APAC BOARD · EST. 2026 APACBOARD.ORG ★ ★

Academic Program Accreditation and Certification Board

Setting the Standard for Academic Learning Quality

Accrediting Learning. Empowering Students. Advancing Departments.

Our Standards Accreditation Process

Our Mission

Why APAC Board Exists

To accredit academic department programs against transparent, evidence-based standards of learning quality — and to give every student free, immediate access to the proof that a program delivers on its promises.

Vision

Where We Are Going

A higher education landscape where every academic department program is held to a transparent, evidence-based standard of learning quality — and where every student has free, immediate access to the proof that a program delivers on its promises.

Core Values

What We Stand For

01
Transparency
Accreditation of learning evidence is public by default — not locked behind institutional firewalls.
All accreditation data on our public dashboard
02
Rigor
Standards as demanding as AACSB and ABET, applied consistently across all disciplines and program types.
Multi-year evidence cycles required for accreditation
03
Independence
No university, department, or institution controls APAC Board decisions. Reviews are conducted at arm's length.
Arm-length review panels with no institutional ties
04
Equity
All disciplines, all institution sizes. A tiered pathway ensures smaller programs are not disadvantaged by scale.
Tiered pathway for smaller programs and departments
05
Continuity
Accreditation is not a one-time credential — it is earned and actively maintained through annual evidence submissions.
Annual evidence submissions required to maintain status
06
Student-First
Students are the primary beneficiary of every standard, every policy, and every decision the Board makes.
Public portal is the core product — not an add-on

Strategic Objectives

Six Goals That Define Our First Decade

1
Establish the Cross-Disciplinary Standard
Establish APAC Board as the recognized cross-disciplinary Assurance of Learning accreditation standard within five years, sitting alongside — not competing with — AACSB, ABET, and regional accreditors.
2
Accredit 500+ Programs in Three Years
Accredit 500 or more department programs across all major academic disciplines within the first three years — demonstrating breadth, credibility, and operational capacity at scale.
3
Build the First Public AoL Database in the US
Launch the first publicly searchable database of program-level Assurance of Learning evidence in the United States — a permanent, accessible record of what programs teach and prove.
4
Free Student Access to Outcome Data
Give every prospective student free, unrestricted access to program outcome data before they choose a program. Student access to accreditation evidence is permanently free by design.
5
Partner With Existing Accreditors
Partner formally with AACSB, ABET, HLC, and regional bodies as a complementary, not competing, layer of quality assurance — adding cross-disciplinary transparency where institutional accreditation ends.
6
Achieve Sustainable, Mission-Aligned Revenue
Generate durable revenue through institutional membership, accreditation processing fees, and data licensing — ensuring APAC Board operates indefinitely without compromising its independence or its student-first mandate.

The APAC Five

Our Accreditation Standards

Every program seeking APAC Board accreditation is evaluated against five evidence-based standards — the APAC Five. Together they constitute a complete picture of a program's learning quality.

S1
Learning Goals & Outcomes
The program defines clear, measurable learning goals aligned to discipline expectations and articulated at the department level.
S2
Curriculum Mapping
A documented curriculum map demonstrates where and how learning outcomes are introduced, developed, and assessed across the program sequence.
S3
Direct Evidence of Learning
Programs provide scored artifacts — rubric-evaluated student work — as direct, objective evidence that stated outcomes are being achieved.
S4
Closing the Loop
Programs document and demonstrate how assessment findings have driven documented curriculum change — evidence that the AoL cycle is active and continuous.
S5
Public Reporting
Accredited programs publish their evidence summary on the APAC Board public portal — making learning quality visible and verifiable to every student.

Accreditation Pathway

Three Tiers. One Standard of Excellence.

Tier I
Candidate
In Progress
  • Eligibility application submitted
  • Self-study documentation underway
  • Preliminary site review scheduled
  • Evidence collection period active
  • Up to 18-month candidacy window
Tier II
Accredited
✓ Certified
  • All five APAC standards met
  • Evidence published on public portal
  • APAC Board Accredited badge granted
  • Annual evidence submissions required
  • 5-year full review cycle
Tier III
Distinguished
★ Distinguished
  • Exemplary evidence across all five standards
  • Demonstrated multi-year AoL improvement
  • Peer-review panel nomination required
  • Featured in APAC Board annual report
  • Highest public transparency score

Who We Serve

Seven Stakeholder Groups

🎓
Students
Free access to program outcome evidence before choosing a degree path
🏛️
Departments
Recognition for rigorous assessment and continuous improvement
🏫
Universities
Cross-disciplinary accreditation that complements existing institutional recognition
💼
Employers
Verified proof that graduates from accredited programs achieved stated competencies
⚖️
Policymakers
Evidence-based data on program quality across the higher education landscape
🔬
Researchers
The first national dataset of program-level assurance of learning evidence
🤝
Accreditors
A complementary, non-competing transparency layer that reinforces their work

Transparency Model

What We Publish and Why

Always Public
  • Accreditation status of all programs
  • AoL evidence summaries
  • Learning goals and outcomes
  • Curriculum map overview
  • Closing-the-loop documentation
  • Review panel decisions
Requires Login
  • Full scored artifact rubrics
  • Detailed comparative data
  • Department submission portal
  • Review panel working documents
Never Published
  • Individual student identity data
  • Internal Board deliberations
  • Reviewer identities during review
  • Fee negotiation records
Always Free
  • Student access — permanently
  • Program search and comparison
  • Accreditation status lookup
  • Outcome summary downloads

Ready to Pursue Accreditation?

Begin your department's APAC Board candidacy — the pathway starts with a simple eligibility review.

Begin Your Application Contact the Board