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State and/or national recognition of a school’s accreditation is often key to a student’s credits and/or diploma being accepted as valid if the student transfers to another school or enters college. In addition, in most states, a school must be accredited by an approved association to be eligible for participation in tax credit scholarships, voucher, and other school choice funding opportunities offered in various states.

ICAA accredits schools both in the United States and in countries around the world.

Certainly, many of the benefits and services described on the Services and Benefits page of this website. ICAA is directly recognized at a national level in some countries outside the United States. Further, ICAA is willing to pursue appropriate national/state recognition on behalf of its accredited schools whenever that opportunity is available. In addition, ICAA-accredited Christian schools around the world must meet and maintain compliance with the same accreditation standards that ICAA-accredited Christian schools in the United States have. This is often very helpful in the transfer of students to schools in the United States and for graduating students from these schools who apply to attend college in the United States.

ORUEF is a service organization for Christian schools. Among the varied services ORUEF provides member schools are certain vendor discounts for textbooks and other products, teacher conferences, consulting services, school-specific on-site professional development, legal/legislative and various other newsletters, Christian Honor Student Association, networking and missions opportunities, annual teacher and administrator awards of excellence, etc. (ORUEF School Services). One of the services that is available only to ORUEF member schools is ICAA accreditation. Therefore, a school must be an ORUEF member school to be accredited by ICAA

ICAA has minimum enrollment guidelines that a school should maintain by the time it reaches Accredited status. However, those are waived if a school demonstrates that it is meeting the needs of its students and evidences financial sustainability.

ICAA Assurances and Standards for Schools June 2015.

ICAA Assurances and Standards for Schools with Preschools June 2015

ICAA does not prescribe any specific curricula or specific course content for schools other than requiring the school to meet any specific curricular/course content required within the respective state/country in which the school is located and requiring that each student takes Bible courses. ICAA standards are designed to evaluate the quality of a school’s curricular/instructional program and the quality of Biblical integration across the curriculum.

The administrator charged with the daily supervision of an elementary/secondary school must meet one of the following minimum qualifications:

• * Holds a graduate degree in school administration or related field from an accredited/approved college/university
• * Holds a minimum of a bachelor’s degree in education, administration, or a related field with at least three years’ experience teaching in an elementary and/or secondary school and making satisfactory progress toward the completion of a master’s degree in Christian school administration or related field from an accredited/approved accredited college/university. At this level, the school must annually submit an ICAA Administrator Waiver application.

The administrator charged with the daily administration of the early childhood program must meet minimum state requirements for the position, or, if none, must evidence sufficient academic preparation and administrative experience appropriate to the effective oversight of the Christian early childhood program.

State administrator certification is not required but is encouraged.

In addition, all administrators must be born again, evidencing a dynamic, growing relationship with Jesus Christ.

Each faculty member teaching in a five-year old Kindergarten through grade 12 school must have received a bachelor’s degree from an accredited/approved college/university. Teacher certification is encouraged but not required.

All personnel serving as early childhood lead teachers and/or primary caregivers for children under the age of five must be at least eighteen years old and meet all legal requirements regarding qualifications and preparation for their positions. In addition, all lead teachers and/or primary caregivers for children under the age of five must meet one of the following minimum qualifications:

• * An associate or bachelor’s degree in early childhood or elementary education from an accredited/approved college or university
• * Current enrollment in an associate or bachelor’s degree program in early childhood or elementary education from an accredited/approved college or university
• * State certification or license in early childhood or elementary education, Child Development Associate (CDA) certificate, or other certification or license recognized by ICAA
• * Documented record of successful experience of at least two years in a comparable position with children of a similar age/grade level.

Dues/fees that a school must pay if it is an ICAA school are found on the ICAA Accreditation Fees page in the How to Become Accreditation section on the home page.

The school must pay the following fees at the time the initial ICAA application is submitted.

• * ORUEF membership (if school has not previously joined ORUEF) – amount of fee varies depending on the type and size of school. The fee 8 breakdown on the ORUEF Membership Application
• * ICAA Application Fee (one-time fee payable at the time of application) – $250 (non-refundable)
• * Annual Accreditation Fee – $1,050 (refunded if school is not accepted into the ICAA process)

No. A school must be operating and educating enrolled students before it can begin the accreditation process.

The average time it takes a school to reach Accredited status once it begins the process is 2-3 years. Once a school completes the ICAA Readiness for Accreditation document and discusses it with the school’s assigned ICAA Chairperson, it will be able to establish, in collaboration with its Chairperson, a much more definitive timetable with regard to when it should anticipate reaching Accredited status.

For schools that are already accredited by an accrediting association recognized by ICAA, ICAA has an accelerated accreditation option that may apply. It is possible for schools on the accelerated option to reach Accredited status in a year or less, depending on the school and the association with which it is accredited. A school that feels it may be eligible for the accelerated option should contact the ICAA Executive Director, Dr. Donnie Peal at 918.493.8880 or donpeal@oru.edu.

Go to How to Become Accredited

Once a school submits all the required forms/documents and required dues/fees to the ICAA office to begin the accreditation process, the forms/documents are reviewed by ICAA officials. If the school is accepted into the ICAA accreditation process and the forms/documents indicate initial requirements have been met, the school is moved from Applicant to Pre-Candidate status level and ICAA assigns an ICAA representative to serve as the ICAA Chairperson for the school who will provide counsel and guidance to the school as it progresses through the ICAA accreditation process. At Pre-Candidate status level, the school’s primary task is the completion of the ICAA Readiness for Accreditation document. (See Pre-Candidate Status page.)

If the school is not accepted into the ICAA accreditation process, the school is notified and appropriate payment refunds are made.

ORUEF membership dues and ICAA accreditation fees are due by September 30^th each year. Payments made after that date will incur late charges.

Payments are usually made by credit card online through ORUEF/ICAA’s PayPal account. If you want to use another method of payment, please contact the ICAA office at 918.493.8880 or dslaughter@oru.edu .

The invoice for annual dues/fees is automatically generated when the ORUEF membership form is completed. Click here to be taken to the login to access your ORUEF membership renewal.

Please click here to go to the School Directory. Information on a school’s accreditation status level is provided in an individual school’s listing in the School Directory.

All ICAA schools at the Accredited status level must submit an annual report. If the school’s academic year begins after June 30^th but before January 1^st, the annual report is due by October 31^st. If the school’s academic year begins after December 31^st but before July 1^st, the annual report is due by March 31^st. A school will incur late charges for an annual report submitted after its respective due date.

The ICAA Annual Report is completed and submitted online. Click here to be taken to the login to access the ICAA online annual reporting site.

Please contact Nicole at the ICAA office at 918.493.8880 or dslaughter@oru.edu

A school is required to report progress on each uncompleted Improvement Priority annually on its ICAA Annual Report until that Improvement Priority has been deemed complete by the ICAA Commission for Accreditation. If a school (especially one that has recently received an External Review visit) feels it has completed an Improvement Priority during the school year, it can, at its discretion, complete and submit an ICAA Report of Progress on Improvement Priority form along with supporting evidence to the ICAA office for review and consideration by the ICAA Commission for Accreditation. For consideration, the completed form and supporting evidence must be submitted to the ICAA office by June 1^st.

Failure by a school to report on an uncompleted Improvement Priority as required on the annual report or failure to make adequate progress toward the completion of the Priority may adversely affect the school’s accreditation.

Please contact the ICAA office at 918.493.8880 or dslaughter@oru.edu if you have questions regarding one or more Improvement Priorities.

A school is required to report progress on each uncompleted Improvement Priority annually on its ICAA Annual Report until that Improvement Priority has been deemed complete by the ICAA Commission for Accreditation. As long as a school evidences adequate progress toward completing an Improvement Priority, it should continue reporting its progress annually on its ICAA Annual Report until informed that the Improvement Priority is complete. However, failure by a school to report on an uncompleted Improvement Priority as required on the annual report or failure to make adequate progress toward the completion of the Priority may adversely affect the school’s accreditation.

Schools with administrators or teachers not meeting the minimum qualifications as required by ICAA Standards may apply for a one-year waiver of the requirement. Approvals are not automatic, but extenuating circumstances will be considered as well as previous years of experience. Since waivers are approved during a current academic year only, application for waivers must be made annually. All relevant, supporting documentation as noted on the waiver form must be submitted with the waiver application for the waiver to be considered for approval. The waiver form along with waiver approval guidelines adopted by the ICAA Commission for Accreditation may be obtained by clicking here.

Both ICAA and ORUEF host various events at different venues each year. Some events are free to member schools and others have a fee. However, unless you have been specifically informed otherwise, you must register for each event, whether it is free to member schools or not. Also, due to contractual obligations ICAA may have with vendors and other organizations related to an event, it is imperative that you complete your registration within the deadline(s) noted on a respective event.

Please contact the ICAA office at 918.493.8880 or dslaughter@oru.edu if you have questions.

You may register for upcoming ICAA and ORUEF events by clicking on the Events tab on the home page of the website.

Payment for an upcoming event is made at the time of the online registration prior to the event. The amount due will be shown on the form once the registration form has been completed.

Payments are usually made by credit card online through ORUEF/ICAA’s PayPal account. If you want to use another method of payment or have other questions, please contact the ICAA office at 918.493.8880 or dslaughter@oru.edu .

The Christian Honor Student Association (CHSA) is a program that recognizes outstanding students in your school, focusing on character, leadership, scholarship, and service. You can learn more about CHSA, including how to begin a chapter within your school by clicking on the Christian Honor Student tab on the ORUEF home page.

ASSIST (eProve) is AdvancED’s online platform that school’s which are dually accredited by ICAA and AdvancED use during the Internal Review component of the accreditation process. Please contact AdvancED directly for assistance with issues related to ASSIST (eProve). If you have problems contacting AdvancED or your issue is not promptly addressed, please contact Dr. Donnie Peal at donpeal@oru.edu .