INFORMATION ABOUT ISHEC ACCREDITATION
The ISHEC, International Standard for Higher Education Commission (ISHEC), will grant recognition of educational quality to all the institutions that meet our standards through a voluntary, non-governmental guided self regulation that is called accreditation. Accreditation of an institute guarantees that the learning offered by that institute is of uniform and sound quality.
Why is Accreditation Important?
Accreditation is important because it gives the assurance to the public, in particular to prospective students, that you, as an education provider, meet education quality standards in the global market.
Prospective students usually feel insecure accessing the international market when they need to measure the quality of a foreign education provider with the standards known to them (set forth by their own country). The International Standard for Higher Education Commission (ISHEC) accreditation may provide a global education quality reference not limited or constrained by local regulations or idiosyncrasies.
The comprehensive compilation of institutions provided by the European ENIC-NARIC Network (National Academic Recognition Information Centres) and the UNESCO IAU (International Association of Universities) is usually limited to traditional universities recognized by their corresponding Ministry of Education. What happens then with many higher education initiatives that do not fit in this category? What happens with those who provide innovative pedagogical approaches, programs of study not yet recognized by the traditional education establishment, or simply those who are responding to the current global market demands? The ISHEC Accreditation becomes the best way to endorse them.
It is essential to recognize that in a global market, accreditation does take on many forms. The perception of US accreditation as the “gold standard” dismiss the growing and major impact that many international schools are having on the future of global higher education. The question is not who or what accredits the school, rather, it is — How much accreditation does the school need to have? What institutions of higher learning should be considering is not adding more local accreditations in their home nation, but a truly international accreditation standard that may serve in the global market arena.
Accreditation in higher education is a process based on self- and peer-assessment for improvement of academic quality and public accountability. This quality control process occurs on a continuing basis and it usually involves three major phases:
1. Self Study.
The faculty, administrators, and staff of the institution or academic program conduct a self-study using the accrediting association’s set of standards as their guide.
2. Review.
A team of peers selected by the ISHEC Secretary reviews the evidence, may visit the campus to interview faculty and staff, and writes a report of its assessment including a recommendation to the commission (a group of peer faculty and professionals) of the accrediting association.
3. Accreditation.
Guided by a set of expectations about quality and integrity, the accreditation organization reviews the evidence and recommendation, makes a judgment, and communicates the decision to the institution and other constituencies as appropriate.
About the ISHEC Accreditation Status
1. ISHEC Accreditation is NOT a substitute of legal regulations.
Accreditation is a voluntary, non-governmental peer review process. Accreditation by the ISHEC shall be understood to convey only that the higher education institution meets the ISHEC’s educational standards. Such recognition is not in any way intended to substitute legal authorization, recognition or regulation, through compliance with local government laws. Legal authorization, recognition or regulation, and government accreditation occur in the context of different reviews.
2. Institutional accreditation.
The ISHEC accredited institution is evaluated as a whole entity and not in every a each specific program offered. Thus, the ISHEC accreditation status is not programmatic and it may not be useful for the licensing of professions or approval of specific programs.
3. Global & International Scope.
The ISHEC accreditation focuses primarily on educational quality from a global and international perspective, not narrow interests, or political action, or educational fashions. The ISHEC is aware of the differences among countries that may arise in regards of fulfilling the quality standards set forth, so The Commission will examine each higher education institution expecting their institutional autonomy and following a non discriminatory policy. Due to this global policy, the ISHEC is not part of the CHEA (Council of Higher Education Accreditation, USA) nor any other country’s governmental agencies. Academic mobility and credit transferability of accredited institutions will always be subject to the receiving country or institution policy.