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FAQ for Schools
Accreditation is the status of public recognition that an accrediting agency grants to an educational program or institution that meets the agencyís established standards and requirements.
Why become an accredited school?
There are many benefits to accreditation. Following is a list of benefits that schools have mentioned to us:
*It can improve enrollment as students are looking for accredited programs.
*It creates a form of accountability and credibility that will be important in the advancement of the profession.
*It helps the improve the quality and organization of midwifery programs by articulating the standards and requiring that the school meet them.
*It provides a formula for understanding a school's responsibilities.
*It allows schools to offer degrees.
*It allows schools to apply to participate in student federal financial aid.
*It allows schools to apply to enroll foreign students.
*It helps to create an organizational template for the school.
*It helps a school plan for continuous improvement.
MEAC is the Midwifery Education Accreditation Council, a non-profit organization with a board of diverse members including midwifery educators, midwives and members of the public.
Visit our Staff and Board page for profiles of our current members.
The purpose of MEAC is to establish standards for the education of competent midwives, and to provide a process for self-evaluation and peer evaluation for diverse educational programs. The mission of MEAC is to promote excellent education in midwifery through accreditation. MEAC values the rich diversity of instruction that North American midwives have experienced and developed, including apprenticeship, birth center-based schools, distance learning programs, and classroom-based educational models. MEAC has developed policies that enable all of these models to be accredited.
MEAC accredited institutions and programs are voting members of MEAC and have the responsibility to elect the Board of Directors and approve amendments to MEAC's By-laws.
MEAC also maintains policies for dealing with complaints and grievances including:
1. Complaints from midwifery programs about MEAC's performance of its duties and its accreditation decisions.
2. Complaints from the public about its accredited programs.
Is MEAC recognized by the U.S. Department of Education (USDE)?
Yes. MEAC has been recognized by the Secretary of Education since January 2001. The ED lists MEAC as a nationally recognized accrediting agency for the accreditation and pre-accreditation throughout the United States of direct-entry midwifery educational institutions and programs conferring degrees and certificates, including the accreditation of such programs offered via distance education. This recognition enables accredited institutions of midwifery to apply to participate in student financial aid programs administered by the Department of Education under the Higher Education Act.
Where did the MEAC standards originate?
MEAC bases its curricular standards of accreditation on the MANA core competencies and on the criteria for national midwifery certification developed by the North American Registry of Midwives (NARM). The remaining accreditation standards relate to the operation of midwifery schools. These faculty, student and administration responsibilities and rights are based on the regulations of the U.S. Department of Education.
How does a program or school become accredited by MEAC?
The process of initial accreditation includes several steps.
1. Programs or institutions (schools) may apply for accreditation once they have four graduates from their basic education track, the majority of whom are licensed or certified midwives and are working in midwifery or a related field. They begin the application process by submitting a Pre-Application. Once MEAC receives the pre-application, we send a Handbook which shows the school how to fill out a Self-Evaluation Report.
2. The school writes a self-evaluation report (SER) that addresses how it meets the required standards of MEAC. It takes about six months to prepare a SER. Once this SER has been received by MEAC, the rest of the process will take up to 18 months.
3. An Accreditation Review Committee, composed of MEAC Board Members, will review the school's SER and conduct a site visit to evaluate whether the school adheres to the standards described in their SER. The Committee then prepares a site visit report.
4. The school has two opportunities to provide more information, both prior to and after the site visit, if needed. The Review Committee then makes a recommendation to the Board, and the Board ultimately determines whether accreditation has been granted, deferred or denied.
What types of programs can become accredited by MEAC?
MEAC welcomes all midwifery education programs in the U.S. to participate in the process of accreditation. Its scope of accrediting includes comprehensive midwifery preparation through various routes of education including:
*Free standing schools or colleges of midwifery offering certificate and degree programs.
*Certificate and degree programs of midwifery within other public and private accredited institutions.
*Free standing schools or institutions that offer distance courses and/or structured apprenticeships as part of the midwifery curriculum, leading to a certificate or degree in midwifery.
All programs must provide both academic and clinical preparation, culminating in entry-level completion that results in certification or licensing by state or national entities. To apply for accreditation, institutions or programs must have graduated at least four studentsóthe majority of whom are licensed or certified midwives or who are working in midwifery or a related field. For pre-accreditation, the program must meet the same standards as for accreditation, except that it does not have the required number of graduate who become licensed or certified.
A variety of educational and organizational models are represented among the current MEAC accredited programs including:
* Apprenticeship model
* Distance learning
* Classroom based learning
* Computer-based curriculum
* Birth-center based programs
* Low-residency models
* Non-profit organizations
* For-profit corporations
* Private institutions
* Public institutions
Pre-accreditation is a process available for programs and schools that do not yet have graduates, but have demonstrated that their policies and procedures adhere to MEAC standards. The process for pre-accreditation is substantially the same as that for full accreditation. Those applying for pre-accreditation have defined their curriculum, hired their faculty and staff, developed their operating procedures, but have not yet admitted students or are in the early years of operation. Schools or programs that achieve pre-accreditation must qualify for full accreditation in no more than five years.
Are we ready to apply for accreditation?
If you are currently operating a midwifery education program and want to become accredited, read the SER (Self Evaluation Report) section of the MEAC Accreditation Handbook to see what you would need to have in place to apply for accreditation. If you do not have at least 4 graduates of your program, you will first apply for pre-accreditation, and then apply for full accreditation when you have 4 graduates, although the application process is similar for both.
If you are planning on opening a new midwifery school, the accreditation process can serve as a template for developing your program. The MEAC Accreditation Handbook can provide guidelines for all aspects of school administration and curriculum development.
It will become clear as you read through the Handbook how much work you will need to do to prepare for accreditation or if that is the route you want to go with your program. There are many policies, procedures, documents, tracking systems, and facility requirements that you will need to have in place before you apply to MEAC for accreditation. None of the requirements are unreasonable or difficult, they just take time to be written and/or implemented.
Following is a list of things that you will need to have in place before applying for accreditation:
1) You must be licensed as a school in your state.
2) You must have a mission statement and program objectives.
3) Your curriculum must fulfill the requirements established by the MANA Core Competencies and the NARM skills requirements.
4) Faculty and preceptors must be qualified as follows: CPM, CM, CNM, legally recognized in her jurisdiction, or a midwife who has been a primary attendant without supervision for at least 50 out-of-hospital births and a minimum of 3 years. Evidence of qualifications are found in your faculty files.
5) You must have a faculty handbook that spells out faculty rights and responsibilities and evaluation methods.
6) Administrative, classroom and/or clinical facilities must be adequate to meet the needs of students, faculty, and staff and meet safety standards.
7) Students and faculty must have access to library resources that are adequate to meet their needs.
8) You must have a 2 year business plan for the school.
9) Policies and procedures that ensure financial accountability must be in place.
10) You must have annual financial reports and/or budgets, and for accreditation, external financial reviews or audits of your previous two years of operation.
11) You must have job descriptions for all your faculty and staff and personnel must be periodically evaluated.
12) Students and faculty must have regular opportunities to have input into the curriculum, policy making, and facility needs.
13) Your promotional materials must be accurate.
14) You must have admissions criteria that you follow and you do not discriminate in regard to sex, race, marital status, ethnic origin, creed, age, sexual orientation or physical ability.
15) You must have established policies on: what is satisfactory student progress, graduation requirements, time limits, grading methods, dismissal, tuition payment and refund, students with disabilities, advanced status, etc.
16) You must have signed enrollment agreements with students that clearly specify all aspects of the program and the obligations of the student.
17) Your program must be at least one year in length and includes at least 1350 clinical hours and 450 hours of didactic study.
18) Credits must be awarded by the MEAC suggested formula (30 clinical hours = 1 semester credit, 20 clinical hours = 1 quarter credit, 15 hours of classroom work = 1 semester credit, 10 hours of classroom work = 1 quarter credit), or you must have another rationale for awarding credits or contact hours.
19) You must have a mechanism for receiving and responding to student complaints.
20) You must have a way to keep files confidential and important documents (such as transcripts and financial records) safe from fire or other damage.
Once accredited, is there anything else a program needs to do?
Accreditation is never a static process. Institutions and programs which have been accredited must participate in re-accreditation on a regular basis. The institution or program maintains accreditation by;
1. Continuing to uphold MEAC standards
2. Committing to improve the quality of their program, respond to the needs of their faculty, students and staff, and evaluate the success and satisfaction of their graduates
3. Submitting an annual report, audited financial report and sustaining fees to MEAC.
4. Apply for re-accreditation every three to five years.
Also, if a program changes its program in any substantial way, for example, increases its length, changes location, changes its ownership, or changes its curriculum, it must apply to MEAC prior to this change. This involves an application process where the program must address how the change will affect its ability to meet the MEAC standards.
MEAC's work is funded by accreditation and sustaining (membership) fees from participating programs and institutions, and by many contributions from individual and organizational donors.
