Inactive Status and Voluntary Withdrawal

Inactive Status

Accredited programs may request a period of inactive status by voluntarily submitting a CAAHEP Request for Inactive Status electronically via the CAAHEP website. During inactive status, no students may be enrolled or matriculating in the program. The program must continue to pay all CoA and CAAHEP fees. A program may remain inactive for up to two years. If additional time is required, the institution shall submit to the CoA for consideration a documented plan with timelines for reactivation of the program.

If a CoA becomes aware that no students have been enrolled in a program for two consecutive years, the program will be considered to have been inactive and will be required to submit for the CoA’s consideration a documented plan with timelines for reactivation of the program. If the plan is not satisfactory to the CoA, probation may be recommended.

To reactivate the program, the chief executive officer or an officially designated representative of the program sponsor must provide notice of its intent to do so in writing to both CAAHEP and the appropriate Committee on Accreditation. The program sponsor will be notified by the CoA of additional requirements, if any, that must be met to restore active status. CAAHEP will return the program to active status upon consultation with the CoA.

If a program sponsor has not notified CAAHEP or the CoA of its intent to reactivate the program, request additional time, or voluntarily withdraw by the end of the two-year period, the CoA will recommend that accreditation be withdrawn to the CAAHEP Board of Directors.

Voluntary Withdrawal

Voluntary Withdrawal of Accreditation
CAAHEP accreditation is voluntary and a program is considered for accreditation only at the written request of the program sponsor. A program sponsor may also request voluntary withdraw of accreditation at the written request of the chief executive officer of the program sponsor and by completing and submitting the CAAHEP Request for Voluntary Withdraw electronically via the CAAHEP website.

Any student who completes a program that was accredited by CAAHEP at any time during his/her matriculation is deemed by CAAHEP to be a graduate of a CAAHEP-accredited program. These students must be provided all the instruction promised by the institution and the institution is expected to maintain the academic integrity of the education program until these students have completed the program.

In all cases of voluntary withdraw, the program sponsor must:

1. pay all CAAHEP and/or Committee on Accreditation (CoA) fees until the effective date of voluntary withdraw;
2. submit all required and requested reports to the appropriate CoA until the effective date;
3. inform all current and potential students of the voluntary withdraw until the effective date;
4. delete all references to and claims of CAAHEP accreditation from websites, catalogs, advertisements and promotional materials; and
5.  provide the location where all records will be kept for students who have completed the program.

As of the effective date of voluntary withdraw of accreditation, the program will no longer appear on the CAAHEP website’s listing of accredited programs.

CAAHEP will notify the appropriate CoA of the voluntary withdraw of accreditation. Voluntary withdraw of accreditation does not require approval by the CoA or the CAAHEP Board of Directors.

The institution must request voluntarily withdraw in conjunction with one of the following criteria:

Continued Operation:

• An institution may request to voluntarily withdraw CAAHEP accreditation from a program even though the program will continue to operate. (If this decision is made in response to notification of a negative recommendation, follow #2 below.)
• The institution should indicate the effective date of withdraw, which can be any date within the program’s current accreditation cycle. If the date is beyond the current accreditation cycle, the program must submit a plan for the withdraw of accreditation.
• The institution must assure that credentialing eligibility for all students enrolled under CAAHEP accreditation is not adversely affected by the voluntary withdraw of accreditation.

In Lieu of a Negative Action:

• An institution may request to voluntarily withdraw of CAAHEP accreditation from a program rather than have a recommendation of probation or withdraw of accreditation be considered by CAAHEP. The effective date of the voluntary withdraw is the same as the date on which the CAAHEP Board would have considered the recommendation for probation or withdraw of accreditation.

Planned Closure:

• An institution may request to voluntarily withdraw CAAHEP accreditation from a program that will be closing or no longer offered by the institution. The institution should set the effective date of the voluntary withdraw as the day after the graduation date of the last class of students. An institution can request the voluntary withdraw to be effective immediately only if it can assure that credentialing eligibility for all students enrolled under CAAHEP accreditation is not adversely affected by the voluntary withdraw.

 
If CAAHEP becomes aware of a program closure, the CAAHEP Board will vote to withdraw accreditation once appropriate due process has been followed.