Updated Accreditation Policies and Procedures
The NAEYC Academy is making several important changes to increase the reliability and accountability of the NAEYC Accreditation system, and to promote higher program quality. These new policies are based on the recommendations of the National Commission on Accreditation Reinvention, and have been planned with the NAEYC Governing Board and the Council for NAEYC Accreditation. They will improve the system for programs, families, employers and others, and most importantly, for the young children we serve.
The policies build on other steps we have taken to improve the NAEYC Accreditation system, including the new five-year term of accreditation, the 15-day window for scheduling on-site visits, and field testing new procedures for compensated validators and online scheduling. These changes have already helped improve service, and have significantly reduced the time that programs wait for on-site visits.
The new changes include:
Accreditation Fee Structure
Fees vary by the size of program enrollment. Fees are as follows:
| |
Level 1
(60 or fewer children) |
Level 2
(61 to 120 children) |
Level 3
(121 to 240 children) |
Level 4
(241 to 360 children*) |
*For each
additional 120 children |
Step 1
Enrolling in Self-Study |
$425 |
$525 |
$650 |
$775 |
$100 |
Step 2
Becoming an Applicant |
$200 |
$275 |
$350 |
$425 |
$75 |
Step 3
Becoming a Candidate |
$650 |
$775 |
$950 |
$1,150 |
$100 |
Step 4
Meeting the Program Standards |
No associated fees |
No associated fees |
No associated fees |
No associated fees |
No associated fees |
| Annual Report |
$300 |
$350 |
$400 |
$450 |
$100 |
| Verification Visit |
$650 |
$775 |
$950 |
$1,150 |
$100 |
Cancellation, or rescheduling, of a confirmed on-site visit results in a $250 cancellation/rescheduling fee.
Fee Increases
In August 2004 NAEYC announced an increase in fees for NAEYC accreditation. Increased fees are needed to strengthen the reliability and integrity of the system, and ensure that all programs receive prompt and efficient service. Since we launched accreditation in 1985, program fees have never fully covered NAEYC's costs for operating the accreditation system, with the annual loss increasing in recent years. In fact, in fiscal year 2004, accreditation operations expenses exceeded income by $1.8 million. The new fee structure narrows this gap, but still requires NAEYC to continue to support the costs of the system.
The fees are spread out over the entire accreditation process, so that you can more easily build the costs into your annual budgets. There are two fees in the entry stage of the new process: one for Enrollment in Self-Study, and another when your program files an Application for Accreditation (indicating that you will complete the self-assessment process within a specified time frame.) A third fee is due when your program applies to Become a Candidate. Programs that earn NAEYC Accreditation pay Annual Report fees with each of the four reports they file over the five-year term.
The fees have been carefully considered to ensure that the increases are fairly balanced among all types of programs. (For example, in a program with 90 children, the total increase in fees will equal approximately $3.10 per child per year.)
Verification of continued program compliance
The Council for NAEYC Accreditation has approved a new policy for verifying that a program is still complying with the accreditation criteria (after changes have occurred in the program during the term of accreditation.) Previously, the only form of verification was an on-site visit. The Council approved a policy that establishes additional ways to verify ongoing compliance through written documentation and verbal interviews.
These new procedures will enable the Academy to verify questions of compliance without always needing to conduct on-site visits. This will save individual programs a significant amount of time and money, and reassure families and others that NAEYC accredited programs continue to provide high-quality learning environments for young children.
This new policy requires an accredited program to report (within 90 days) changes that alter the program’s ability to maintain its continued compliance with NAEYC’s accreditation performance criteria and/or early childhood program standards. Examples of such changes include, but are not limited to, changes in: licensing/regulatory status, location/physical facility, ownership, program governance, age groups being served, and program court orders.
Read the new policy and procedures for verification, as well as the additional information the Academy is gathering from programs that experience change during their term of accreditation.
Annual reporting
As of January 1, 2005, all accredited programs are required to file annual reports each year, beginning on the accreditation anniversary date as found on a program's accreditation certificate. Over the course of the new five-year term of accreditation, every program will file four annual reports. As with the current system, failure to submit an annual report will be grounds for revocation, and a report indicating significant changes in the program will be grounds for a verification visit.
Unannounced verification visits of accredited programs
Beginning January 1, 2005, programs will be randomly selected for unannounced visits. The unannounced visits will be conducted like verification visits, with validators checking that the programs continue to comply with the accreditation criteria. If a program is not in compliance, its accreditation will be revoked. (Programs will be able to appeal revocation decisions to the Commission Decision Panel.)
Annual reporting and unannounced verification visits will help the Academy ensure that all programs are complying with the accreditation criteria, and will reassure families, employers and others that they can rely on NAEYC's accreditation system. As a result, stakeholders will have greater appreciation for all accredited programs, and for the investments programs make to improve. There is more information on these new policies in a high-quality format you can print and share with colleagues.
Transitional Procedures and Program Deadlines for the Current System
Another critical step in the transition to the new system of NAEYC Accreditation - which will be fully operational in 2006 - is establishing deadlines for participation in the current system. To help the NAEYC Academy plan for requests for on-site visits in the transition, an eligible program that wants a visit under the current accreditation criteria must file a Notification of Intent, indicating that it will submit a completed program description by a specified date. In order to make this process fair and reliable, the Academy has set a series of deadlines:
|
Deadline for Notification of Intent |
Deadline for Program Description |
Program is currently accredited, and |
· Expiration before 12/31/05 |
(NOI not required.) |
90 days before expiration of term. |
· Expiration after 1/1/06 |
Program may not apply for reaccreditation under the current system. |
Program is not currently accredited, and |
| · Purchased self-study materials before 12/31/01 |
November 1, 2004 |
March 1, 2005 |
| · Purchased self-study materials between 1/1/02 and 12/31/03 |
December 1, 2004 |
June 1, 2005 |
| · Purchases self-study materials between 1/1/04 and 6/1/05 (the last date for purchasing current self-study materials). |
July 1, 2005 |
October 1, 2005 |
Please review the complete list of transitional procedures, which provides important details that apply to all programs.
Programs must meet these deadlines to be eligible to apply for accreditation in the current system. Programs that do not meet the deadlines will be eligible to apply again through the new system in 2006. There is more information on these deadlines in a high-quality format you can print and share with colleagues.
You may also want to review frequently-asked questions about the new policies for NAEYC Accreditation.
We will continue to update the Web site with new transitional procedures and other critical information in the next few months. (View a timeline for the changes to NAEYC Accreditation as a pdf or in html format.) Please continue to visit this site regularly to stay informed about new procedures.
Please also register to receive our new Accreditation E-Update, a free monthly e-mail with the latest information about the changes to NAEYC Accreditation.
These are crucial steps toward improving the system—for children, families, programs, employers, and others—and they respond to requests that stakeholders have been making since the start of the reinvention process. The success of NAEYC Accreditation is a result of the support and efforts of early childhood educators around the country over the past two decades. We look forward to your continued support as we move into the future.
If you are a program director or validator, and you have questions about these new policies, transitional procedures, or fees (and you’ve already reviewed the frequently-asked questions section) please contact the NAEYC Information Coordinator or Validation Coordinator for your region.
If you are involved in supporting program accreditation efforts, and have broad questions or comments about the next era of NAEYC Accreditation, please email them to nexterasystem@naeyc.org.
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