Accrediting Council of Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS) Recruiting Dental Assistants.

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Accrediting Council of Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS) is attempting to grow its pool of qualified dental assistant evaluators.

ACICS is a national accrediting agency recognized by the United States Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). Currently; ACICS has over 780 member institutions and accredits programs from the diploma to doctorate level. An Accreditation visit is typically 2-4 days in length. Information on ACICS' accreditation process can be found at http://www.acics.org/accreditation/default.asp.

Evaluator qualifications include five years in the specialty field (including education/training/certification/licensing in the specialty area) and evaluator training. On occasion the need for evaluators requires ACICS to invite an applicant who has not attended the training workshop. On those occasions, ACICS provides the evaluator with on-site training and requires them to attend a workshop within six months of the visit.

Evaluators are reimbursed for all expenses incurred related to the visit. In addition, they may receive an honorarium of $150/day for subject experts (exceptions are noted on website) and $300/day for chairs.

The evaluator has an opportunity to "give back" to the education world, observe programs in their field of study throughout the United States and abroad and receive credit for professional development. ACICS member institutions benefit by having educated, experienced and skilled accreditation team members capable of evaluating programs according to SCICS criteria.

The steps to becoming an evaluator are:

* Determine if you qualify by accessing your education and experience in a given specialty field (ACICS requires five years experience/education).

* Submit a resume to [e-mail].

* Complete and submit the Evaluator Data Sheet at http:// www.acics.org/accreditation/evaluator.asp.

* Attend an Evaluator Training Workshop. On occasion, the need for evaluators will override the requirement to attend an ACICS workshop prior to a first visit. In these circumstances, ACICS staff will conduct on-site training and the evaluator will be required to attend a formal training workshop within six months of the first visit.

For additional information, please contact Susan Greet, Evaluator Manager, via phone at 202-336-6789 or via e-mail at [e-mail].