Requirements

Every institution accredited by the Global Accreditation Council must demonstrate that it fully meets the following Requirements of Affiliation. Compliance is expected to be continuous and will be validated periodically, typically at the time of institutional self-study and during any other evaluation of the institution’s compliance. Once eligibility is established, an institution, must demonstrate on an ongoing basis that it meets the following standards for accreditation:

The institution has a mission statement and related goals, approved by its governing board, that defines its purposes and includes a commitment to prepare students to be knowledgeable about the global challenges facing humanity and to take action collaboratively to solve them.
The institution is operational with students actively enrolled in its programs.
For institutions pursuing Candidacy or Initial Accreditation, the institution must have produced courses in sufficient quantities and quality to warrant consideration.
The institution agrees to communicate and work collaboratively with all the other participating institutions in a transparent and supportive manner with a goal of fostering transformational literacy on a global scale.
The institution complies with all applicable government laws and regulations within which it is domiciled.
The institution complies with all Council policies including participating in the Council free interchange of courses between participating institutions.
The institution systematically evaluates its educational and other programs and makes public how well and in what ways it is accomplishing its purposes.
The institution’s student learning programs and opportunities are characterized by rigor, coherence, and appropriate assessment of student achievement throughout the educational offerings, regardless of certificate or degree level or delivery and instructional modality.
Institutional planning integrates goals for programmatic and institutional effectiveness and improvement, student achievement of educational goals, student learning, and the results of programmatic and institutional assessments.
The institution has documented financial resources, funding base, and plans for financial development, including those from any related entities adequate to support its educational purposes and programs and to ensure financial stability. The institution demonstrates a record of responsible fiscal management, has a prepared budget for the current year, and undergoes a financial audit on a regular basis.
The institution fully discloses its legally constituted governance structure(s) including any related entities with which it is associated. The institution’s governing body is responsible for the quality and integrity of the institution and for ensuring that the institution’s mission is being accomplished.
A majority of the institution’s governing body’s members have no employment, family, ownership, or other personal financial interest in the institution. The governing body adheres to a conflict of interest policy that assures that those interests are disclosed and that they do not interfere with the impartiality of governing body members or outweigh the greater duty to secure and ensure the academic and fiscal integrity of the institution.
The institution and its governing body/bodies make freely available to the Council accurate, fair, and complete information on all aspects of the institution and its operations. The governing body/bodies ensure that the institution describes itself in comparable and consistent terms to all of its accrediting and regulatory agencies, communicates any changes in accredited status, and agrees to disclose information required by the Council to carry out its accrediting responsibilities.
The institution commits to being diverse and inclusive and welcoming of students from all backgrounds. All administrative personnel and instructors shall commit to acting in a non-discriminatory manner in all student affairs.
The institution verifies that faculty or instructors are qualified to teach the courses they are responsible for through either educational attainment and specialization, or personal and professional experience.