Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities

1791 Delegates advises that the Curriculum Licensing & Services Agreement between Abolition Academy and its partner schools in the northwest will follow the accreditation standards of the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. 

Specifically, 1791 Delegates recommends emphasizing the following standards in the agreement, as developed under the C-RAC Guidelines for the Evaluation of Distance Education: 

1. Abolition Academy has in place effective procedures through which to ensure that the student who registers in a distance education course or program is the same student who participates in and completes the course or program and receives the academic credit; 

2. Abolition Academy makes clear in its Student Handbook that these processes protect student privacy; 

3. Abolition Academy notifies students at the time of registration and enrollment of any projected additional student charges associated with the verification procedures. 

Through its review of the institution’s distance education programs, the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities seeks assurance that these programs fulfill the Standards for Accreditation; specifically: 

4. Abolition Academy's distance education programs are consistent with the mission and educational objectives of the partner school; 

5. Abolition Academy provides sufficient resources – financial, human, physical, technological – to support its distance education programs; 

6. The faculty of partner school exercises oversight of distance education programs at Abolition Academy, ensuring both the rigor of the program and the quality of instruction; 

7. Abolition Academy courses and programs offered via distance education maintain the same academic standards as those offered on the main campus at the partner school; 

8. The faculty on-campus at the partner school have a substantive role in the design, implementation, and approval of distance education programs; 

9. The faculty at the partner school evaluates the educational effectiveness of each distance education program, including assessment of student learning outcomes, student retention, and student and faculty satisfaction, to ensure comparability to campus-based programs; 

10. Students enrolled in the Abolition Academy's distance education programs have adequate access to and make effective use of learning resources, including library, information resources; 

11. Students enrolled in the Abolition Academy distance education programs through the partner school adequate access to student services at the partner school, including the partner school’s financial aid, academic advising, course registration, and career and placement counseling; 

12. Publications and advertising for the Abolition Academy distance education programs are accurate and contain necessary information such as the program’s goals, requirements, academic calendar, and faculty; 

13. Contractual relationships and arrangements with consortial partners, if any, are clear and guarantee that the institution maintains direct and sole responsibility for the academic quality of all aspects of distance education programs. Where the institution has entered into contractual relationships involving credits and degrees, it has obtained Commission approval for the substantive change.