions, the accreditation commission assigns editors based on the discipline of the program under review. 
Chapter 3 Review of Self-study Report and On-site Visit
     Article 5 Self-study Report
  • The program scheduled for general review must apply the self-study report template for general review and submit the self-study report accordingly. Programs scheduled for Interim Review or provisionally accredited programs scheduled for subsequent review must apply the self-study report template for interim review.
    1. For a program scheduled for general review, the self-study report must include supporting evidence since the last general review, whereas the first-time applicant must submit supporting evidence at least for the past academic year.
    2. For a review of the program pending accreditation, the self-study report must include supporting evidence since the last review.
    3. For a program scheduled for interim review, the self-study report must demonstrate the improvement made according to the weakness identified from the last review and other areas of continuous improvement while including supporting evidence since the last review.
    4. For review of a provisionally accredited program, the self-study report must include supporting evidence, specifically the analysis of student outcomes that were not able to be demonstrated in the last review.
  • The program chair should sign off the checklist before submission of the self-study report.
  • The program must follow the Guidelines for Uploading Self-study Report and Supporting Documents to upload the self-study report and supporting documents to the cloud space assigned by IEET. Five paper copies of the self-study report should be officially mailed to the Council (no appendices included). 
     Article 6 Review of the self-study report
  • The OED shall verify the self-study report and related documents of the program and forward them to the accreditation team for review.
  • Having reviewed the self-study report, the accreditation team may request additional information two weeks before the on-site visit to be presented upon the on-site visit.
  • Amendments to the self-study report after the deadline should be presented upon the on-site visit as additional information. The Council does not accept resubmissions of the self-study report after the deadline.
  • The first-time applicant can submit the initial draft of the self-study report to the OED before the deadline. Having reviewed the initial draft of the self-study report, the OED may request additional information to be included in the final report. The program is required to submit a revised copy with the requested information before the specified deadline. Procedures for further review will follow those listed in Articles 6.1 to 6.3.
     Article 7 On-site visit
  • The OED shall notify the program official list of the accreditation team two weeks before the on-site visit and assist in the process of finalizing the on-site visit itinerary and list of interviewees.
  • The program must display supporting documents during the on-site visit to support its self-study report and to demonstrate its compliance with the accreditation criteria. For the content and organization of the supporting documents, the program should refer to the Accreditation Criteria Supplement.
  • The program should arrange the interviewees following the on-site visit itinerary. For interviewees who cannot meet the schedule, the program can contact the liaison for rearrangement.
  • The liaison will notify the program of the on-site visit itinerary, grouping of the interviewees, and matters needing attention by e-mail.
  • The OED is responsible for the overall logistics and expenses of the accreditation team associated with the on-site visit.
  • The accreditation team and the program under review must follow discreetly the on-site visit itinerary during the visit.
  • The accreditation team must convene for a pre-departure meeting the night before the on-site visit to review findings from the self-study report and reach a consensus on the key issues to be assessed.
  • Program during the on-site visit must ensure that all unrelated personnel are not present. It must also ban all forms of activities that may disrupt the visit, including but not limited to recording, videotaping, photographing, and transcribing. 
  • The accreditation team members must compile collaboratively the Exit Statement during the on-site visit and announce it at the end of the visit. The announcement marks the completion of the on-site visit. There would be no discussion on the Exit Statement after its announcement.
  • If there is an error of fact in the Exit Statement, the program could submit a Response to the Exit Statement within two weeks after the on-site visit. The program needs only to declare based on an error of fact; should the program have nothing to declare, it should notify the Council by email. 
  • Both the accreditation team and the program under review must abide by the conflict-of-interest principles, avoiding all forms of improper reception, gifts, and lobbying.
Chapter 4 Accreditation Action Decision Making
     Article 8 Composing Accreditation Statement and Accreditation Action: 
  • The accreditation team chair, upon reading the Response to Exit Statement, shall produce a draft of the Accreditation Statement, compliance with the criteria, and Accreditation Action Recommendation. These statements are then edited by the editors.
  • The accreditation commission shall call for an Accreditation Action Meeting upon the completion of the editors’ review. After the Accreditation Action Meeting and confirmation of the Council, OED shall mail the Accreditation Action Statement and the Accreditation Statement officially to the university and copy the program under review. Both the the Accreditation Action Statement and the Accreditation Statement will be placed in the program area of the Accreditation Management System (AMS).
     Article 9 Publishing of the Accreditation Action:
  • There are three types of accreditation actions: "Accredited," "Pending for Accreditation Action," and "Not to Accredit."
  • The accredited status takes effect from the academic year in which the program under review is accredited. 
  • For the provisionally accredited program, the accredited status shall take effect from the academic year when the first class of graduates is produced. The six-year cycle, however, starts from the year when the program first registered for accreditation.
  • For the program receiving "Pending for Accreditation Action," the accredited status shall take effect from the academic year when the program is officially accredited. The six-year cycle, however, starts from the year when the program first registered for review.
  • Each program shall be given its accreditation action. Actions of all programs under the same department shall be listed on the same accreditation certificate.
  • Should a program receive a "Not to Accredit" action and object, it may appeal to the Council according to the Policies and Procedures for Appeals within two weeks of receiving the action.
  • The Council shall confer the accreditation certificate and publish the name of the accredited program on the IEET website and in related media forms upon receiving the annual accreditation maintenance fee.
  • The program that received accredited status must submit an Action Plan before the specified deadline. 
Chapter5 Annual Accreditation Information Submission:
     Article 10 The accredited program and the program pending accreditation action must submit annual accreditation information online using AMS.
Chapter 6 Interim Review
     Article 11 Accredited programs scheduled for Interim Review must request for review before the deadline.
     Article 12 Program must submit the Interim Review Self-study Report according to procedures stipulated in Article 5.
     Article 13 The on-site visit itinerary shall be decided based on the extent of the weakness identified in the last general review; procedures for such review are stipulated in Article 7.
     Article 14 After the review, the accreditation commission shall call for an Accreditation Action Meeting to deliver a decision; procedures for such meeting are stipulated in Article 8.
Chapter 7 Action Pending Review
     Article 15 In accordance with Article 6.2 of the Policies for Accreditation of Programs, program receiving “Pending for Accreditation Action” must be reviewed within two years. Program must register for review with the Council before deadline. The council shall decide if additional fees are needed.
     Article 16 Program pending accreditation action must submit a self-study report demonstrating its compliance with the criteria with sufficient supporting documents before the deadline; preparation for the self-study report is stipulated in Article 5. 
     Article 17 Program pending for accreditation should undertake a general review with procedures stipulated in Article 7.
     Article 18 After the review, the accreditation commission shall call for an Accreditation Action Meeting to deliver a decision; procedures for such meeting are stipulated in Article 8.
Chapter 8 Subsequent Review of Provisionally Accredited Programs
     Article 19 In accordance with Article 6.1 of the Policies for the Accreditation of Programs, the provisionally accredited program must submit an official letter to the Council three months before its first class of graduates is produced.
     Article 20 Within two months after the first class of graduates was produced, the program must submit an Interim self-study report to the Council. Preparation for the self-study report should follow Article 5.
     Article 21 If a program is to produce its first class of graduates immediately after the general review, the subsequent review will be a desktop review only. Other than that, an on-site visit shall be conducted.
     Article 22 After the review, the accreditation commission shall call for an Accreditation Action Meeting to deliver a decision; procedures for such meeting are stipulated in Article 8.
Chapter 9  Name Change 
     Article 23 The accredited program that underwent name change or re-organization must inform the Council by mail upon obtaining approval from the Ministry of Education. Related documents must be submitted along with the Ministry’s approval. A review shall be conducted to certify that the program continues to comply with the accreditation criteria. 
     Article 24 The accreditation team that conducted the last review shall be called upon to verify the program’s accreditation status. The OED shall inform the program of the review decision. Should an on-site visit be deemed required, the accreditation team shall revisit the program. The council shall decide if an additional fee is needed.  
     Article 25 If a program under review has a name change during the same semester when the accreditation visit takes place, it must provide both old and new curriculum designs for the accreditation team's reference. If accredited, the accreditation certificate will be issued with the new name. 
     Article 26 Should a name change, or reorganization render an accredited program without graduates under the new program name, the program shall be reviewed as a program seeking provisional accreditation. Otherwise, it will be considered just as a program seeking accreditation. The accredited program with a name change must submit evidence clarifying the curriculum corresponds with the new program name. 
Chapter 10 Supplementary Provision
     Article 27 Should an arranged on-site visit be prevented by earthquake, flood, typhoon, or other force majeure circumstances, accreditation commission shall re-schedule the on-site visit. The OED must notify the accreditation team and the program under review in due time of the contingency measures. 
     Article 28 This document and any revision thereto shall be approved by the Council and promulgated for implementation by the Council Chair.