Terra Science and Education

ACASU accreditation will bring you the following benefits and more:

ACASU enhances your institution’s reputation.
Accreditation assures students and their families that your institution meets American standards for high quality education.
Accreditation shows students and parents your institution’s commitment to success and your ability to perform at high quality educational standards.
Accreditation shows your colleagues and the general public that your institution has a genuine interest in institutional improvement.
Accreditation sets your institution apart as a leader among others.
ACASU accreditation provides you with a network of skilled professionals and resources to assist meeting your accreditation, enrollment, and college attainment goals.
ACASU accreditation ensures that your standard operating procedures are compliant with U.S. international student regulations.
ACASU accreditation provides you a network of high-quality schools, universities, and administrators from all around the world to learn from and partner within global activities.
ACASU accreditation promotes your school and students to ACASU partnered U.S. Colleges and Universities to receive acceptance and scholarships, which should also enhance your school’s reputation in your home country.

ACASU developed its standards with the following Lifetime Qualities (expected outcomes) for your students. The accredited schools are expected to adopt ACASU Qualities and embed them in their culture and educational philosophy. We believe that the ACASU Qualities are crucial for lifelong success in any future work.

ACASU Lifetime Qualities include:

Moral: Caring, Modest, Ethical, Respectful
Thinker: Knowledgeable, Inquirier, Curious
Productive: Achiever, Excellence Seeker
Innovative: Problem Solvers, Explorer
Visionary: Global Citizen, Inclusive

ACASU accreditation process has four phases:

Phase 1: Letter of Intent
Phase 2: Eligibility Site Visit
Phase 3: Evaluation
Phase 4: Improvement

ACASU LEVELS:

Based on evaluation, the schools may receive one of the following ACASU standards based on its weighted rubric given in ACASU Standards document.

Bronze Level: Score 60/100 or higher
Silver Level: Score 75/100 or higher
Gold Level: Score 90/100 or higher

ACASU Score Calculation with Weight Factors:

[(0.7 x Governance Points) + (1.2 x Education Points) + (0.6 x Operations Points) + (1.2 x Culture Points) + (0.7 x Quality Points)]/3.03

ACASU Scoring Rubric for Each Indicator of the Standards

0 = None/Poor; 1 = Needs Improvement; 2 = Satisfactory; 3 = Exemplary

PHASE 1 - LETTER OF INTENT

The school submits Letter of Intent to start the process. The Letter of Intent is to provide school profile information and is used to determine whether the application will be accepted, and an Eligibility Site Visit will be scheduled. In some cases, additional clarification and documentation may be required before acceptance.

If the application is accepted, a dedicated web platform will be available for the school. This portal will be used for communication and documentation exchange throughout the accreditation process.

PHASE 2 - ELIGIBILITY SITE VISIT

The Eligibility Site Visit is to determine if the school is prepared for the final in-depth Evaluation. The Eligibility Site Visit is carried out by the Commissioner within 6-8 weeks after the Letter of Intent is “accepted” by the Commissioner.

The Eligibility Site Visit shall last two (2) full days. The visit will include a workshop between the Commissioner and the school liaisons to review the accreditation process and the Accreditation Assessment Rubric. Approximately two weeks after the visit the school will engage in in a video-conference call with the Commissioner who will determine if the accreditation process should proceed or if the school is not ready and needs time to prepare. The ruling by the Commissioner cannot be appealed. Regardless, the Commissioner will give the school an overall basic overview of the strengths and weaknesses of the school to facilitate improvement and to review the next steps in the accreditation process.

Schools who are deemed prepared by the Commissioner will move onto the full Evaluation step. Schools deemed unready may wait six (6) months and may repeat the process beginning with a new Letter of Intent. The new Letter of Intent will include specific improvements carried out by the school to ensure a positive outcome by the second Eligibility Site Visit.

PHASE 3 - EVALUATION

The Evaluation Phase will entail the following steps:

Candidate schools shall complete a Self-study report (limit 50 pages, excluding evidence documents) that follows the format of the ACASU Assessment Rubric providing evidence (or not) of each Indicator. The Assessment Team and Commissioner shall have one month to review the proposal. The Team and Commissioner may require additional information before moving to the Official Evaluation Site Visit.
Official Evaluation Site Visit by at least two Evaluators and the Commissioner. This visit lasts three (3) days for the first school accreditation candidate and two (2) days for each additional school campus during the school year.
Site-visit report will be produced by the Assessment Team within a month of the Evaluation Site Visit (limit 10 pages) and provided to the candidate school for Factual corrections by the school which must be received by the Assessment Team within fifteen days for consideration.
Corrective actions by the school for required improvements must be done by the candidate school with supporting evidence provided to the Assessment Team and Commissioner within three (3) months of receipt of the revised Site-visit report.
Evaluation and Voting on the accreditation and level (bronze, silver, gold) recommendation by the Assessment Team and Commissioner
The schools will receive a grade out of 100, based on rubric given in standards document and will be recommended for one of the ACASU Standard levels: Bronze for 60 or higher, Silver for 75 or higher, Gold for 90 or higher.
Site-visit report and final recommendations by the Assessment Team provided to the ACASU Board at least one (1) month before ACASU Board Meeting
Evaluation and Voting by the ACASU Board on the accreditation recommendations of the Assessment Team at bi-annual meeting
Follow-up video conference between candidate school and Commissioner within one week of the Annual Meeting to discuss the rulings of the ACASU Board and next steps.

PHASE 4 - IMPROVEMENT

Accreditation shall last for six (6) years with annual online reporting, required conference participation, and required fees. School should use this period to improve themselves to receive a higher level of accreditation until they reach Gold Standard by attending our professional development conferences.

ACASU‐accredited institutions submit online annual reports, validating that they continue to be aligned with ACASU Accreditation Standards.

ACASU‐accredited institutions subsequent accreditation cycles encompass only Phase 3 and 4 only.

Letter of intent: Free

Eligibility site visit: Free. The school pays for travel & lodging expenses for the Commissioner

Self-study report: US $1,500 upon submission

Official site visit: US $2,000 and travel & lodging expenses for the Assessment Team and the Commissioner paid before site visit

Accreditation annual fee: US $2,500 for schools up to 400 students; US $2,800 for schools up to 600 students; US $3,100 for schools up to 800 students; US $3,400, for schools up to 1,000 students, US $4,100 for schools up to 1,500 students; and US $4,500 for schools with more than 1,500 students.

Annual conference: Conference registration fee US $650 + travel & lodging expenses for at least one participant. Each school campus shall be accredited separately.

Discounts: There will be a 50% discount for the self-study report, Official site visit fee, and Accreditation annual fee and annual conference for each additional campus within same organization. In addition, Assessment visits will last two (2) days instead of three (3) days and multiple school campus visits can be performed together if applied at the same time.

Payment Method: All monetary transactions, such as payment for travel and lodging expenses of evaluators and the commissioner will be made directly to ACASU before the trips and ACASU will make the arrangements for them. Electronic payment is accepted.

Conflict of interest policy: Schools shall not give any gifts totaling more than $50 a year to any staff or member of ACASU, including evaluating team and commissioner.