Mandatory: applicants (i.e., units pursuing initial accreditation)
Mandatory: units outside the US
Mandatory: accredited or applicant units who are directed to hold a consultation via official correspondence from the Council
Optional & may be helpful:
Senior CEPH staff members conduct consultation visits. All are experienced with all types of institutions in different stages of development and can discuss a range of topics. When you contact us to request a visit, CEPH staff will determine which consultant is best suited to your visit.
The visit consists of meetings and discussions between school/program personnel who are involved in the accreditation process and the CEPH consultant in an informal, working session format.
The agenda and topics of discussion are at your discretion. CEPH staff can collaborate with you to help guide priorities, but the purpose of the day is to meet your needs and answer your questions. For optional consultation visits, you should only schedule a visit if you have an idea of what you hope to accomplish (e.g., feedback on draft self-study sections, introducing new staff or faculty to accreditation requirements, answering a list of questions, etc.)
CEPH consultants can, upon request, make brief overview presentations outlining the accreditation process and accreditation standards. Consultation visits sometimes involve meetings with university or college administrators, students, alumni, or community members, when relevant, but this is not typical. You should assemble whatever constituents that you think will be important.
Mandatory consultation visits take place on your campus for one full day (unless specifically otherwise noted in a letter from the Council). The CEPH consultant will travel to your location.
There are three possibilities for optional consultation visits--these are only available to accredited schools and programs, applicants that have already hosted a mandatory on-site consultation visit, and units that are not yet applicants for accreditation.
Distance-based consultation visits reduce associated costs. Schools and programs are charged the half- or full-day consultation fee but do not have to pay any travel expenses.
Exact beginning and ending times are negotiated between the school or program requesting the visit and the CEPH consultant.
Most successful applicants hold their consultation visit around the middle of the two-year applicant period (9-15 months before the preliminary self-study is due). However, it is important that you have a rough draft of your self-study, data templates, and ERF, or, at a minimum, key sections, available to provide to your consultant by 10 days before the visit. Key sections include Criteria B, D, and F for SPH & PHP and Criteria B, C, and G for SBPs.
If you want to have a consultation without draft documents for review, we may be able to accommodate the request, but the visit may not be fruitful. One possible exception: if there were significant concerns identified during your IAS process that you are not sure how to address and that are delaying your self-study progress or if you are stuck and unsure how to resolve some significant issues you have encountered, it may be appropriate to hold your consultation visit sooner, before significant work on the draft self-study is complete. Your staff liaison or Mollie, who schedules all consultations, would be happy to discuss your goals and needs.
Years of experience indicate that waiting and holding the consultation too close to the preliminary self-study due date often means that avoidable problems may go unaddressed and could delay your initial accreditation. Extensions to the applicant period are not uncommon, and one way to prevent the need for an extension is to have the consult visit early enough that issues can be identified and addressed within the regular applicant period.
The ‘right’ time for a consult depends on the unit. Your staff liaison can provide guidance, or you may email Mollie Mulvanity, who schedules all consultation visits.
Generally, you should set up your consultation visit for when you need it! Do you have a half-day or full day of questions and discussion material? Most successful consultation visits occur when you have a working draft of relevant document(s) ready for review, but ALSO have enough time to make revisions before they are officially due to CEPH. Relevant document drafts might include the following:
Rough drafts are fine! Years of experience show us that units with more documents available for review find much more value in the process.
Your draft documents should be provided to your consultant 10 days before the visit, so consider this when planning timing.
If you want to have a consultation without any documents for review, we can accommodate the request, but the visit may not be as fruitful. Your staff liaison or Mollie, who schedules all consultations, would be happy to discuss your goals for the visit.
Because CEPH calendars tend to fill quickly, we typically need at least four months of advance notice for on-campus visits. We can accommodate distance-based visits on shorter notice, but this is dependent on availability.
You should first choose several specific dates that will work for you and the others who will be participating in the visit. Email Mollie Mulvanity, [email protected], with “consultation visit” as the subject line. Indicate when you would like to have your visit and what, in general, you hope to discuss or accomplish during the visit.
Once we have agreed on a specific date, you will work with the CEPH staff member serving as your consultant on logistics. Your assigned staff member will reach out to you no later than 6 weeks before an on-campus visit and no later than 3 weeks before a distance-based visit. Contact Mollie if you have consultation logistics questions before you hear from your assigned staff member.
At least 10 days before the visit, you should provide your consultant with an agenda of the day’s activities and topics (we will provide a sample agenda for full-day visits at scheduling).
For distance-based visits, your consultant will set up a Zoom link and provide it to you.
For on-campus visits, the following considerations apply:
Costs are listed on the CEPH fee schedule. For on-campus visits, you are also responsible for the consultant’s travel and meal expenses. CEPH will send you an invoice after the visit is complete.
If you have questions about billing or require particular documentation, email [email protected]. Consultants will not be able to fill out university-specific forms on-site, though you can send any required forms to [email protected] before the invoice is completed.