Mandatory Accreditation and The US Army Command and General Staff College

Abstract

The US Army Command and General Staff College (CGSC) is an accredited institution that serves the educational needs of mid career US Army and selected officers from around the world. The college recognizes the importance of accreditation, despite its non-voluntary accreditation status, and uses it to maintain trust between its students and the American public. CGSC’s experiential learning environment is accredited by three different accrediting agencies each with their own criteria and standards. This paper will discuss the literature available that outlines each accrediting agencies standards, review and compare the standards, discuss the work that CGSC is currently performing to meet two upcoming accreditation visits, and finally highlight a few self study lessons learned in preparation for the visits.