ACSI Accreditation Outside of the United Sates
Three types of accreditation are offered:
- School accreditation for schools whose curriculum is North American in foundation or which prepare students for immediate international transition to English language university systems. Two processes may be used, REACH and ASP (ASP for California if a school is in the EARCOS region.) These schools, once candidates or accredited, are listed in the International Registry of Accredited Schools.
- School accreditation for schools outside the USA which follow the national curriculum or instructional program of their country or bilingual schools. These schools are following instructional programs that are not easily comparable to North American instructional programs and are not intended to prepare students for international transitions to other nation’s university systems. These member schools are accredited by ACSI for their country or region. They are usually not eligible for joint accreditation with a USA regional accrediting agency. The REACH Accreditation manual is used for this category of schools.
- ACSI Boarding Accreditation was originally developed for schools serving the missionary community, and that is still the case. We anticipate other schools offering boarding and stand-alone hostels, will want to consider this program. A revision of the current manual is in progress.
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Determining School's Classification
ACSI International Services personnel determine the correct classification of schools seeking accreditation at the time of the candidacy status visit. Any school eligible for joint accreditation with CIS or one of the U.S. regional associations is strongly encouraged to do so, as this adds value to the process without any significant amount of additional work for the school, although there is additional expense to join the other agency.
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International Accreditation Contact
Contact us via email by first selecting your continent and then identifying your school type. An ACSI representative is ready to assist and resource you with your accreditation questions.
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Unique Distinctives and Issues of International Accreditation
- The accreditation process must be completed in English or in English and the host country language.
- International schools may request exceptions to specific indicators such as ACSI teacher certification if it can be shown that the school has unusually high faculty turnover or faculty from university systems which would require equivalency reports. When this exception is granted, international schools must still require the completion by all faculty of an in-service program on the philosophy of Christian School education.
- National-curriculum schools seek ACSI National accreditation to bring international personnel to appraise the quality of the school, to provide external verification to claims of quality education, and to set the school apart from others in the country as a school that is authentically Christian in personnel, instruction, and mission.
- ACSI accreditation is recognized by a growing list of countries as an agency authorized to accredit international schools.
- For ACSI schools to be listed in the International Registry of Accredited Schools, the school’s instructional program must be determined to prepare its graduates for direct entry into USA or Canadian tertiary systems or their equivalent.
- All schools seeking ACSI accreditation must pay international school ACSI member rates.
- Accreditation fees for schools outside the USA are the same as for schools inside the USA, but additional costs should be anticipated for travel costs including the cost of the candidacy status visit, the consultant’s visit(s) and the cost of an international visiting committee.
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