Note: The following tasks are important and best carried out before the existing director leaves:

Accredited programs are required to notify the Accreditation Office of a change in director within 10 days of the change through the online accreditation portal. Required documentation and fees must be submitted within 30 days of the new director’s start date. Late fees apply for late notification and late submission. If you do not have access to the online portal please contact the Accreditation Office by phone or email for guidance.

A new director at a currently awarded program continues the process using the same due dates and deadlines in place. It is the program’s responsibility to ensure all information necessary to maintain compliance, including due dates, is transferred from the existing director to the new director.

Locate the program’s Accreditation Materials and call the Accreditation Office if there are any questions.

Determine where the program is in the accreditation process. What is the next step and what is the due date for that information?

Review the Accreditation Material’s essential components: Timetable; Classroom Observation; Administrator’s Report; and Appendices.

Review past correspondence to determine previous areas of concern and previous strengths. Keep all correspondence.

Read through the Accreditation Materials from start to finish, a section at a time, including those sections that are not related to the program’s current place in the process. Reading all of the Accreditation Materials is essential to overall program compliance and clarifies the accreditation process.

Review the Administrators Report: Note areas of known compliance program-wide; Note any areas or Standards where there is a question or concern about current compliance, and Note any areas or Standards that are unclear.

Perform a Classroom Observation on each class to determine areas for improvement and areas for implementation of new policies or procedures.

Review licensing reports and remedy any violations that are not yet in compliance.

Call or email the Accreditation Office with any questions.

• You can contact the National Accreditation Commission Office via telephone at 512-316-3679 or by e-mail at [email protected]. For online portal support e-mail [email protected].

All reports, documentation, and required materials should be submitted through the online accreditation portal.

The portal allows programs to upload documentation, complete required forms, review submissions, and track progress.

If a program is unable to submit through the portal, contact the Accreditation Office for assistance.

The appendices of the Accreditation Materials have a wealth of information related to Commission Standards and to definitions of many terms. It is wise to become familiar with the types of information found there.

The National Accreditation Commission staff are always available for questions. We want programs to feel confident about the steps they are taking as they move through the process and to feel confident about the interpretation of the Standards.

Phone calls are answered as they arrive, when possible. If your call was not answered, please leave a voicemail. Phone messages are returned within 1-2 business days. If the program has not received a return call by that time, please call again.

If you have a question after hours or anytime that is convenient for you, e-mail the Accreditation Office at [email protected] and an Accreditation Team member will respond within 1-2 business days.

Feel free to call or e-mail with questions concerning your program. We are here to offer assistance. Often times, discussing a concern beforehand can decrease anxiety for all involved.

The time frame is an initial eight-week period assigned to the program in which block out dates are confirmed and a validator is arranged. The two-week window is determined once the office has confirmed a validator for the program’s validation visit. The two-week window is scheduled within the designated time frame. The program will not know the exact date(s) the validator(s) will arrive within the two-week window.

Call the National Accreditation Commission Validation Visit Team at 512-540-8224 to discuss your options.

No. A $500 rescheduling fee + any non-refundable validator travel expenses will be assessed if a block-out date is added after the two-week window has been confirmed. No exceptions.

If the LEAD teacher changes, you will need to redo the classroom observation for that particular age group. Keep it onsite for your validator; do not send it into the office. Discard the previous observation.

The Program does not need to notify the office if only the assistant teacher changed; however, the classroom observation cover page and class schedules will need to be updated with the new teachers name and work hours. Keep these onsite to give to the validator on the day of the Validation Visit.

To ensure compliance, accredited programs should notify the National Accreditation Commission immediately of the following changes:

• director (or onsite supervisor)
• e-mail address or phone number
• addition of a new age group
• addition of a new classroom
• hours or days of operation
• changes to teach-child ratios
• significant employee turnover
• licensing violation or investigation in the area of supervision, guidance, child injury, or child safety
• loss or suspension of license
• increase or decrease in licensed capacity
• criminal conviction of any employee or volunteer
• expansion of facilities, including the playground – notify during the planning stage
• new ownership – notify during the planning stage
• combining or partial combining of programs
• closure of a program
• relocation of the program – notify during the planning stage
• loss of QRS, tiered reimbursement, or other recognition (for instance Gold Seal or Rising Star)
• any other program event that possibly impacts compliance or program operations

Submit the required notification through the online accreditation portal as soon as the change occurs..

Eligibility may differ depending on the severity of the deficiency. Please contact the Accreditation Office for your specific situation.

Be sure to keep all correspondence. Most letters and e-mails contain information that the program should refer to over the course of the Accreditation and information that is necessary to complete future reports. Programs should also maintain copies of important submissions and confirmation notices available within the online portal.

Programs submit most forms and documentation through the online accreditation portal. Select forms remain available on the Accreditation Forms page for direct online completion and submission.

Email [email protected].

Contact [email protected]  with your request. A term of use for the logo will be emailed to you, once that form is completed and returned the logo will be emailed to you.

No, Contact [email protected] with your request. A term of use for the logo will be emailed to you, once that form is completed and returned the logo will be emailed to you.