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Credit Acceptance Policy
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With the proliferation of new types and kinds of “schools” some questions have been raised regarding the acceptance of credits by NAAS accredited schools from those schools that are not accredited by the Northwest Association, including those that are accredited by a state other than the one in which the NAAS member school is located. To review the membership policy of NAAS, member schools should recall that they are obligated to accept credits only from other NAAS or regionally accredited schools, at least as elective credits, but need not, and probably should not accept credits at face value from non-accredited schools. That is why your school is accredited and one of the main reasons for belonging to a regional accreditation organization.

NAAS highly recommends that each school or district have a written policy regarding the evaluation and acceptance of any credits not earned in a NAAS accredited school. Such a policy could be as simple as not accepting any credits from non-accredited schools. If a school opts to accept some credits from non-accredited schools; however, a strict policy should be enforced. Such a policy should include elements such as the following:

1. Requiring a detailed transcript that includes course description, curriculum materials used, time spent by the student in achieving the credit, evaluation of the coursework, etc.
2. Devising a system for determining equivalence to courses required by the NAAS member school. This could be through some form of standardized or teacher-made test.
3. Documenting some reference to the nature of instruction (correspondence, distance education, classroom, etc.)
4. Documenting some reference as to who provided the instruction including whether there was a certified teacher involved.

By establishing a fair, legal, and comprehensive policy regarding the acceptance of credit from non-accredited schools NAAS members will ensure that their accreditation continues to be valid and worthy to students regardless of whether they graduate from the NAAS member school, transfer to another member school, or enroll in a college or university that recognizes or demands credits from an accredited school. An additional value of having such a policy may be that the school will be protected in any possible litigation, which happens to be the most common source of challenge to the school credit issue these days.

The Northwest Association of Accredited Schools stands ready to assist member schools as they encounter questions or challenges related to the issue of acceptance of credits from non-accredited schools. Please contact either the office or that of your state accreditation committee chair if we can be of any assistance in the interpretation or development of credit policies.