UNDERSTANDING ACCREDITATION STATUSES

Accredited (Status): This status indicates that a program has voluntarily undergone a rigorous review and has been determined to meet or exceed the Standards set by the CAHSM Board of Directors.

Initial Accreditation: Conferred when a program seeking its first accreditation satisfies all Standards. The program remains in good standing and participates in annual monitoring.

Continuing Accreditation: Awarded for a seven-year term following a successful Comprehensive Program Review. To maintain this status, programs must initiate a new application no later than the sixth year of their current cycle.

Candidacy (Status): This is the pre-accreditation application stage. While it allows a program to begin its Self-Assessment in the CAHSM Accreditation System (CAS), it does not denote accreditation or full compliance with Standards. This status expires after two years if the program does not progress.

Administrative Probationary Accreditation (Administrative Action): This action occurs when an accredited program fails to meet administrative requirements, such as missing the deadline for the Annual Program Assessment Report (APAR), failing to pay fees, or refusing to agree to a Site Visit.

Show Cause (Action): Show Cause is a serious action requiring a program to provide evidence as to why its accreditation should not be withdrawn. This is typically triggered by non-corrected concerns regarding Standards or non-compliance identified during annual monitoring that may jeopardize educational quality.

Inactive (Status): A voluntary two-year period where an accredited program suspends the enrollment of new students. While the program’s next comprehensive review is postponed, it must continue to pay annual fees and will be listed as “Inactive” in the official directory.

Accreditation Withheld (Adverse Status): This is a recommendation for programs in the Candidacy stage that are found to be sufficiently out of compliance, to the extent that delivering a quality program is not possible.

Accreditation Withdrawn (Adverse Status): Accreditation may be involuntarily withdrawn if a program fails to resolve issues following Show Cause or Administrative Probation. Final statuses of “Accreditation Withdrawn” are published on the CAHSM website.

Voluntary Withdrawal (Administrative Action): An institution may request to discontinue its accreditation at any time, provided it follows proper notification procedures and ensures equitable treatment for any remaining students through a Teach-out Plan.