Preliminary Application for Accreditation

Thank you for your interest in accreditation with the Association for Experiential Education (AEE). The following application is the beginning of a process to ensure solid evidence of your organization’s commitment to quality and safety.

We want to support you in this process so please contact us with any questions. 

There is a $250 application fee. Once accepted your organization/program will be invoiced.

Organizations that provide experiential education services are eligible to apply for accreditation. Eligibility is further determined based upon review of the Preliminary Application for Accreditation.

During the review of the application AEE will determine whether an organization qualifies as an Adventure Program or an Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare (OBH) Program. OBH Programs utilize licensed mental health professionals as an integrated part of their program.

An organization applying for accreditation must meet the following criteria:

1. The organization must operate in a manner consistent with the AEE Vision and Mission, IDEA Statement, and definition of Experiential Education;
2. The organization applying for accreditation does not and shall not discriminate in any of its activities or operations, on the basis of race, color, religion (creed), gender, gender expression, national origin (ancestry), disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or military status. These activities or operations include, but are not limited to, hiring, advancement and firing of staff, selection of volunteers and vendors, and provision services.
3. The organization must have explicit educational and/or therapeutic program objectives;
   The organization must offer at least one of the technical activities listed in the current Manual of Accreditation Standards for Adventure Programs, or the Manual of Accreditation Standards for Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare Programs;
4. The organization must have been in operation for at least one year prior to hosting an accreditation site visit;
5. The organization must be a separately identifiable, entity. Any identifiable entity such as an entire organization or a sub-unit of a larger organization that is governed, managed, or operates independently may be eligible.

Criteria used to determine the eligibility of sub-units of larger organizations include physical location; the ability to set policy; the ability to define practice; the ability to budget, manage funds and allocate resources; and the ability to manage personnel.

A determination that the organization is eligible to apply for AEE Accreditation in no way expresses or implies that the organization will meet the requirements for accreditation.

 

Please submit a summary of the incident/accident data for staff and participants including:

• The number of incidents/accidents and near misses (close calls) reported during the year;
• The number of incidents/accidents that required evacuation, professional medical, or therapeutic attention;
• Any trends in accidents, behavioral incidents, other incidents, or near misses;
• The incident reports from any significant incidents from the last year that resulted in a fatality, required evacuation, in-patient hospitalization, out-patient hospitalization, therapeutic attention, or any other incident that took a significant amount of the organization’s time and energy to address;
• Reports from any serious accident investigations from the past five years.

Please provide evidence of self-insurance or a General Liability Insurance policy sufficient to cover reasonably anticipated losses. Provide the covergae amount, the carrier's name, and the policy number. 

Please upload any legal documents the organization/program uses that attempt to allocate or avoid legal liability. For example: releases, waivers, assumption of ricj forms, indemnity agreements, or other related documents. 

 

1. The Director of Accreditation reserves the right to reject an organization’s Preliminary Application for Accreditation if it is determined that the program is not eligible.
2. The Accreditation Council reserves the right to temporarily delay, suspend or terminate the accreditation process at any time if, at the Council’s sole discretion, if it appears that any circumstances or issues impede the ability of the Council, the AEE accreditation staff, and accreditation reviewers from proceeding with the accreditation process.
3. Upon approval of the Preliminary Application for Accreditation, AEE will provide the organization with all the materials needed to engage in the accreditation process.
4. The organization agrees to acquire a working knowledge of the policies and procedures of the accreditation process and standards outlined in the Accreditation Program Manual.
5. The organization agrees to reserve a date for the Site Visit upon acceptance of the Preliminary Application for Accreditation.
6. The organization agrees to submit the Self-assessment Study and all supporting documentation within 9 to 24 months of acceptance of the Preliminary Application.
7. The organization agrees to host a Site Visit to verify the Self-assessment Study and compliance with relevant standards, according to the AEE Accreditation Program Manual terms.
8. The organization agrees to pay all expenses related to the Site Visit incurred by the Review Team. 
9. The organization agrees to pay Accredited Organization Member fees upon the receipt of the invoice.
10. The organization understands that additional administrative fees may be assessed by AEE if:
    • an inordinate amount of AEE Staff or Council time is needed to help an organization prepare for accreditation;
    • the organization requests an application extension;
    • the self-assessment and supporting documentation is incomplete or inadequate requiring a delay in the site visit;
    • a site visit is delayed or rescheduled at the request of the organization;
    • accreditation is deferred by the Council;
    • an additional site visit is deemed necessary by the Council,
    • or any significant delay occurs in a program’s accreditation or re-accreditation.
11. Any information provided by the organization for accreditation will be considered confidential and only used by the Accreditation Council, AEE staff, and AEE reviewers during the accreditation process.
12. The organization will take any remedial or corrective actions necessary regarding “unmet standards” identified in the Site Visit Report. The organization will continue to comply with the accreditation standards outlined in the appropriate Manual of Accreditation Standards. If the organization does not comply with the accreditation standards outlined in the Manual, than the organization must promptly notify the AEE Director of Accreditation and agree to report progress onn coming into compliance and submit documentation in the subsequent Annual Report.
13. The organization agrees to promptly report significant or noteworthy events or incidents to the AEE Director of Programs.
14. Upon accreditation, the organization will submit an annual report and pay a yearly fee for their AEE Accredited Membership. Annual report form(s) and invoice will be provided yearly.