AEI Program Releases Revised Accreditation Standards

The Program for Accreditation of Education Institutes (AEIs) is pleased to present the third version of our standards, Standards for Accredited Education Institutes. The goals of the 2021 standards revisions were to reduce redundancy and clarify intent, and accomplishing those goals resulted in a reorganization of the current standards.

Summary of Changes

While there aren't any new standards, per say, the original standards were reorganized, which resulted in an additional standard (five standards as opposed to four).
Only one new criterion has been added, Criterion 5.2: Annual Compliance Reports.
Minor changes were made to most criteria. In some instances, the documentation required to demonstrate compliance was also changed. The required documentation is now stated in the standards manual.
Requirements for Comprehensive and Focused accreditation are now incorporated into one set of standards. The differences in the requirements are noted in the language.

AEIs are expected to begin implementing Standards for Accredited Education Institutes (2021 Standards) in November 2021; however, AEIs will not complete an application reflecting the revised standards until they are up for renewal.

In the meantime, to help AEIs become familiar with the reorganization of the standards as well as the requirements to demonstrate compliance, all programs will complete a new annual compliance report reflecting the revised standards.

Visit the ACS website or the AEI Portal to access resources, including the new standards manual, a comparison of the 2012 standards with the 2021 standards, and educational videos.