Section 339.14005. Accreditation standards; adoption by reference.

(1) An institution is considered approved by the board if it is accredited by the accrediting body of the region in which the institution is located, and the accrediting body meets either the recognition standards and criteria of the council for higher education accreditation or the recognition procedures and criteria of the United States department of education.

(2)      The procedures and criteria for recognizing accrediting agencies of the United States department of education, effective July 1, 2000, as contained in Title 34, Part 602 of the Code of Federal Regulations, and the “Recognition of Accrediting Organizations Policies and Procedures of the Council for Higher Education Accreditation, CHEA”

approved September 28, 1998 and revised June 28, 2010 are adopted by reference in these rules. The chea recognition standards may be obtained at no cost from the council’s website at http://www.chea.org/default.asp?link=9. The federal recognition criteria may be obtained at no cost from the website for the United States Department of Education Office of Postsecondary Education at http://www2.ed.gov/admins/finaid/accred.

(3)       All of the following standards of postsecondary accrediting organizations are adopted by reference in these rules:

(a)         The standards of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Higher Education, 3624 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, set forth in the document entitled "Characteristics of Excellence in Higher Education: Requirements of Affiliation and Standards for Accreditation," 2011 edition, which is available at no cost on the association's website at http://www.msche.org.

(b)      The standards of the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, Inc. Commission on Institutions of Higher Education, 209 Burlington Road, Suite 201, Bedford, MA 07130, in the document entitled "Standards for Accreditation,” effective July 1, 2011, which is available at no cost on the association’s website at http://cihe.neasc.org.

(c)    The standards of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, The Higher Learning Commission, 230 South LaSalle Street, Suite 7-500, Chicago, IL 60604, set forth in the document entitled “Criteria for Accreditation, Assumed Practices, Obligations of Affiliation,” effective January 1, 2013, which is available at no cost on the association’s website at http://www.ncahlc.org/information-for-institutions/obtaining- accreditation.html.

(d)    The standards of the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities, 8060 165th Avenue NE, Suite 100, Redmond, WA 98052 set forth in the document entitled "Standards for Accreditation,” revised 2010, which is available at no cost on the association’s website at http://www.nwccu.org.

(e)            The standards of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges, 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, GA 30033, set forth in the document entitled “Principles of Accreditation: Foundations for Quality Enhancement,” 2012 edition, which is available at no cost on the association’s website at http://www.sacscoc.org/principles.asp.

(f)         The standards of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, The Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities, 985 Atlantic Avenue, Suite 100, Alameda, CA 94501, set forth in the document entitled “Handbook of Accreditation,” July 2008, which is available at no cost on the commission’s website at http://wascsenior.org/resources/eligibility.

(g)     The standards of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges, 10 Commercial Blvd., Suite 204, Novato, CA 94949, set forth in the document entitled "Accreditation Reference Handbook,” July 2012 Edition, which is available at no cost on the commission’s website at http://www.accjc.org.

(4)     Copies of the standards and criteria adopted by reference in subrules (2) and (3) of this rule are available for inspection and distribution at cost from the Board of Nursing Home Administrators, Bureau of Health Care Services, Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, 611 West Ottawa, P.O. Box 30670, Lansing, MI 48909.

History: 1992 AACS; 1998-2000 AACS; 2014 AACS.