Know Where You Stand: Accreditation Self-Study, Peer Analysis, Metrics, Inventories, and the Truth Serum of Benchmarking

I’m excited to share my recently published book chapter from Metrics, Mapping, and Modelling for Masterful Management in Higher Education (Emerald Press, 2025) entitled Accurately Assess Status and Current Conditions.

Chapter 19 is about keeping institutional self-knowledge honest—accurately assessing current conditions so a college or university doesn’t become, as the chapter bluntly warns, “a legend in its own mind.” It focuses on two core benchmarking approaches in higher education: accreditation and the deliberate selection of peer and aspirant institutions. Readers learn what accreditation is, why it matters, how the process unfolds, how accrediting agencies differ, and how to choose the best fit for an institution. The chapter also frames self-study and strategic planning as mutually reinforcing, and shows how the Sentient Knowledge Map can support self-study design, evidence gathering, and report generation—especially by using a metric library and backward design to tighten alignment between standards, measures, and narrative. On the benchmarking side, it provides a structured way to define, select, and communicate peer and aspirant institutions (and even encourages sharing selections across institutions for better comparability). Finally, it introduces a fresh self-analysis method: using a multi-institution “Inventory of Inventories” feature set to compare what an institution has against what it may be missing operationally—turning assessment into actionable improvement rather than performative compliance.

Many of the book’s chapters have a companion video which can be viewed for free on the Higher Education Leadership Learning Online Community web site. Visit the site to see the complete and evolving list.

If you’re involved in higher-ed leadership, strategy, assessment, or institutional research, I’d love for you to take a look at the chapter and add your comments below. If you would like assistance implementing any of the ideas addressed, please compete a consultation request form – the first hour is free for any institution.