If your school is discussing expanding their program consult with your Conference Superintendent and Union about the process.

H. Stephen Bralley, M.Ed.

Director of Secondary Education, North American Division

Substantial Change of Program

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Substantial Change Form

Senior Academy Application Form

ubstantial Change of Program requests most often occur when a school seeks to change its status from an elementary to a junior or senior highschool, they also occur when a school seeks to offer remote learning or significantly changes or expands their program. Pre-Covid these requests happened once or twice every few years, post-Covid the Office of Education has been processing such requests at a rate of 3-4 per year. It’s another sign that Adventist Education is growing as schools seek to expand their offerings to an increasing student population.

Students, parents and other school stakeholders expect that quality Adventist education will be ensured by appropriate accountability measures. This substantive change in program policy is intended to guard the integrity of the school evaluation process and maintain the credibility of accreditation and the accrediting agencies in assessing school quality. The North American Division Office of Education as officers of the NAD Commission on Accreditation, the representative authority of the Adventist Accrediting Association (AAA) for K-12 schools in North America will conduct a special on-site evaluative (SCP) visit to schools substantially changing their program.

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Why does a substantial change process exist?

Spring 2024

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