SOLDOTNA, AK (March 12, 2007) \u2013 Alaska Christian College (ACC) moved a big step closer to accreditation when the Association of Biblical Higher Education (ABHE) approved the school\u2019s self-study plan recently.
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\nThe school received the news February 23, says Jeff Siemers, acting ACC president while Keith Hamilton is on sabbatical.\u00a0 \u201cIt really is an affirmation of the hard work we\u2019ve been doing,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
Educators with the ABHE will visit the campus during the fall for an on-site inspection, during which they will evaluate every aspect of ACC\u2019s operations, Siemers says. The school will learn the results in February 2008 during the association\u2019s annual meeting.<\/p>\n
If evaluators give their approval, the school will be given \u201ccandidate status,\u201d Siemers says. The designation would enable the college to receive federal scholarships for the students and make it easier for students to transfer credits to other institutions.<\/p>\n
ACC would be eligible for full accreditation in five years, when the ABHE would re-evaluate the school, Siemers says. If the school becomes fully accredited, the next inspection would be 10 years later.<\/p>\n
The self-study took more than a year of planning and writing before it was submitted last November. The more than 3,000 pages of writing and documentation focused on how ACC will meet the ABHE standards, its measures for success and plans for development, Siemens says.<\/p>\n
Although the study was exhausting, \u201cGoing through the process has made us a better school,\u201d Siemens says.
\nACC, whose student body is primarily Alaskan Native and Native American, was established in 2000 to assist students in making the transition from village life to their first year of college. Currently a small minority \u2013 estimated at less than 5 percent \u2013 of Alaska Native high school graduates complete even their first semester of college.
\nSchools must offer at least a two-year program in order to be accredited. ACC offers a one-year program as well as a two-year track.<\/p>\n