Misplaced Pages

#771228

29-571: The New England Association of Schools and Colleges, Inc. ( NEASC / ˈ n iː æ s k / NEE -ask ) is an American educational organization that accredits private and public secondary schools (high schools and technical/career institutions), primarily in New England. It also accredits international secondary schools (primarily in the Middle East and Europe) and, less frequently, high schools in other U.S. states. Until 2018, NEASC

58-458: A group of concerned individuals requested a meeting with NEASC's reviewers during an accreditation visit to Maloney High School ( Meriden, Connecticut ), claiming that the school made changes during the NEASC visit in order to give the reviewers an artificially impressive view of the school, and that they wanted an opportunity to tell NEASC about the school as they saw it. NEASC declined to meet with

87-466: A group of university administrators led by Harvard president Charles W. Eliot and Wellesley president Alice Freeman . The current name was adopted in 1971. NEASC is headquartered in Lowell, Massachusetts . The original impetus for educational accreditation was American universities' desire for recognition by the international academic community. Starting in 1912, several European universities, led by

116-406: A reviewer's fee to be accredited by NEASC, which may cost tens of thousands of dollars, in addition to yearly NEASC membership dues in the thousands of dollars. NEASC's website does not disclose its fees for domestic institutions, but it estimates that for international schools, as of 2023, "a hypothetical school of 500 students with no delays in the process" would be charged approximately $ 18,980 over

145-480: A set of regional self-regulators . NEASC and its successor officially trace back their accreditation efforts to 1929. However, in the early days, accreditation merely meant membership in NEASC; although NEASC approved a set of standards for member institutions, it treated those standards as advisory. When government regulators began basing eligibility for federal and state-provided financial aid on university accreditation (a practice that continues today), Congress and

174-521: Is for higher education. Public schools must adhere to criteria set by the state governments, and there is wide variation among the individual states in the requirements applied to non-public primary and secondary schools. There are seven regional accreditors in the United States that have historically accredited elementary schools , junior high schools , middle schools , high schools , as well as institutions of higher education . Some of

203-752: The Conseo para la Accreditation de la Education Superior (COPAES) for academic programs in Mexican Higher Education. In the European Union , the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education registers quality assurance agencies that provide accreditation. In the United States, there is no federal government list of recognized accreditation agencies for primary and secondary schools like there

232-718: The Department of Education (DOE) began scrutinizing the accreditation agencies more closely. In the late 2010s, DOE began planning to strengthen existing rules protecting the independence of accreditation agencies (34 CFR § 602.14). In 2018, anticipating the regulatory change, NEASC spun off its university accreditation arm into an independent body, which is now known as the New England Commission of Higher Education . When NEASC recognized universities in 1929, it also recognized several public and private secondary schools (mostly college-preparatory schools ). As with

261-656: The University of Berlin , announced that they would only recognize American university degrees awarded by a member of the Association of American Universities (AAU), an industry group of leading research universities . The AAU recognized that European universities wanted some kind of formal credential, but left the issue to other organizations. The American Council of Education briefly accredited universities starting in 1921, but abandoned those efforts in 1935. Over time, responsibility for university accreditation fell to

290-681: The 1950s. According to one school's historian, the increasing popularity of college led to the foundation of many new prep schools, some of which were fraudulent. As a result, some reformers began pushing for closer government regulation of private schools. "To forestall governmental intervention, [NEASC] (and similar groups elsewhere) decided that it would hold periodic strict evaluations of its member institutions, and accredit them if they seemed to merit it." As of June 14, 2024, NEASC accredited 659 United States public schools, 532 United States private schools (including religious schools), and 339 international schools (including several international schools in

319-563: The United Arab Emirates (46 schools), Spain (43 schools), Germany (18 schools), Qatar (16 schools), and Switzerland (15 schools). NEASC is made up of three commissions: the Commission on Independent Schools, the Commission on International Education, and the Commission on Public Schools. The commissions decide matters of accreditation in the context of research-driven standards reviewed by their membership. Schools must pay

SECTION 10

#1732794168772

348-1032: The United States). The 659 public schools represent a decrease from the roughly 725 schools accredited by NEASC in October 2022. Of the 659 U.S. public schools, all but one were located in the New England states (272 in Massachusetts, 169 in Connecticut, 80 in New Hampshire, 72 in Maine, 41 in Rhode Island, and 24 in Vermont). Of the 532 U.S. private schools, 521 were located in New England (206 in Massachusetts, 143 in Connecticut, 47 in Rhode Island, 44 in Maine, 43 in New Hampshire, and 38 in Vermont). Internationally, NEASC's biggest markets are

377-735: The United States. South Hadley High School South Hadley High School is a secondary school in South Hadley, Massachusetts , United States, for students in grades 9–12. The school has a student population of just over 500. The school's name is frequently referred to as "SHHS". Having moved in 2009 to South Hadley from Ireland, Phoebe Prince was taunted and bullied for several weeks by at least two groups of students at South Hadley High School, following disputes with two girls in late December 2009. On January 14, 2010, three students engaged in persistent taunting and harassment of Prince. Prince subsequently died by suicide by hanging herself in

406-595: The colleges, NEASC's original standards for prep schools were advisory, and accreditation was synonymous with NEASC membership. Although not every major New England prep school was a NEASC member in 1929, several joined shortly after NEASC membership became linked with accreditation (e.g., Exeter in 1932 and Hotchkiss in 1933). Today, a private school must be accredited in order to join the National Association of Independent Schools . Formalized secondary school accreditation reviews were not popularized until

435-613: The course of a five-year accreditation cycle. When South Hadley High School resigned from NEASC in 2024, its principal stated that its yearly membership dues were approximately $ 4,000 and that in 2014, its decennial accreditation review cost $ 26,000. In addition, in February 2023, a representative of the Vermont Principals' Association said that two school principals had told him that their annual dues were $ 3,600 and $ 4,340, respectively. School stakeholders who disagree with

464-718: The creation of the U.S. Department of Education and under the terms of the Higher Education Act of 1965 , as amended, the U.S. Secretary of Education is required by law to publish a list of nationally recognized accrediting agencies for higher education. Higher Education extends beyond the United States. Within North America, Canada has agencies such as EQual Accreditation, overseen by Accreditation Canada , that ensures programs meet national benchmarks for educational excellence and quality standards for health education programs. Mexico has similar agencies such as

493-514: The family apartment. After her death, many crude comments about her were posted on her Facebook memorial page, most of which were removed. Other parents subsequently stated that bullying of their children had been completely ignored by the school administration. Massachusetts state lawmakers sped up efforts to pass anti-bullying legislation as a result. On March 29, 2010, two male and four female teenagers from South Hadley High School were indicted as adults on felony charges stemming from

522-489: The group, explaining that the group needed to express its concerns through existing channels. In 2015, the Lowell Sun published an article in which several school districts questioned the value of NEASC accreditation after NEASC formally warned Billerica Memorial High School that it was in danger of losing its accreditation. The article noted that Burlington High School had suspended its NEASC membership, claiming that

551-501: The high school also were alerted to the harassment of Phoebe Prince before her death. Prior to Phoebe's death, her mother spoke with at least two school staff members about the harassment Phoebe had reported to her ... the actions or inactions of some adults at the school are troublesome. In May 2011, the case was resolved, after agreements to plead guilty to lesser charges. Five of the defendants were placed on probation, with several also sentenced to community service. The charges against

580-571: The incident, ranging from statutory rape, criminal harassment, stalking, juvenile delinquency, to assault with a deadly weapon. The district attorney directly contradicted claims by the school superintendent that school officials had been unaware of the bullying: Contrary to previously published reports, Phoebe's harassment was common knowledge to most of the South Hadley High School student body. The investigation has revealed that certain faculty, staff and administrators of

609-453: The institution and the individual programs of study. Higher education accreditation in the United States has long been established as a peer review process coordinated by accreditation commissions and member institutions. The federal government began to play a limited role in higher education accreditation in 1952 with the reauthorization of the GI Bill for Korean War veterans . With

SECTION 20

#1732794168772

638-480: The leadership or direction of a particular school sometimes use NEASC accreditation as a pressure point to demand policy changes. In 2023, NEASC cancelled the Interdistrict School for Arts and Communication's ( New London, Connecticut ) application for accreditation after a teacher sued the school for creating a toxic work environment and the school declined to cooperate with an investigation. In 2024,

667-576: The quality assurance process to private non-profit organizations. Those organizations are formally called accreditors. In order to receive federal funding and any other type of federal recognition, all accreditors in the US must, in turn, be recognized by the National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity (NACIQI), which is an advisory body to the U.S. Secretary of Education . The federal government is, therefore, still

696-477: The regional accreditors, such as, Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, International Association for Learner Driven Schools (IALDS), New England Association of Schools and Colleges, Western Association of Schools and Colleges AdvancED , and some independent associations, such as the Association of Christian Schools International and Council of Islamic Schools of North America (CISNA), have expanded their accreditation activity to include schools outside

725-467: The situation may be different for private schools, as those schools do not have "traditional local and state oversight" and are exempted from certain federal disclosure requirements. Educational accreditation In most countries, the function of educational accreditation is conducted by a government organization, such as the Ministry of Education. The United States government instead delegates

754-480: The top-level architect and controlling authority of accreditation. The U.S. accreditation process was developed in the late 19th century and early 20th century after educational institutions perceived a need for improved coordination and articulation between secondary and post-secondary educational institutions, along with standardization of requirements between the two levels. Accreditation of higher education varies by jurisdiction and may focus on either or both

783-496: The universities its students attended did not take NEASC accreditation into account when evaluating college applications. However, the Sun also explained that at least one public university system (the University of California ) requires applicants to graduate from an accredited secondary institution. In a letter to the editor, NEASC added that following a parent outcry, Burlington High School had already applied for re-accreditation, which

812-483: Was granted following a formal review in 2017. In February 2023, Vermont Principals' Association executive director Jay Nichols submitted a two-page statement to the Vermont legislature, which argued that the legislature should not require public schools to seek NEASC accreditation. He opined that most Vermont public schools do not seek accreditation because of the high cost and large amount of paperwork. He suggested that

841-410: Was the primary accrediting organization for universities in New England. Since 2018, the former NEASC university accreditation body is now an independent organization, the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE). NEASC retained its old name after the split, although the word "colleges" is now an anachronism. The New England Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools was founded in 1885 by

#771228