Accreditation

Why ACATM Accreditation Matters
Our accreditation assures institutions’ programs meet standards to produce graduates ready to
enter critical healthcare fields that are leading the way in innovation, emerging alternative and
traditional medicine, anticipating research, treatment and safety needs of the public.

Institutional Accreditation
Accreditation is a type of quality assurance process under which services and operations of
institutions or programs are evaluated by an external body to determine if applicable standards
are met. If standards are met, accredited status is granted by the agency.

Accreditation is a process of validation in which institutions are evaluated. The standards
for accreditation are set by a peer review board..

Accredited qualifications, also known as regulated qualifications are those that are reviewed,
recognized and monitored by the regulatory bodies in order to make sure that they meet specific criteria and quality standards.

Accreditation and Certification Process
Accreditation and certification is a process for implementing any formal process. It is a
systematic procedure for evaluating, examine, recitation, and authorizing systems prior to or
after an institution is in operation.

Become an Accredited Institution
Earning an accreditation in the United States is a voluntary, nongovernmental process. Schools,
colleges and universities are request to be evaluated and/or have their programs evaluated by an independent accrediting agency. Accrediting agencies are private educational associations.

Accreditation in the U.S. and other Countries
For institutions located within the United States, regional accreditation of the institution is
required for accreditation eligibility. Not all countries have the equivalent of regional
accreditation and the government may provide the authority to grant diplomas, certificates and/or degrees. When considering any degrees or programs, students are encouraged to contact institutions they may wish to attend in the future as well as the human resource department of specific employers. Diploma, certificate and/or degree acceptance policies will vary by institution and employer.

Eligible for Accreditation
You are eligible to become accredited or member with ACATM if your institution identifies
itself as one of the following institution types:

• Any Diploma, Certificate and Degree granting institution major in alternative, holistic,
  natural and Traditional medicine.
• Any Healthcare, Clinic and Treatment Center major in alternative, holistic, natural and Traditional medicine.

International Institutions
An International Diploma, Certificate and Degree granting institution and any Healthcare, Clinic
and Treatment center major in alternative, holistic, natural and Traditional medicine. The
institution must provide a certified translation of an official document from an appropriate
government organization in their respective countries stating approval, recognition or
accreditation.

International Practitioners
Al International Practitioners major in alternative, holistic, natural and traditional medicine must provide a certified translation of an official license to practice from an appropriate government organization in their respective countries stating licensed to practice in the field.

Accreditation Benefits

• The process of preparing an accreditation self-evaluation and self-study increases the
  focus on quality of learning and renews a commitment to the educational mission.
• The accredited institution reinforces a commitment to continuous improvement, development and invention.
• An accredited status creates greater visibility and provides prestige and credibility for the institutions and treatment centers.
• Accreditation protects the interests of students and faculty and institutions by ensuring that the educational programs and services offered have attained a level that meets standards that were developed by experts and scholars in the field.
• Accreditation provides a sense of pride within the institution and practitioners.
• Accreditation may leads to more successful expression of medical and business credits.
• Accredited status may be printed in the institution website, catalog, business cards and advertising materials.
• Accredited by may help institutions and organizations position for the future of integrated healthcare and treatments
• ACATM provides guidance to all institutions and organizations quality improvement efforts and help them to develop their programs and activities, because Accreditation involves preparing for a survey and maintaining a high level of quality and compliance with the latest standards.
• Quality education, high standard of organization, Patient safety and quality of care issues are at the forefront of ACATM standards and concern.
• Achieving accreditation makes a strong statement to the community about an institution and organization’s efforts to provide the highest quality of education, treatments and services.
• Accreditation may provide a marketing advantage in a competitive educational and health care environment and improve the ability to secure new business.
• ACATM provides continuing support with professional advices, CE classes, conferences, seminars, workshops to its members in a variety of topics and settings internationally.
• Accreditation can attract qualified staff and faculty, who prefer to serve in an accredited institutes and organization.
• Accredited institutes and organizations also provide additional opportunities for staff to develop their skills and knowledge.

Membership
ACATM Membership is a reputable membership to the accreditation for those institutions who
are not completely ready for accreditation. The institution may be eligible to apply for
membership and become ACATM special member.
ACATM Membership Department has been designed to make an opportunity for institutions to
contact and do business with other institutions and business globally.
Membership Benefits

• Networking: ACATM may offers courses, conference, seminars and workshops. These
  would be opportunities for you to socialize with others in your professional field.
• Job Fair: There is some job fair where you can make contact and stay up to date with the HR people who are responsible and looking for right employees.
• Extend your knowledge: Staying informed on your industry’s trends will only help you in the long run and will put you one step ahead of the competition. With ACATM courses, conference, seminars, workshops and webinars to keep themselves and their members up to date on the latest innovations, research and trends.
• Mentoring: Mentoring is the foundation of ACATM when it comes to working with younger members. You may never get in the room with someone at the top of your field, for a very long time. But ACATM has the ability to pare you with someone much more knowledge and experience.
• Leadership: ACATM gives you an opportunity to develop your skills as a leader, and this is important not only for your personal growth, but for your growth in your business as well.
• Improve Your Network: Networking is a very important key for the leaders of the community. Making connections is critical, and joining ACATM gives countless opportunities to connect on a local and global level. Creating professional relationships is important, and joining ACATM allows you to have a sense of security, trust and confidence. You’ll be able to support and help one another in reaching your professional goals and be a professional leader in the field.
• Give back to the community: ACATM coordinate socially conscious initiatives to support community efforts. We make sure to be plenty of options internationally for members to choose for if members are looking to give back.
• ACATM provides you with an avenue to “give something back” to the profession, perhaps by presenting at one of our events or by authoring an article in online journals. While this in itself is an admirable thing to do, it’s a win-win transaction as it also raises your profile in the professional community.
• Make a new friend: Use ACATM clusters as an opportunity to escape the norm and meet new professional people that may give you a reason to come out of your shell a bit more and have fun and do business as well.
• B2B: Business-to-Business, which is a model that focuses on selling products and services to other companies. Think of it as a supportive enterprise that offers the things other companies need to succeed or get a leg up on the competition.
• Professionalism: It might be the most skeptical of reasons to join, but there’s no doubt that membership of ACATM is seen as “A” plus by prospective employers. Your association with the brand sends the message that you are serious about your profession, and you are willing to put your money where your mouth is.
• Bonuses: Most of ACATM services offers for members only either free or with substantial discount that easily covering the cost of membership. Awards: ACATM also sponsors for Recognition Awards, Achievements Awards and Leadership Awards. These awards are important because they shine a light on outstanding work that should be showcased but might otherwise have remained undiscovered. Our professional awards honor organizations and individuals whose passion, talent and expertise make the greatest contributions to the field of profession.
• You can honor the recognition, achievement and leadership, when you nominate a project, program or individual for one of these prestigious awards. The awards recognize organizations, products, projects, people, books and articles.
• Use ACATM Certificate and Recognitions internationally.
• Unlimited Reputable Representation.
• Participate in ACATM’s Member forums.
• Use ACATM Member Logo.

Step By Step for ACATM Accreditation
Institution or Programs new to accreditation have a required Preparation and Review before the
onsite visit. A request for Self-Study Reports is on January, April and September of the year of
on-site visit.

Before Valuation and Eligibility
Before our institution seeking ACATM accreditation, your program should determine if it falls
into the categories that we accredit, and that it meets our Minimum Requirements. Prior to
seeking an accreditation review, each program must have a functioning valuation process in
place that meets ACATM criteria for accreditation in five areas: Institution Objectives, Program
Educational Objectives, Student Outcomes, Feature Plans & Improvements and Continuous
Improvements.

Requesting Initial ACATM Accreditation
A Request for Accreditation Review is required from all institutions/programs seeking initial
accreditation if the institution has no currently ACATM accredited programs in the same
commission Alternative and Traditional Medicine. The deadline for Accreditation Review
is January, April and September.

ACATM Renewing Accreditation
Institution and/or Programs that are renewing an existing accreditation must submit a request for preparations and review. Your institute or/and program will need to submit a Request for
Accreditation Review for any general/comprehensive visits, interim visits, or interim reports.
You must mail to ACATM office official transcripts for two graduates from the most recent
graduating class for each program requesting review.

ACATM Accreditation outside the U.S.
While ACATM accreditation process for programs outside the United States is identical to the
process for institutions and programs within the U.S.A., there are different logistical
requirements international programs should take into account.

In addition to submitting an Application and other materials, institutions and/or programs outside of the U.S. must have each appropriate education authority, recognition, or accreditation agency within their country complete a request for acknowledgement from to be submitted with the Application and formal request for evaluation.

Accreditation Types:

1. Institutional Accreditation
   ACATM Evaluates overall schools/colleges/university quality, but does not focus on specific academic or professional programs.
2. Programmatic Accreditation
   ACATM evaluates academic or professional program of study, not an institution as a whole. A specific academic or professional program of study can be granted accreditation at a variety of certificate, diploma and degree levels.
3. Professional Accreditation
   ACATM may evaluate alternative, holistic, natural and Traditional medicine specialists, clinic, treatment and research centers.

VALUATION PROCESS

Mission Statement and Goals
Valuation planning begins with the institutional mission statement, which describes the
communities that are served and the institutional purposes and other characteristics that define your institution. At the same time, your institution’s valuation leader should work with an
appropriate mix of faculty and administrators to develop a plan of action and timeline to ensure
departmental assessment goals and deadlines are met.

Objectives & Student Outcomes
Institution and Program educational objectives are based on the needs of the institution and/or
program’s constituencies and are expressed in broad statements that describe what graduates are expected to attain within a few years of graduation. Student outcomes relate to the knowledge, skills, and behaviors that students acquire as they progress through the program and describe what students are expected to know and be able to do by the time of graduation. Defining educational objectives and student outcomes provides faculty with a common understanding of the expectations for student learning and supports consistency across the curriculum, as measured by performance indicators. Performance indicators represent the knowledge, skills, attitudes or behavior students should be able to demonstrate by the time of graduation that indicate competence related to the outcome.

Conduct Valuations
Valuations offer a framework through which you can identify, collect, and prepare data to
evaluate the achievement of student outcomes and program educational objectives. Effective
assessments use relevant direct, indirect, quantitative, and qualitative measures appropriate to the outcome or objective being measured. Appropriate sampling methods may be used as part of an assessment process.
Efficient and effective assessment strategies require an understanding of the arrangement
between educational practices and strategies. This can be accomplished by mapping educational strategies to learning outcomes. Strategies for data collection and analysis need to be systematic and consistent, and focus on valuation related to the performance indicators.

Appraise Valuation
Appraise processes interpret the data and evidence accumulated through the assessment process and determine the extent to which student outcomes and educational objectives are being earned. Considerate evaluation of findings is essential to ensure that decisions and actions taken as a result of the valuation process will lead to program improvement.

Decision Making
Valuation provides a framework for a meaningful feedback process, which is critical to strategic
decision making. Creating and maintaining an ongoing quality assurance system helps to keep
your institution and program relevant to the professions it serves, supports the highest quality
student experience, and confirms that your graduates are well prepared for their careers.