Applications

K–12 faculty and administrators have a grace period for the first school year they are hired at an an ACSI accredited school, though individual schools may have their own requirements. Please check with your administrator before applying for certification. Early Education certification with ACSI is not a requirement for accreditation.

The online application is the preferred method of submitting the application and certification materials. Applicants can upload documents directly to the application and pay via credit card. ACSI requires official transcripts* for all initial applicants (unless submitting a state certificate) and any newly submitted coursework for individuals renewing and/or upgrading.

Initial applicants may find the following document helpful: Documents for Initial Application for Certification 

State credentialed applicants may find the following document helpful: FAQ Document for State Credentialed Applicants

ACSI Online Certification Application
(Credit Card payments only)

ACSI Printable Certification Application
(Check or Money Order only)

Please do not include staples

Paper clips are preferred, and it is helpful if all documents are mailed flat.

Those mailing a printable application may experience a slight delay in processing.

Certification Application Fee: $75 

• Current CPoE Checklist (Please note: Both halves of this checklist are required to be completed in order to fulfill the Christian Philosophy of Education requirement for ACSI certification.)
• CPoE Alternative Model (This redirects to the FAQ page with information regarding the Alternative Model CPoE at the bottom, including a link for applying for the Alternative Model CPoE.)
• Other options for completing an approved CPoE course/module can be found here: Options for Completing the CPoE.

Early Education Requirements

Early Education certification with ACSI is not a requirement for accreditation.

• Early Education Teacher
• Early Education Director
• Principles and Practices of Christian Early Education
• EE Yearly Professional Development and Biblical Studies Report (for use by accredited EE programs)

Teacher Requirements

• Elementary Teacher
• Secondary Teacher
  • Secondary Teacher Content Area Reading Alternative (if using ACSI's checklist, you will need to submit the checklist along with the application, fee, and an additional $25 fee for using the Content Area Reading Checklist)
• Secondary Teacher - Content Area Emphasis
• All Levels Teacher
  • (Art, Computer, ELL, Foreign Language, Library/Media, Music, Physical Education, Reading, Special Education)
• Specialist Teacher
  • (Art, Computer, ELL, Foreign Language, Library/Media, Music, Physical Education)
  • We now accept NILD Certification toward partial fulfillment of the Specialist semester hour requirements for those seeking certification in a related area. Please see a more detailed description here: NILD Acceptance.
  • We now accept the 900-hour Missionary Program from The Spanish Language Institute (San Jose, Costa Rica) in partial fulfillment of the requirements for those seeking a Specialist certification in Spanish. Please see a more detailed description here: Spanish Language Institute.
• Bible Specialist
• School Counselor
  • We now accept NACCAP Certification toward partial fulfillment of the educational studies requirements for those seeking School Counselor certification. Please see a more detailed description here: NACCAP Acceptance.
• Athletic Director
  • We now accept NIAAA CAA Certification toward partial fulfillment of the educational studies requirements for those seeking Athletic Director certification. Please see a more detailed description here: NIAAA Acceptance.

Administrator Requirements

• Elementary Principal
• Secondary Principal
• All Levels Principal
  • The head/lead educational administrator in any K-12 school could hold either the Head of School certificate or the All Levels Principal certificate in order to fulfill ACSI Accreditation requirements.
• Assistant Administrator
  • The Assistant Administrator certificate was designed primarily for specialized positions within administration, such as Director of Curriculum/Instruction, Director of Assessment, Academic Dean, Director of Professional Development, etc. Those individuals who are Vice Principal (or similar) over a given division of a school would be better served by the Elementary Principal, Secondary Principal, or All Levels Principal certificate
• Head of School
  • The head/lead educational administrator in any K-12 school could hold either the Head of School certificate or the All Levels Principal certificate in order to fulfill ACSI Accreditation requirements.
• Executive Director
  • The Executive Director is for those individuals who do not qualify for HOS Certificate with education hours, but have valid degrees in business, finance, law, medicine, theology, etc. from CHEA accredited institutions. Individuals who are chiefly responsible for the financial, operational, and developmental aspects of the school, but do not oversee the direct day-to-day educational/curricular concerns would fit into this category for certification. This person would have at least one principal who oversees the instructional program including the curricular program, faculty supervision, and student learning.

   

Equivalency Report Providers

Those who have earned a degree outside the United States may need to provide an equivalency report verifying that the degree(s) they earned are at least equivalent to a U.S. bachelor's degree. A list of recommended equivalency report providers can be found here: Equivalency Report Providers.

• How to Earn Bible CEUs

• Explanation of Educational Studies requirements for those needing semester hours in educational studies
• Secondary content area reading checklist (an alternative for Secondary or All Levels certificate holders*)
• Where can I earn semester hours in Educational Studies?

*Not all All Levels certificates require the content area reading requirement. The Secondary Content Area Reading Checklist is not an option for Elementary certificate holders.