Institutional Standards Reassessment (ISR)

Institutional Standards Reassessment (ISR) is part of Stage 2 of the two-stage Institutional Accreditation Process. ISR applies only to those HEIs that receive an outcome of ‘Conditionally Accredited’ or ‘On Probation’ through the ISA (or subsequent ISR) process.

 

ISR follows the same procedures and regulations set for ISA. It is conducted by a Panel of locally-based and international External Reviewers, selected from the Register of External Reviewers (RER) and guided in the process by a Review Director. It commences with the submission by the HEI of an Institutional Standards Reassessment Application (ISRA) and Supporting Materials, reviewed by the Panel, and includes a Panel Visit during which interviews are conducted with different stakeholders, such as the HEI’s governance, management, staff and students. 

 

Any HEI that does not meet the standards required for accreditation is given up to one year to submit an application for reassessment. After ISA, an HEI has two further opportunities (ISR First Attempt and ISR Second Attempt) to gain accreditation.

 

ISR determines whether an HEI now meets the standards it did not meet during ISA. It results in an Accreditation Outcome (Accredited, Conditionally Accredited or on Probation) and a detailed report containing the ratings against the reassessed standards and criteria. A rationale for the Panel’s decision is given in the form of an ISR Report. The Accreditation Outcome and the ratings against the standards and criteria are published on the Reports and Results page. 

 

ISA and ISR have many commonalities including Panel formation, HEI submission, the review process and the application of Accreditation Outcomes. The two processes differ, however, in scope: ISA covers all the standards and criteria applicable to the HEI under review whereas ISR only covers the standards (and related criteria within those standards) which the HEI did not meet in the ISA.

 

All activities included in the ISR process are conducted in accordance with the rules and regulations contained in an Addendum to the ISA Manual .