Institutional accreditation
Institutional Accreditation
External peer review of institution-wide quality, governance, resources, and academic capacity.
AAC Institutional Accreditation supports higher education institutions seeking external review of institutional strategy, governance, quality assurance, teaching and learning environment, student support, resources, facilities, financial planning, research where applicable, and relationships with the wider community.
Start Application（https://www.aac.cw/application-form） View Accreditation Process（https://www.aac.cw/accreditation-process） Contact AAC（https://www.aac.cw/contactus）
International context
Recognition, Presence, and International Affiliations
AAC operates within an international quality assurance context and maintains recognition, memberships, partnerships, and affiliations relevant to its role in accreditation and external review.
View Recognition and International Presence（https://www.aac.cw/partnerships-aac）
Institution-wide quality assurance
What Institutional Accreditation Reviews
AAC Institutional Accreditation focuses on the external review of the higher education institution as a whole. The procedure examines whether the institution has a clear mission, appropriate governance, effective quality assurance, sufficient academic and operational resources, and credible systems for continuous improvement.
Mission, Strategy, and Governance
AAC reviews whether the institution has a clear mission, defined goals, effective governance, and administrative structures that support institutional quality.
Teaching, Learning, and Student Support
AAC reviews the institution’s learning and teaching environment, student administration, student support services, and academic delivery capacity.
Resources, Facilities, and Financial Planning
AAC reviews whether the institution has appropriate learning resources, facilities, equipment, staffing, employment processes, and financial planning.
Quality Assurance and Institutional Development
AAC reviews whether the institution monitors, evaluates, and improves its academic and administrative systems through structured quality assurance processes.
Standards
AAC Institutional Accreditation Standards
Institutional Accreditation is conducted against AAC standards for institution-wide quality assurance. The standards support a structured review of mission, governance, quality assurance, academic delivery, student support, resources, financial planning, employment, research, and community relationships.
Standard 01 Mission, Goals, and Objectives
Institutional mission, strategic direction, goals, and objectives that guide institutional development.
Standard 02 Governance and Administration
Governance structures, decision-making, administrative capacity, leadership, and institutional accountability.
Standard 03 Management of Quality Assurance and Improvement
Internal quality assurance, monitoring, evaluation, feedback, reporting, and continuous improvement.
Standard 04 Learning and Teaching
Teaching and learning environment, academic delivery, curriculum oversight, assessment, and learning outcomes.
Standard 05 Student Administration and Support Services
Admissions, student records, academic advising, student services, progression support, and learner protection.
Standard 06 Learning Resources
Libraries, digital resources, academic materials, learning platforms, and other resources supporting study.
Standard 07 Facilities and Equipment
Physical and digital infrastructure, facilities, equipment, and operational environment.
Standard 08 Financial Planning and Management
Financial planning, resource allocation, sustainability, budgeting, and institutional financial management.
Standard 09 Employment Processes
Recruitment, appointment, workload, staff qualifications, professional development, and employment practices.
Standard 10 Research
Research activity, research support, integrity, policy, and institutional research development where applicable.
Standard 11 Institutional Relationships with the Community
External relations, stakeholder engagement, community links, partnerships, and public contribution.
International reference
Based on Recognized Quality Assurance Principles
AAC accreditation guidelines are informed by the European Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area (ESG). Other national and international quality assurance references may also be reflected in the formulation of AAC standards.
Learn More about ESG（https://www.aac.cw/web/content/2437?download=true&unique=19d41215996851bb4eacee81b5d7142e42e5c26f）
Procedure
Institutional Accreditation Procedure and Timeline
The Institutional Accreditation procedure normally takes about 16 to 24 months. The procedure provides AAC and the higher education institution with a comprehensive evaluation of institutional strengths, weaknesses, future opportunities, risks, and improvement priorities.