There are 12 key milestones in the process:
| Milestone | Notes | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Organization submits an application for candidacy and pays candidacy fee | Application is reviewed for completeness by staff. An organization that submits a complete application and is determined to be eligible for accreditation is accepted as a candidate for accreditation. |
| 2 | Staff calculates the site visit fee | The staff determines the cost of the Peer Review Site Visit, based on the size of the candidate’s budget and scope of the candidate’s programs. |
| 3 | Candidate pays site visit fee and is assigned a site visit date | Generally, the date assigned for a site visit is 6-8 weeks from payment of site visit fee. |
| 4 | Candidate is assigned a Peer Review Team | Peer Review Team (of 1-3 people) is assigned from the pool of available trained Peer Reviewers who have no conflict of interest with the candidate. When you are assigned to a review team, you will receive a copy of the Site Visit Handbook, which has all the materials you need to complete the peer review tasks. |
| 5 | Peer Reviewers review candidate’s materials | Using the Peer Reviewer section of the website, the Accreditation Self Study and the supporting documents are reviewed. Peer Reviewers spend an average of 6 – 8 hours reviewing applications on their own. |
| 6 | Peer Review Team has prep phone call | The team of Peer Reviewers has a phone call to discuss each individual’s assessment of the candidate’s strengths and challenges, based the review of the submitted materials. A CAPRSS staff member facilitates this meeting. This call will take approximately 2 hours. |
| 7 | Collect additional information | If additional information is needed, staff contacts the candidate and then shares any additional information with the Peer Review Team. Follow-up discussion takes place via e-mail. |
| 8 | Candidate prepares to host the site visit | CAPRSS staff does a pre-visit consultation with the candidate to give an overview of the site visit process, discusss the agenda, and settle logistics for the visit. There are several things that the candidate will do to prepare for the site visit, including finalizing the agenda, identifying peers and other stakeholders to be interviewed, and setting up a resource room for the Peer Review Team. |
| 9 | Site Visit | The Peer Review Team conducts a two-day site visit. (See During the Site Visit for more detail on this task.) |
| 10 | Preparation of post site visit report | The Peer Review Team identifies candidate’s strengths and challenges. It agrees on whether or not to recommend the organization for accreditation and on what performance improvements to recommend or require, which will be reflected in the Site Visit Summary report prepared by the Team Leader. |
| 11 | Accreditation review and determination | The Accreditation Review Committee reviews and discusses the Site Visit Summary Report. If necessary, a representative of the Peer Review Team clarifies recommendations. The ARC determines the accreditation outcome. |
| 12 | Final report is prepared and sent | Staff writes the accreditation final report and, if needed, prepares a template for a Performance Improvement Plan |
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