Accreditation Process, Policies and Procedures (AP3), fourth edition

Preface

The Accreditation Process, Policies and Procedures (AP3), fourth edition, is used in conjunction with the Standards for Accreditation of Master’s Programs in Library and Information Studies to guide the American Library Association (ALA) accreditation process. It is provided for use and reference by program and institutional representatives, members of the ALA Committee on Accreditation (CoA, the Committee), and External Review Panelists. It should be understood that policies drive process and that procedures are steps in the process. Previous editions of this manual were published in 2003, 2006, and 2012.

This document is regularly reviewed for revision by Office for Accreditation staff. Substantive changes to process, policy or procedure are approved by CoA and will be communicated through notifications on the Office for Accreditation web pages, in the Prism newsletter, and via email to program representatives. Updates that are editorial in nature will not be reported.

The fourth edition, updated September 12, 2022, is the most current Accreditation Process, Policies, and Procedures (AP3  [docx].

Questions about the accreditation process as administered by the American Library Association’s Committee on Accreditation should be directed to accred@ala.org.