Accreditation is a voluntary system of self-regulation carried out by peer review in which an institution or program is found to meet or exceed a set of standards.

RISD is accredited by: New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE), AICAD and National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA). Some programs have specialized accreditation: Architecture (National Architecture Accrediting Board), Landscape Architecture (Landscape Architectural Accreditation Board) and the Master of Art in Teaching (RI Department of Education).

Every 10 years, institutions submit a comprehensive self-study and supporting documents in advance of a site visit. RISD's last site visit was April 3–6, 2016. Click on the links below to read more (the Self-Study and Visitors' response).

It is important that academic departments maintain up-to-date files of syllabi, images or samples of student work, department publications, faculty members’ curriculum vitae, and evidence of special events in order to facilitate institutional accreditation and the Trustee’s Visiting Committee Program and/or professional accreditation. These resources are also essential to the day-to-day functioning of a department. It is also important that departments maintain facilities and signage, and are completely orthodox in regards to contact time for courses.

The accreditation team produces a written evaluation of the state of the institution that defines strengths and weaknesses and may prescribe remediation. Serious issues may necessitate progress reports and mid-term visits. Copies of the reports of previous accreditation teams are in the Library.

Accreditation for degrees in art education

The MAT and MA programs in Teaching + Learning in Art + Design are both accredited by (NECHE). The MAT is a teacher preparation program approved by the Rhode Island Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (RIDE).

LAAB accreditation, Landscape Architecture

The Landscape Architectural Accreditation Board (LAAB) accreditation process evaluates each program on the basis of its stated objectives and compliance to externally mandated minimum standards. The program conducts a self-study to evaluate how well it is meeting its educational goals. LAAB then provides an independent assessment, which determines if a program meets accreditation requirements. Programs leading to first professional degrees at the bachelor’s or master’s levels in the United States are eligible to apply for accreditation from LAAB.

The Board of Trustees of the American Society of Landscape Architects recognizes the quality of educational programs leading to first professional degrees in landscape architecture at the bachelor’s and master’s level accredited by the Canadian Society of Landscape Architects Accreditation Council. It regards the criteria for accreditation and many of the individual program guidelines to be comparable to those employed by the Landscape Architectural Accreditation Board of ASLA.[1]

http://www.asla.org/AccreditationLAAB.aspx

[1] American Society of Landscape Architects,http://www.asla.org/AccreditationLAAB.aspx (2009)

NAAB accreditation, Architecture

The National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB) is the sole agency authorized to accredit professional degree programs in architecture in the United States. Since most US state registration boards require any applicant for licensure to have graduated from a NAAB-accredited program, obtaining such a degree is an essential aspect of preparing for the professional practice of architecture. While graduation from a NAAB-accredited program does not assure registration, the accrediting process is intended to verify that each accredited program substantially meets those standards that, as a whole, comprise an appropriate education for an architect.[1]

[1] National Architectural Accrediting Board, Inc., http://www.naab.org/