Accreditation is defined as the act of granting credit or recognition, especially with respect to an educational institution that maintains appropriate standards for education. Accreditation is also a system used to determine if institutions of higher education meet acceptable levels of educational quality. With IAO as an accrediting body, it is ensured that the institutions awarded accreditation have met our stringent set of evaluation criteria as measured through our patented evaluation procedure. The highlights of our accreditation are listed below:
Our Patented Evaluation Process
The steps to our accreditation process are described below. If you are a representative of an educational institution and interested in learning more about IAO accreditation please read the following accreditation steps.
Eligibility: We offer accreditation to institutions involved in working-adult education. (Restrictions: The IAO does not accredit educational institutions that award degrees based 100% on experience or prior learning).
Step 1: Workshop
Online presentation or briefing on phone (briefing on core requirements and on complete procedure)
Step 2: Application Forms & Affidavit
- Short application form for checking eligibility:
To begin the accreditation process for IAO accreditation, you will need to provide the applicant institution’s details through the eligibility application form available on our website. The form will help us get an overview of your educational institute, its basic structure, functions and other key factors, allowing us to evaluate your institution’s eligibility for the accreditation. Applicants are requested to fill in each field carefully before submitting the application form.
- Detailed application form & affidavit:
The applicant institution is then required to fill in and submit a detailed application form, that covers the organizational management, academic management and institutional performance of the institution. Here your institution will be asked to provide information on your mission, institute, the programs you offer, information about your faculty, etc. This will be reflective of the working operations, curriculum, strengths and weaknesses of the institution as per accreditation standards. The detailed form enables IAO to analyze an educational institute as per our patented accreditation process. This is a meticulous assessment against the standards and performance metrics required for granting accreditation to an institute. - You submit an affidavit on your institution’s letterhead duly signed by a notary public, stating all information submitted on your online application form is correct.
Step 3: Candidacy Status
On the basis of all the submitted documentary evidence through the detailed form and letter, your institution will be evaluated for candidacy as an accredited institute based on our unique patented profiling system. The IAO will award institutions with an accreditation Candidacy and provide the unique points profile© keeping in view the best global practices.
- You may begin communicating this Candidacy accreditation and points profile© instantly, using our logo on your printed and online official source and communications material. If your institution meets all the criteria, you will be granted accreditation. After gaining accreditation you can use IAO logo to confirm your accreditation with the association. You can also use it for reference in your documents and other official files. For your convenience, we will provide with an orientation of the places where you can use the IAO logo along with certain limitations.
- We also set up a dedicated online account area on our website. The IAO is the only accrediting body that provides such a state-of-the-art facility to its members, allowing rapid communication and interactive features. You can easily perform administrative functions through this member’s area. For example, if you have made changes to one of your education programs, you can post the details on your account area to help us revise your Candidate points profile©.
- We will also provide your students with a dedicated account area on our website for their valuable feedback on your institution.
Step 4: Towards full Accreditation
The IAO will evaluate your educational system for full accreditation through your location and/or online education provision system, through student involvement and through IAO’s proprietary variable.
- Full accreditation will be awarded and your final points profile© will be granted to you based on our evaluator(s’) visit and assessment of your (i) location and / or (ii) online or distance learning platform and system if you are solely an online/distance learning establishment. (This means (i) a detailed audit of your online education provision system in terms of both the front end ease-of-use of the user interfaces and the back–end security and technology systems of your educational set-up to confirm that your institute conforms to our standards and requirements (ii) gauging student feedback and (iii) reviewing your processes and systems against IAO’s proprietary assessment.)
- We will further provide you a report with recommended changes to improve your program so it fits closer to the global education standards for working adults, boosting your points profile©.
Our Standards
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At IAO, we have a set of strict educational standards that must be adhered to by all educational institutes. Our standards are specifically tailored for working adults’ education and hence, these cover all aspects of your institution, your programs, fields of study, program costs, flexible learning and your assessment of working adults enrolled at your institution, etc. |
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Educational Institutions
 As a pioneer in the field of online university accreditation the IAO views its accreditation as only the beginning of a long-term association. You can contact us for professional services and advice on the standards and quality of your programs. We will support you every step of the way. We have provided some reference articles of interest below:
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Professional Institutions
 IAO accredits online & distance learning and regional / traditional campus-based professional and vocational institutes all over the world. Accreditation can strongly influence a prospective professional’s decision to join your school. IAO provides international accreditation for recognition of your program all over the world.
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Resources for Students
 Students today need to be reassured that they are making the correct choices in selecting online and distance education institutions. At IAO we seek to maintain and enhance high standards of quality in online and distance learning, through our ongoing process of accreditation. Students can apply to IAO accredited institutions with confidence. We have provided some reference articles of interest below:
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IAO Brochure
Accreditation Kit
Once your institution has been evaluated for candidacy as an accredited institute as per your unique patented profiling system, you will soon receive an Accreditation Kit consisting of:
- Points Profile
- Assessment Report:
- IAO Logo
- Member Area
- Student Area
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