Most published accreditation timelines assume resources that a typical department does not have. What follows is a version scaled for a chair who has this job on top of a teaching load.
Year one: find out where you stand
The only goal this year is an accurate picture. Load the evidence you already have, map it against the standards, and produce a gap list with owners. Do not start writing.
- Confirm which standard set and which version applies to your review
- Import existing documents and see what coverage looks like
- Identify every multi year measure and start it now
- Assign a named owner to each standard, even provisionally
Expect the coverage number to be lower than you hoped. That is the point of doing this early.
Year two: build the collection habit
This is the year you stop collecting in bursts. Set up a rhythm where evidence arrives as it is produced, at the end of each term rather than at the end of the cycle.
- Ask for syllabi in the last two weeks of every term
- Refresh CVs once a year on a fixed date, not on request
- Capture assessment results in the term they were scored
- Record committee decisions when they are made
A term based rhythm is far easier to sustain than a project based push, and it produces better data because nothing is being recalled.
Year three: close the loops
By now you have enough measurement history to see where actions were taken and never reassessed. This is the year to reassess them. It is also the last comfortable point to start any measure that needs two years of data.
Year four: draft
Writing starts here, not in year five. Draft every section, mark the gaps, and circulate for comment. The purpose of drafting this early is to discover what is still missing while there is a full year to fix it.
- Draft all sections, including the ones where evidence is thin
- Mark gaps visibly rather than writing around them
- Run a full committee read and record the feedback
- Reconcile every figure that appears in more than one place
Year five: finish and rehearse
The final year is revision, verification, and preparation for the visit. If the earlier years went well, this year is calm.
- Revise and approve section by section, locking each as it is done
- Verify that every claim traces to a document
- Organize the evidence file so a stranger can navigate it
- Walk the team through likely questions and where the answers live
If you are already behind
Compressing this into two years is possible. Compressing it into one means making choices about what will not be strong. If you are in that position, spend your first week on the gap analysis anyway. Knowing which gaps are permanent lets you decide how to address them in the narrative rather than being surprised during the visit.