What is the Accreditation-Plus Program?

Accreditation-Plus is an optional program that provides an advanced way to manage all aspects of the WASC accreditation process and your school's self-study — from engaging shareholders, developing the self-study report, preparing for the visit, and managing your school's ongoing action plan and follow-up. By joining the Accreditation-Plus program, you receive extra training, ongoing support, and WASC-approved tools and templates for streamlining and facilitating the self-study process.

At the core of the Accreditation-Plus program is a web-based software application that:

• Supports planning and coordination of the self-study and ongoing process, and includes an interactive self-study coordinator checklist
• Provides streaming online tutorials on self-study tasks
• Allows for structured shareholder input and feedback through a secure website
• Stores and manages your self-study documents, your self-study reports, and action plans
• Captures evidence of your collaborative process for your visiting committee
• Enables ongoing implementation and monitoring of your schoolwide action plan, updating of your student/community profile, and preparation of progress reports
• Gives you a jump start on your next accreditation cycle
• Provides interactive training and access to helpful materials for program coordinators in a dedicated APlus Training website.

What kind of school is the program suitable for?

WASC is currently inviting all schools scheduled for full visits in 2009–2010 to participate in the Accreditation-Plus program. Accreditation-Plus is available for WASC, WASC/CDE, and most joint WASC protocols.

How do we sign up?

Click Register for the APlus Program link on the WASC website (www.acswasc.org), or contact Cynthia Newton in the Northern California WASC office at (650) 548-4387, or via email at cnewton@acswasc.org.

What are the costs involved?

There is a one-time initial setup fee of $1,500.00 and an annual membership fee of $500.00 for the Accreditation-Plus program to cover the cost of technical support. Accreditation-Plus is designed to streamline the self-study and ongoing accreditation processes and provides a cost-effective way for teachers to meet regarding WASC accreditation issues without having to hire substitute teachers, since most most staff communication and self-study work can be accomplished online

The Accreditation-Plus fee schedule is the following:

• First year total: $2000, each subsequent year: $500
  • -- One-time, nonrefundable set-up fee: $1,500
  • -- Annual program fee: $500 per year

What is the cancellation policy if we decide that Accreditation-Plus is not right for us?

Cancellation Policy

The $1,500.00 set-up fee is a one-time fee and is not refundable.

• Schools that cancel before December 31 (or within three months of signing up) would receive a 100% refund of the annual fee.
• Schools that cancel between January 1 and March 31 (or within six months of signing up) of the first year would receive a 50% refund ($250.00).
• Schools that cancel after March 31 (six months or more) of the first year would not be eligible to receive a refund.

How do I learn to use the Accreditation-Plus program?

You can use the self-paced, fully illustrated APlus Coordinator’s Guide to set-up your school’s APlus site.

Accreditation-Plus also offers online training sessions which are scheduled several times during the year.

Each training session involves guided hands-on learning, and is geared towards the Self-Study Coordinator and Principal. Additional key Leadership Team members may also attend.

You can participate in the online training from your school or home. Login from any computer with an internet connection and then join us in a conference call.

Accreditation-Plus has been designed to be as simple as possible to set up and use. We are here to help and support you during this process. Individuals who need coaching on any aspect of Accreditation-Plus can receive it through a phone call.

If I attend the Accreditation-Plus training, do I still need to attend the WASC regional Self-Study training?

Yes. Accreditation-Plus training/coaching sessions are built around the knowledge of the Self-Study process that you receive during the WASC regional trainings. Participation in Accreditation-Plus supplements the traditional process.

I still have a few questions. Who do I ask?

For questions of a general nature, contact Cynthia Newton in the Northern California WASC office at (650) 548-4387, or via email at cnewton@acswasc.org.

Technical questions for current users of the Accreditation-Plus program should be directed to Robyn Moulding at (925) 256-4343, x 124, or via email at robyn@acswasc.org