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SDK & Associates, LLC, Services

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Accreditation

Accreditation serves as a testament of the quality of an institution or an individual academic program or programs.  It can also serve as recognition for participation in federal or state education funding programs.

For the past 15 years, SDK & Associates, LLC, has gained invaluable experience with various accrediting organizations, such as the Higher Learning Commission (HLC), International Assembly for Collegiate Business Education (IACBE), Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN), Commission on Health Informatics and Information Management Education (CAHIIM), Medical Assisting Education Review Board (MAERB), Committee on Veterinary Technician Education and Activities (CVTEA), American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP), and the American Bar Association (ABA).

At SDK & Associates, LLC, we can provide guidance related to institutional or programmatic accreditation, including the following:
  • ​guidance through the candidacy process to gain institutional or programmatic accreditation
  • assistance with accrediting standards 
  • review of the self-evaluation study or application against the standards established by the accrediting agency
  • on-site evaluation of the self-study to assist in determining first-hand if the institution meets the established accrediting standards, as well as preparation of the institution and its constituencies for a site visit
  • interim visits to an institution to address issues raised by the accrediting body
  • guidance through the candidacy process to gain institutional or programmatic accreditation
  • reevaluation of an institution to ascertain whether continuation of its accredited or pre-accredited status is warranted 

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Compliance


These days, compliance can mean any one of a number of things. For example, in looking at the wide-ranging issues that make up compliance at higher education institutions in the 21st Century, one might ask. . .
  • Is the institution compliant with the requirement to designate "public" property (through or around) for purposes of the Clery Act?
  • Does the annual security report include the additional crimes now required to be reported?
  • How does Title IX fit in with the Clery Act?
  • Has the institution ensured that its policies are "neutral" in terms of diversity, gender, and ethnicity?
  • Is the institution compliant with all state authorization requirements (even with distance learning)?
  • Does the institution have an effective conflict of interest policy?
  • Does the institution meet all the checklist requirements provided in the Title IV audit guide?
  • Can the institution show that is has an effective emergency notification system?  
  • Does the institution meet all of the HEOA compliance obligations?

At SDK & Associates, LLC, we assist institutions in providing answers to these questions, as well as questions within other compliance arenas, such as compliance risk assessment, institutional policy review, integrity and ethics, employment practices, internal training, codes of conduct, and creating a compliance program and/or office of compliance.
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Governance


If higher education governance is the means used to operate such institutions, one might conclude that such oversight is fairly common in form and substance. However, the diversity in which institutions are governed is vast, as is the number of governance issues.

Some of the more common governance issues facing higher education institutions today include:
  • Lack of appropriate ethics and conflict of interest policies for the institution and governing body
  • Governing body lacks new board member orientation program
  • Failure of administration to properly inform board through reports and documentation
  • Governing body does not appreciate line between oversight and administrating (e.g., no statements within board authority explicitly delegating leadership and management to administrators)
  • Governing board does not have a program for the ongoing development of board members
  • Lack of appropriate risk assessment program
  • Inability of board to engage in effective strategic and operational planning 
  • No linkage between any planning and budgeting
  • Board does not demonstrate sufficient autonomy in making decisions in the best interests of the institution
  • Lack of policies that govern the institution's ongoing activities (e.g., affirmative action, human resources, research activities, contracts, required disclosures, etc.)

At SDK & Associates, LLC, we provide consulting services that account for the individual nature of each higher education institution while ensuring effective governance structures are in place to operate the institution in a cogent, ethical manner.

Additional Services. . .

SDK & Associates, LLC, also provides the following consulting services:

  • Strategic and Operational Planning
  • Executive Coaching and Mentoring
  • Campus Safety and Security
  • Governmental and Regulatory Affairs (including federal and state education agencies)
  • Organizational Leadership and Structures

Current Projects

  • Initial regional accreditation for research institute with graduate program

  • Preparation for quality assurance review for midwestern institution

  • Preparation for decennial visit for doctoral-level institution  

Recent Higher Education News

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NACIQI Votes to Terminate ACICS.
Read Story.
College Fails to Provide Fair Hearing in Sexual Assault Matter.
Read Story.
USDE Updates Cash Monitoring List.
Read Story.
New Training Requirements for Trustees? 
Read story.
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Placed on Probation: Following an extensive investigation from its regional accreditor (SACS); the university will be on probation for one year.
Read story.
U.S. Supreme Court to hear case involving affirmative action in higher education.
Read Story.
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