The Challenge and Practice of Academic Accreditation: A Sourcebook for Library Administrators

(Hardback)

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Recent years have seen numerous and substantial changes in the processes, expectations, and criteria that inform the work of regional accreditation commissions and professional accreditation associations. This sourcebook offers an overview of the accreditation process focused specifically on contemporary expectations for and challenges to libraries, information technologies, and academic computing, and offers practical advice to those librarians involved with academic accreditation activity. Chapters in this professional reference book overview and discuss the principal issues and challenges of academic accreditation, the process of accreditation, and the role of libraries in that process. Throughout the book, attention is given to changing student demographics, the impact of new technologies on the mission of the university, and the evolving expectations placed on the library and other campus information centers. Chapter authors include several executives associated with regional accreditation commissions, library administrators who have extensive experience with accreditation, and university administrators knowledgeable of accreditation issues.

Reviews

.,."a straightforward discussion of the key elements of the arcane process by which academic institutions are accredited as they influence the libraries in those institutions. His text begins with discussion of the challenges of accreditation, the practice of accreditation, and five important selected issues. There is also an excellent series of summaries, prepared by Garten, of the current standards for libraries, information technologies, and academic computing as found in the various disciplinary, professional, and regional accreditation standards and guidelines. Finally, there is a superb bibliographic essay on academic libraries and the literature of accreditation. This sourcebook addresses not just current accreditation practices and standards, but also major challenges, such as expectations in the age of new technology, and key issues, such as information literacy., Garten and his fellow contributors have produced a solid guide that will be extremely useful for all academic librarians as they participate in the accreditation process."-Wilson Library Bulletin
.,."an excellent account of current accreditation practice and reform theory. This book is highly recommended for librarians preparing for accreditation. It also holds interest for all readers concerned with the vital and permeating issues of institutional assessment in higher education."-Journal of Academic Librarianship
...a straightforward discussion of the key elements of the arcane process by which academic institutions are accredited as they influence the libraries in those institutions. His text begins with discussion of the challenges of accreditation, the practice of accreditation, and five important selected issues. There is also an excellent series of summaries, prepared by Garten, of the current standards for libraries, information technologies, and academic computing as found in the various disciplinary, professional, and regional accreditation standards and guidelines. Finally, there is a superb bibliographic essay on academic libraries and the literature of accreditation. This sourcebook addresses not just current accreditation practices and standards, but also major challenges, such as expectations in the age of new technology, and key issues, such as information literacy., Garten and his fellow contributors have produced a solid guide that will be extremely useful for all academic librarians as they participate in the accreditation process.-Wilson Library Bulletin
...an excellent account of current accreditation practice and reform theory. This book is highly recommended for librarians preparing for accreditation. It also holds interest for all readers concerned with the vital and permeating issues of institutional assessment in higher education.-Journal of Academic Librarianship
Given the forces at work in corporate boardrooms, state legislatures, and on campuses themselves, a book such as Challenge and Practice of Academic Accreditation is both useful and timely.-The Library Quarterly
Provides an overview of the contemporary accreditation process as it applies to libraries, information technologies, and academic computing. Practical advice on the self-study, the site visit, and other topics will guide librarians going through this process.-American Libraries
..."an excellent account of current accreditation practice and reform theory. This book is highly recommended for librarians preparing for accreditation. It also holds interest for all readers concerned with the vital and permeating issues of institutional assessment in higher education."-Journal of Academic Librarianship
"Given the forces at work in corporate boardrooms, state legislatures, and on campuses themselves, a book such as Challenge and Practice of Academic Accreditation is both useful and timely."-The Library Quarterly
"Provides an overview of the contemporary accreditation process as it applies to libraries, information technologies, and academic computing. Practical advice on the self-study, the site visit, and other topics will guide librarians going through this process."-American Libraries
..."a straightforward discussion of the key elements of the arcane process by which academic institutions are accredited as they influence the libraries in those institutions. His text begins with discussion of the challenges of accreditation, the practice of accreditation, and five important selected issues. There is also an excellent series of summaries, prepared by Garten, of the current standards for libraries, information technologies, and academic computing as found in the various disciplinary, professional, and regional accreditation standards and guidelines. Finally, there is a superb bibliographic essay on academic libraries and the literature of accreditation. This sourcebook addresses not just current accreditation practices and standards, but also major challenges, such as expectations in the age of new technology, and key issues, such as information literacy., Garten and his fellow contributors have produced a solid guide that will be extremely useful for all academic librarians as they participate in the accreditation process."-Wilson Library Bulletin

Author Bio

EDWARD D. GARTEN is Dean of Libraries and Information Technologies at the University of Dayton. He is a consultant-evaluator with the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Institutions of Higher Education, where he currently serves on the Commission's Accreditation Review Council. His many publications include Using Consultants in Libraries and Information Centers: A Management Handbook (Greenwood Press, 1992).