The Challenge of Change in Africa's Higher Education in the 21st ...

Certain elements in the foregoing definitions deserve elaboration. First, accreditation is very much about continuous improvement and quality enhancement. It is about attaining excellence in the provision and delivery of educational programs, and then doing what is necessary to maintain the new level of excellence. The failure to achieve these ends will result in accreditation either being lost or denied, depending on whether the program or institution under review has had accreditation beforehand or is seeking initial accreditation by and through the accrediting agency. Second, the accreditation stamp of approval comes not from the institution itself but rather is earned based on a peer-review process. Third, in order for quality enhancement and program excellence to be judged as occurring—or as having occurred—criteria called “accreditation standards” are necessary. A discussion of accreditation standards is beyond the purview of this chapter.