Preface

This manual is under development by the 2020–2025 Think College National Coordinating Center Accreditation Workgroup in partnership with the Inclusive Higher Education Accreditation Council.

The Inclusive Higher Education Accreditation Council (IHEAC) is an independent accrediting agency for college and university programs who serve students with intellectual disability (ID). The purpose of the IHEAC is to promote standards-based quality programming for students with ID who attend colleges and universities. The agency is approved as a tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code.

The Think College National Coordinating Center is a project of the Institute for Community Inclusion at the University of Massachusetts. It is funded by the Office of Postsecondary Education, US Department of Education to provide knowledge development, technical assistance, training and dissemination, and leadership and collaboration for Transition and Postsecondary Education Programs for Students with Intellectual Disabilities (TPSID) grantees supporting the growth and enhancement of postsecondary options for students with intellectual disabilities throughout the United States

The Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008 (HEOA) created new opportunities for students with intellectual disability (ID) to access federal financial aid. The HEOA also authorized both new model programs and a National Coordinating Center (NCC). The NCC, administered by Think College at the Institute for Community Inclusion at the University of Massachusetts, Boston, is charged with providing technical assistance, coordination, and evaluation of the model programs. The NCC is also required to convene an Accreditation Workgroup to develop and recommend model criteria, standards, and components of higher education programs for students with ID. The NCC created three Accreditation Workgroups (2011, 2015, 2020) and continue to provide significant direction and leadership to the field of postsecondary education for students with ID.

The first Accreditation Workgroup convened in 2011 under the leadership of long-time policymaker and advocate Stephanie Smith Lee. During her leadership, the Accreditation Workgroup developed the model program accreditation standards. This decade-long process included research of accreditation organizations, field testing of standards, and multiple rounds of input and feedback from programs and families throughout the United States.

Think College published the Report on Model Accreditation Standards for Higher Education Programs for Students with Intellectual Disability: Progress on the Path to Education, Employment, and Community Living in 2021.

The current Accreditation Workgroup, chaired by Martha Mock, convened in early 2021 and was charged with creating the process by which higher education programs serving students with ID could apply for accreditation. The creation of this accreditation process includes developing this manual and piloting and refining the procedures and tools needed to implement the accreditation process.

In addition, to achieve the goal of program accreditation, the launch of an independent program accreditation agency was necessary. In March 2023, this major milestone was achieved with the incorporation of a nonprofit agency to serve as the accrediting entity for postsecondary education programs for students with ID, the Inclusive Higher Education Accreditation Council (IHEAC). Pioneers and experts in inclusive postsecondary education and notably, all parents of amazing individuals with ID, Stephanie Smith Lee (Board President), Madeleine Will (Vice-President), Elise McMillan (Clerk), and Tom Sannicandro (Treasurer), are the founding board of directors for the Council. Martha Mock was appointed by the IHEAC Board as the founding director. This historic accomplishment was highlighted in an article from Inside Higher Education.

For questions about this guide, contact us by email at: [e-mail].

National Coordinating Center Accreditation Workgroup and Inclusive Higher Education Accreditation Council (2024). The 2024 Guide to Accreditation for Higher Education Programs for Students with Intellectual Disability. Boston, MA: University of Massachusetts Boston, Institute for Community Inclusion.

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