Analysis On The Legitimacy Sources And Strategies Of American Higher Education Accreditation Organizations

Higher education evaluation undertakes the important task of guaranteeing the quality of higher education and promoting the development of higher education.China’s higher education evaluation system has been dominated by the Education Evaluation Center under the Ministry of Education for a long time,which is subject to national policies and guidance in terms of funds,personnel,evaluation purposes,standards,etc.However,China’s non-governmental third-party evaluation organizations present scattered,weak and lack of credibility.At present,the reform of “separation of management,office and evaluation” has entered the deep water zone.How to entrust evaluation authority to third-party evaluation organizations and fully release their vigor and vitality of evaluation may start from enhancing their legitimacy status.American higher education accreditation institution with more than 130 years history is completely a thrid-party organization with suffiient legitimacy,uninfluenced by the government in terms of funding,personnel,etc.Therefore,the analysis of the sources and strategies of the legitimacy of American higher education accreditation institution can provide reference for the establishment of the legitimacy of third-party evaluation agencies in China.In this paper,Burton Clark’s state,market and academic triangle coordination model and Suchman’s legitimacy strategy are selected as the analysis framework,and the six regional accrediting organizations of American higher education certification are taken as the cases.On the basis of sorting out their legitimacy sources and strategies for obtaining,maintaining and restoring legitimacy,the enlightenment of third-party evaluation of higher education in China is proposed.The study found that the legitimacy of the American higher education accrediting organizations mainly comes from the state,academia and the market.National legitimacy is mainly reflected in the evaluation authority given to the accrediting organizations,and“recognize” the qualifications and behavior of them,and also reflected in the clientage relationship between the state government and accrediting organizations based on financial allocation.The academic legitimacy is shown as scientific nature of the certification standards,the professionalism of their workers and the rigor of the accreditation process.The market legitimacy is expressed as the coordinating organization,CHEA acts as a market monitor,and the conformity of certification system with American cultural values can maximize the support of the public.In terms of organizational legitimacy strategy,the accrediting organizations have mainly taken different actions in three aspects: obtaining legality,maintaining legality and repairing legitimacy.The development of third-party evaluation in China needs the government’s guidance,the participation of colleges and universities,and the third-party evaluation institutions themselves to enhance their competitiveness,so as to achieve high-quality development.