To apply for candidacy, the professional education unit completes an “Intent to Seek NCATE Accreditation” form that requests basic information about the institution and its professional education unit. Once the Intent form has been submitted, the unit becomes a precandidate for accreditation and is forwarded an invoice for annual fees and all appropriate information for the preparation and conduct of a visit. As a precandidate, the education unit is eligible to receive all regular NCATE services, including newsletters and appropriate staff support. A precandidate is expected to submit the AACTE/NCATE annual report.
A precandidate must meet each of NCATE’s preconditions before it becomes an official candidate for accreditation. The Unit Accreditation Board (UAB) officially accepts candidates at its semi-annual meetings in April and October. The on-site visit cannot take place before the institution has been accepted as a candidate by the UAB. All education units are expected to become candidates at least one semester before the scheduled visit.
Rights and Responsibilities of NCATE Candidates for Accreditation
The designation of candidacy authorizes the education unit to advise its constituents that it has met the preconditions for and is actively seeking NCATE accreditation within two years. During this time, the institution must be making a good-faith effort to meet NCATE’s standards and must host an on-site visit. Postponements beyond two years must be requested in writing and cannot extend beyond a five-year period. After five years, the process of establishing candidacy must be reinstated by the institution.
Representation of Candidacy to the Public
Institutions are not required to disclose their status as a candidate for NCATE accreditation. If an institution chooses make their candidacy status public, the institution is required to represent their status and NCATE requirements accurately.
The following statement must be in all institutional publications in which it discloses that the professional education unit is a candidate for NCATE accreditation:
The [name of the professional accreditation unit] at [name of institution] is a candidate for accreditation by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE), www.ncate.org. Candidacy status means that [name of the professional accreditation unit] has met preconditions for accreditation but is not accredited. This candidacy covers [initial teacher preparation programs and/or advanced educator preparation programs] at [name of all sites included in the accreditation]. However, the candidacy does not include individual education courses that the institution offers to P-12 educators for professional development, relicensure, or other purposes.
Examples of publications in which this statement could appear include catalogs, handbooks, the institution's website, and advertisements. Candidates for accreditation are not eligible to use the NCATE logo or the phrase "NCATE accredited" or "an NCATE-accredited institution."
Questions about the applicability of this statement to a particular document should be addressed to NCATE staff.
Institutions must ensure the adequacy and accuracy of information they make available to the public. All information released by an NCATE candidate institution regarding its accreditation status and the availability and quality of its programs must be accurate and not misleading to prospective candidates or the public. If an accredited unit or candidate for accreditation misrepresents its accreditation status to the public, the President of NCATE can make a recommendation to the UAB to reconsider an institution's accreditation status.
Notification of Candidacy
NCATE notifies the Secretary of Education, the appropriate state agencies, the regional accrediting agencies, and the public of Unit Accreditation Board decisions to accept institutions as candidates for accreditation, as well as the semester and year of the scheduled accreditation review.
Withdrawal or Lapse of Candidacy
Candidates for accreditation must (1) have an accreditation visit within five years of the semester in which candidacy is granted by the Unit Accreditation Board and must maintain other requirements for candidacy, which include (2) filing of parts A and B of the annual report and (3) payment of the annual candidacy fee. (Institutions that delay their accreditation by more than two years beyond inception of candidacy may be required to resubmit preconditions and/or program reports if major revisions in preconditions or program standards have occurred.)
A candidate institution that does not maintain the requirements as noted above will be notified by NCATE staff that candidacy has lapsed. Candidates may also withdraw from candidacy by sending written notice to NCATE’s president. Within 30 days of lapse of candidacy or receipt of notice of the withdrawal of candidacy, NCATE will so notify the Secretary of Education, the appropriate state agencies, the regional accrediting agencies, and the public via NCATE’s website.
Return to Candidacy after a Denial of Accreditation
If an institution is denied accreditation, the institution may revert to candidacy status if its next accreditation visit (i.e., its second attempt to seek accreditation) is scheduled within two years of the UAB’s decision to deny accreditation. The institution is not required to resubmit preconditions; however, it is expected to continue meeting all current preconditions in order for the visit to take place.