Understanding the Importance of Why Accreditation Can Guide Institutions’ Continuous Improvement Process

About the Webinar:

Presented by Dr. Andre’ Harrison, Senior Vice President of Accreditation Services at Cognia, and Christine McGuinn, Director of Education Projects & Quality Assurance at Academica

This engaging session explored how accreditation serves as both a framework and catalyst for continuous improvement within educational institutions. Dr. Harrison outlined Cognia’s updated accreditation model, emphasizing its four key domains—culture, leadership, engagement, and growth—and how they help schools move beyond compliance toward a culture of reflective practice and measurable progress. He highlighted that continuous improvement is not a one-time event but an embedded behavior that thrives on data-driven decision-making, collaboration among stakeholders, and sustained implementation over time.

Christine McGuinn complemented this by sharing practical applications from her work with over 190 charter schools. She described how her organization integrates Cognia’s standards into daily operations—using ongoing surveys, classroom engagement tools, and performance data to maintain momentum between accreditation cycles. McGuinn underscored that accreditation should be viewed not as an endpoint but as an ongoing journey that strengthens institutional quality, fosters collaboration, and validates excellence through external review.