EduCred Services

09/02/2026

New on the blog: Amy DiMaio on why your Faculty Handbook deserves more attention than it usually gets.

Most handbooks start out solid. Then a position gets eliminated, an LMS migration happens, an appeals process quietly falls out of use, and three years later the document still looks official while pointing everyone toward a bridge that washed away.

Amy walks us through what belongs in a strong Faculty Handbook (institutional information, teaching expectations, outcomes assessment, policies, professional development) and makes the case for treating it as academic infrastructure rather than something you dust off when an accreditor asks.

There is also an extended metaphor involving Apple TV's Widow's Bay, a bog witch, and a fog with an appetite. You'll want to read it.

"𝘛𝘰 𝘢 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘢𝘥𝘫𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘵, 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘺 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳, 𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘳, 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘞𝘪𝘥𝘰𝘸'𝘴 𝘉𝘢𝘺. 𝘚𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘴 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘺𝘮𝘴. 𝘊𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘧𝘢𝘳 𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢 𝘨𝘶𝘪𝘥𝘦, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘺 𝘵𝘢𝘴𝘬 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘺 𝘯𝘰 𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘦."

https://www.educredservices.com/blog/faculty-handbook-guide

A strong Faculty Handbook does more than satisfy an accreditor. It orients new faculty, translates policy into practice, and keeps expectations consistent across every course and modality. Here's what belongs in yours, what tends to go missing, and how to keep it current when higher education change

08/19/2026

Susan Chiaramonte is on the blog this week, and she's bringing The Bear with her.

Michelin inspectors evaluate ingredient quality, mastery of technique, harmony of flavors, the chef's distinctive point of view, and consistency over time. Read that list again in an accreditation state of mind. (Same five questions, less butter).

But this blog is really about what happens after that parallel clicks into place. What happens if chasing the recognition starts degrading the very thing that was supposed to be recognized? How do institutions with the mission at the center find their exhibits mostly already exist? And what is the single fastest diagnostic for telling which kind of institution you actually are?

https://www.educredservices.com/blog/pursuing-michelin

Michelin inspectors and accreditors ask remarkably similar questions. Using Season 5 of FX's The Bear, we look at what happens when the pursuit of recognition starts crowding out the mission it was supposed to recognize, and why keeping your mission at the center of operations makes higher education

08/05/2026

Every February, a few thousand impeccably groomed dogs trot around a ring at Madison Square Garden. But, by the time they get there, most of the outcome has already been decided.

Accreditation site visits work the same way. The two or three days your evaluation team spends on campus are the ring. Everything that matters happened in the years before they arrived.

The topic has been top of mind for Kathy Doherty lately, since she is chairing a Middle States site visit this week. In our newest blog, she uses the Westminster Dog Show to walk through what separates a smooth site visit from a stressful one: evidence that connects to specific standards, a self-study that describes what you already do on an ordinary day, and staff who can talk about their own work without a script.

She also includes a stress test worth running before any team lands.

Read it now, thank yourself at your next site visit: https://www.educredservices.com/blog/best-in-show
🐶 🐕 🦮 🐕‍🦺 🐩🐾 🦴

An accreditation site visit can feel a little like the Westminster Dog Show: the ribbon is won long before anyone walks into the ring. Learn how to align evidence to the standards, build a self-study that reflects real practice, and organize logistics so your accreditation site visit shows your inst

07/23/2026

We love a data update, and especially one that gives us some new insight. A historian built what may be the first national tuition database (667 colleges, 1840 to 2020) and found that tuition growth has actually been slowing since 1990. The wildest tuition increase decades weren't recent at all; they were the 1920s through the 1980s.

BUT (and this is a big but), family income stopped keeping pace. In 1980, tuition took about 14% of the median family's income. By 2020? 43%. The affordability crunch is largely an income story.

The institutions building trust right now are the ones communicating about cost, aid, and value with real data and zero defensiveness, and treating affordability as a strategic planning question.

Families are anxious about cost either way, but the dominant narrative ("colleges just keep hiking prices") isn't the whole picture, and knowledge is power. Give this article a read: https://fortune.com/2026/07/13/college-tuition-family-income-data/

A 667-college database spanning 1840 to 2020 shows tuition growth actually slowed after 1990; sticker prices did not drive the affordability crisis.

07/21/2026

🦈 It's almost Shark Week! Which means it's the perfect time to talk about what's actually circling your institution.

Spoiler alert: it's probably not the dramatic stuff. Surprise 'show cause' orders and hostile site visit teams are the great whites of higher ed, terrifying but exceedingly rare. The real threats are more like sunburns: an expired authorization here, a policy that contradicts your practice there. Quiet, cumulative, and completely preventable.

Our latest blog covers some of the most common fears we hear about from new institutions (and what deserves your worry instead).

Read it here: https://www.educredservices.com/blog/shark-week

Shark Week begins this weekend! But the dangers institutions fear most, hostile site visit teams, federal audits, curriculum thieves, almost never bite. EduCred Services breaks down five worries keeping new institutions up at night, and the quiet, sunburn-style compliance risks that should actually

07/08/2026

This week on the EduCred Services blog, we're doing some mystery-busting. Who are accreditors? What do they want? What can and can't they actually do? 🔍

The critiques are everywhere lately. “They're gatekeepers, they're bureaucrats, they dictate what colleges can teach.” But much of this doesn't hold up against the actual historical and legal record.

"A credential that nobody rigorously verifies is just a rumor with a seal on it."

Full post here: https://www.educredservices.com/blog/who-are-accreditors

Accreditation is facing one of the most consequential periods in its history. Some criticisms deserve serious discussion. Others are based on misconceptions. Before deciding what accreditation should become, it’s worth understanding what it is...and what it isn’t.

07/04/2026

Today the country turns 250, and it's a good moment to appreciate how education has always been part of the American story, opening doors and giving people the tools to build something better.

And if you haven't read the Declaration of Independence in a minute, give it another look. It still packs a wallop.

You can find the full transcript here: https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration-transcript

Here's to a safe, happy, reflective, and restful Fourth with the people who matter most.

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07/03/2026

Happy 4th of July Weekend from EduCred Services! 🎆
Consider this your official permission slip to close the laptop early.
The fireworks are calling, the cooler's already packed, and we're all ready for a long weekend.
Wishing you a safe and happy Independence Day Eve!

06/23/2026

📚 Cool books + hot days = mildly ambitious summer reading goals.

The EduCred Services team is back with our 2026 summer reading list, featuring everything from higher ed futurism and workplace communication to Southern noir, cozy fiction, hard science fiction, and the humble-but-mighty checklist.

Professional development counts even when you’re reading in flip-flops!

Check out what we’re reading this summer:
https://www.educredservices.com/blog/2026-summer-reading

The EduCred Services Team is back with our annual summer reading recommendations. From Bryan Alexander's Peak Higher Ed and Atul Gawande's The Checklist Manifesto to page-turners like A Gentleman in Moscow, All the Sinners Bleed, The Name of the Wind, and Project Hail Mary, here are the professional

06/09/2026

Please join us in welcoming the newest member of the EduCred Services team, Chris Mayer, Ph.D.!

Chris spent nearly three decades in the Army, much of it at West Point, developing leaders and leading academic strategy. He's also served as a peer evaluator with the Middle States Commission on Higher Education for over a decade. Somewhere along the way, he became one of those rare people who genuinely loves accreditation work.

In his first blog for us, Chris makes the case that strategic planning and accreditation are the two most valuable "moments" on an institution's calendar, providing chances for leaders get to look up, look out, and decide where they're headed.

Give it a read, and help us welcome Chris to EduCred Services. 👋

https://www.educredservices.com/blog/kodak-moments

Kodak invented the digital camera in 1975, then filed the future away in a drawer. Learn how to turn strategic planning and accreditation from box-checking compliance exercises into your institution's best opportunities to look up, look out, and prepare for what's coming before it's too late.