WHAT ACCREDITATION DECISIONS ARE POSSIBLE?

Following are the different accreditation decisions that can be awarded to your organisation. For complete information about any of these decisions, please reference COA's Policies and Procedures Manual.

Accreditation or Reaccreditation: The Accreditation Commission awards accreditation or reaccreditation to an organisation for a period of three or four years, depending on the cycle length selected by the organisation. The beginning of an organisation's cycle length following a reaccreditation decision dates back to the previous accreditation cycle expiration date.

Expedited: COA's President/CEO can expedite an organisation's accreditation without presenting an organisation to the Accreditation Commission for review when the organisation:

• meets all of the requirements of COA's Rating System following a site visit; and
• there is no cause for concern about implementation of/continuing performance with COA's standards.

Pending: When the Accreditation Commission has questions about an organisation's implementation of/continuing performance with a few standards that only require documentation for approval, they have the discretion to place the organisation on pending status and to request this documentation.

Deferral: When the Accreditation Commission has questions about an organisation's implementation of/continuing performance with any standards, they have the discretion to defer reaching an accreditation decision and to request further information and/or an additional site visit.

Probation: The Accreditation Commission has the discretion to place an accredited organisation on probation for a period not to exceed one year if it is aware of reliable information that raises a serious concern about stakeholder health or safety or the credibility of COA's accreditation process. An organisation's probationary status is public information.

Suspension: The Accreditation Commission has the discretion to suspend an accredited organisation's accreditation for a period not to exceed three months if it is aware of reliable information that raises a serious concern about stakeholder health or safety or the credibility of COA's accreditation process. COA requires a site visit within the suspension period for an organisation whose accreditation is suspended. An organisation whose accreditation is suspended is not considered accredited during the suspension period and, while on suspension, is prohibited from holding itself out as accredited.

Revocation: The Accreditation Commission reserves the right to revoke an organisation's accreditation based on defined criteria that are outlined in COA's Policies and Procedures Manual. An organisation may appeal a revocation decision.

Denial or Withdrawal: The Accreditation Commission reserves the right to deny accreditation to an organisation based on defined criteria that are outlined in COA's Policies and Procedures Manual. An organisation may appeal a denial decision. Additionally, an organisation may voluntarily withdraw from the accreditation process at any time prior to the commission's decision.