By Eric Kelderman

College governing boards should become more involved in the accreditation process to reassure the public that the quality of higher-education institutions is being appropriately monitored, an association that recognizes accreditors and a group that represents governing boards recommend in a joint statement being released Tuesday.

But the groups also urge institutions' governing boards to fight against greater government oversight of accreditation and to instead seek to preserve the roles of peer review and self-regulation in assessing the academic quality of a college.

The statement is a combined effort of the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges, which represents the members of more than 1,200 governing bodies, and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation, an association that recognizes 59 accrediting groups and represents approximately 3,000 colleges.

The statement is partly a response to the 2008 law that renewed the Higher Education Act. The law laid out new rules for accreditors and strengthened the U.S. Department of Education's role in regulating those groups and the accreditation process.

While the law is not as sweeping as many institutions and accreditors had feared it would be (accreditors, for example, won't be required to set specific standards for academic performance), the groups issuing the statement Tuesday said they want to make sure that academic institutions remain in control of the process.

"For us, accreditation is really about institutional autonomy and the concept of self-regulation," said Richard D. Legon, president of the governing boards' association. "Boards are essential to protecting those fundamental values." He said boards should consider being involved in accreditation as part of their duty to ensure the financial responsibility of the institution.

Judith S. Eaton, president of the association of accreditors, said greater board involvement in accreditation is one way to show the public and policy makers that someone is holding the institution accountable.

The groups recommend that institutions create an education program about accreditation for board members, who should also review key documents prepared by both the institution and the accreditor for the process, and meet with the teams of reviewers that visit campuses during accreditation.