Annual Compliance Checklist

Educational content: annual checklist (practical items)

This checklist is designed for institutional leaders, registrars, quality assurance officers and boards. Use it as a working list during a single annual review cycle.

1. Legal & regulatory status: Confirm the institution holds all licences, registrations and permissions required by national, state/provincial and local law to operate and to issue the awards it offers. Retain copies of current licences and renewal dates and assign a responsible officer to monitor expiries. (See: institutional responsibility to comply with law.)
2. Public information accuracy: Verify that the institution's website, prospectus and marketing materials accurately state institutional name, location(s), awards offered and any limitations on recognition. Correct any statements that could imply governmental recognition where none exists.
3. Programme approvals & records: Confirm each programme has up-to-date curricula, approved learning outcomes, assessment rules, and documented moderation results. Archive most-recent external examiner or reviewer reports and responses.
4. Student records & certification: Check completeness of enrolment records, attendance (where required), assessment records and that certificates issued match approved award titles and institutional identifiers.
5. Quality assurance systems: Run an internal audit of QA processes (assessment, feedback, complaints, appeals). Record findings, corrective actions and responsible owners with target dates.
6. Academic governance: Ensure academic board/ministry council minutes are current, conflicts of interest declared, and any major changes (curriculum, leadership, campus) documented and reported to the governing body.
7. Staff & faculty compliance: Confirm contracts, qualifications, induction training and right-to-work verification (where applicable) for academic and administrative staff are current and stored securely.
8. Health, safety & student welfare: Review policies for student safeguarding, health, safety, data protection and pastoral care. Confirm incident reporting processes and recent training are recorded.
9. Financial & insurance checks: Verify annual budgets, financial statements, and required insurances (professional liability, public liability, employer) are current and approved by trustees or board.
10. Records of changes & notifications: Document any significant institutional changes during the year (ownership, leadership, location, award titles). Confirm whether ITAA notification or re-review is required by policy.
11. Communications & transparency: Confirm contact channels, complaints process, fee schedules and refund policies are published and easy to find for prospective and current students.

Record the date of the annual review, sign-off by the accountable officer, and action items with due dates.

Common misunderstandings (brief clarifications)

• Misunderstanding: Accreditation equals government recognition. Clarification: ITAA provides independent theological accreditation and accreditation status does not replace governmental recognition where required. (See required institutional legal compliance.)
• Misunderstanding: Accreditation allows issuing degrees without local permission. Clarification: Institutions must secure any statutory degree-awarding powers or approvals required by law before issuing degrees.

ITAA role and obligations

Locked ITAA statements:

• ITAA is a private theological accreditation agency.
• ITAA is not a governmental accreditation authority.
• ITAA accreditation never overrides local law.
• Institutions remain solely responsible for compliance with all applicable national, state or provincial, regional, and local laws.
• Accreditation status does not replace governmental recognition where required.
• Institutional rankings measure the maturity of systems and governance, not the value of a ministry, spiritual calling, ministry effectiveness, or God28099s favour.

ITAA reviews and monitors institutional systems against published standards and expects timely notification of significant changes. ITAA does not substitute legal or statutory processes; institutions must maintain all required local approvals independently.

Related guidance and where to find forms

Use these ITAA resources when completing the annual checklist and for required notifications:

• Standards and expected evidence for institutional systems and governance.
• Process & Requirements for notifications, reviews and annual fee arrangements.
• Fees & Membership guidance on annual accreditation licence and campus fees.
• Knowledge Centre & Questions Directory for common queries and templates.
• Contact & Verification page for submitting official notifications and verification requests.

Refer to the institution's governance documents and local regulator guidance when confirming statutory requirements.

Practical checklist template (one-page sign-off)

Suggested one-page sign-off fields: review date; accountable officer name and role; summary of top 3 risks identified; actions raised (owner, due date); confirmation of legal documents reviewed (yes/no) and next review date. Keep the completed sign-off in the institutional QA file for audit.