AHEC Accreditation

AHEC ONLY accredits programs that meet the HEC Standards:

Our Partner Standards

Your organization must:

1. Be a recognized legal entity or part of a legal entity.

2. Provide the following for the program:

- Purpose and Scope 

- Prequalification

- Defining criteria for successful completion of the program

3. Employ or contract individuals to operate the program and document their students' competencies

4. Uses qualified subject-matter experts (SMEs) for the content and assessment design, delivery, and maintenance and documents their qualifications, competencies, and responsibilities of their roles

5. Monitors, assesses, and assures the quality of all activities provided on behalf of the program following documented procedures

6. Conducts yearly evaluations and supports the quality of the program and continues future improvements

Program Requirements:

7. Defined policies and procedures for the following: 

- qualifications required of all employees and volunteers involved in the development, delivery, and maintenance of the education and assessment 

- procedures used to develop and maintain the education/training. 

- methods used to deliver the education/training. - procedures used to develop and maintain assessment(s).

- methods used to conduct an assessment(s); types of evaluation (s) and procedures used to evaluate or score participants. 

- types of feedback provided to participants and documented quality

8. Has defined policies and procedures if a participant:

- misrepresents identity or eligibility status

- gives or receives unauthorized assistance on the assessment

- claims, states or implies that the certificate is a professional certification

- engages in other violations of policies

Program Management Requirements:

9. Has a process for conducting a needs analysis that is consistent with the program's purpose/scope 

10. Education/training, intended learning outcomes, and assessment development are based on program purpose/scope

11. Education/training employs generally accepted instructional design methods relevant to the content, scope, and delivery method and developed by qualified individuals, including SMEs

12. Education/training is delivered using a method consistent with the purpose/scope of the program and delivered by qualified instructors (if applicable)

13. Content, design, and delivery of the education/training are reviewed periodically (at least annually) by qualified individuals, including SMEs

14. Has a process for evaluating and providing feedback on the performance of instructors/facilitators (if applicable)

15. Conducts summative assessment(s) to measure participants' accomplishment of the program's intended learning outcomes

16. Uses a generally accepted method for setting the passing standard that students must attain to be awarded a certificate

17. Uses rating scales, rubrics, or checklists to evaluate participant performance on subjective assessments (e.g., essays, portfolios, demonstrations) and documents procedures for training raters in the use of the scales, calibrating raters, evaluating the consistency of ratings, and resolving scoring differences (if applicable)

19. Prepares reports of assessment results summarizing the overall performance of the program and its participants

20. Informs certificate holders of the proper uses of the certificate/certification

*All standards require proof/documentation 

Follow the checklist under the partner portal

AHEC issues all gold seal certificates/certifications to qualifying members (Additional fees apply for hard/mailed copy). All of our partners can opt out of hard/mailed services. 

If a partner opts out of the hard/mailed services members will only be able to access their certificates/certifications digitally. They will have the option to purchase a hard/mailed copy.