Eligibility Requirements

The mission of the Commission on American and International Schools Abroad (CAISA) is to ensure and promote high quality education for students by developing and applying standards which are used to assess the effectiveness of American and international schools operating outside the United States.

Schools wishing to be accredited by NEASC through CAISA must:

• Use English as a primary language of instruction and communication throughout the school.
• Demonstrate the international nature of the school through a mission which includes creating international citizens, through demographics of the student body and staff, and through the co-curricular experiences and programs offered.
• Provide a curriculum which in content, design, implementation, and assessment reflects best practices in American and international education.
• Prepare students to be able to transfer to similar schools worldwide or, upon graduation, to enter colleges and universities where English is the primary medium of instruction.
• Have several years of operating history.
• Operate outside the United States.

Schools applying for membership in NEASC through CAISA must:

• Commit to meeting established standards.
• Commit to a process of self-evaluation, peer review, and on-going systematic improvement, utilizing CAISA’s standards.
• Be willing to host a preliminary visit to assess the school’s readiness for the self-study process leading to accreditation.
• Be able to host a visiting team appointed by CAISA so as to ensure peer review.
• Have basic guiding documents (faculty handbook, student handbook, written curriculum, employment contracts, staff evaluation procedures, governing board policies, and job descriptions).
• Upon application, and later upon request, submit an independent audit, current budget, and most recent management letter in English.
• Commit to acting within the spirits of the ideals and principles enunciated in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
• Be willing to release faculty members and other personnel to serve on visiting teams for accreditation visits to other similar schools.