Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Accreditation is a structured quality-assurance process where a school evaluates itself and is also reviewed by an external, independent body to confirm it meets defined standards.

• Covers all areas of school functioning - academics, governance, processes and outcomes.
• Involves self-study, peer review and periodic monitoring.
• Acts like a ‘fitness test’ that signals a school is above minimum benchmarks of performance.

• Helps institutions understand and meet clear quality benchmarks.
• Gives parents and students a reliable way to choose credible schools.
• Engages leadership, teachers, students and community in continuous improvement.
• Supports long-term planning, self-regulation and accountability.

• Assures that the school delivers what it claims in its mission and program.
• Improves recognition of the school’s certificates and transcripts.
• Supports student mobility, scholarships and further study options.
• Signals trust, stability and quality to the wider community.

Cognia is a global non-profit school improvement and accreditation organization that works with thousands of schools and systems worldwide.

• Combines over a century of experience in accreditation with modern school-improvement practices.
• Provides external review teams, performance standards and continuous improvement tools.
• Includes legacy bodies such as NCA CASI, SACS CASI and NWAC under a unified framework.

Cognia’s Performance Standards describe what high-quality schools should demonstrate across leadership, learning and resource use. Schools use these as a roadmap for improvement and accreditation readiness.

For full details, schools are expected to refer to the official Cognia Performance Standards documentation.

For K-12 and higher education, the U.S. historically divided accreditation into six geographic regions, each served by a regional accrediting agency.

• Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools.
• New England Association of Schools and Colleges.
• North Central Association of Colleges and Schools.
• Northwest Accreditation Commission.
• Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.
• Western Association of Schools and Colleges.

NWAC (Northwest Accreditation Commission) is one of the historic U.S. regional accrediting agencies whose legacy is now part of Cognia.

• Began in 1917 as an association for secondary and higher institutions in the U.S. Northwest.
• Over time expanded to accredit schools across several U.S. states.
• Later integrated into the Cognia family, bringing its accreditation heritage with it.

SERI is an Education Service Agency (ESA) that supports Cognia in India and other regions, especially for accreditation and school-improvement services.

• Acts as an accreditation support and implementation partner for Cognia.
• Helps schools understand, prepare for and sustain Cognia / NWAC quality standards.
• Works to improve K-12 education by bringing global best practices to schools, educators and students.

SERI’s mission is to enable high-quality teaching and learning so that students can pursue knowledge and achieve their goals.

• Offer programs with strong future prospects for learners.
• Design research-informed curricula aligned to industry and global education realities.
• Promote innovation and continuous improvement in how education is delivered.
• Help students broaden their knowledge and prepare for professional life with strong values.

SERI envisions schools as high-performing learning centres with recognized accreditation, where students are ready to succeed in a competitive, global environment.

• Promote collaborative learning environments where knowledge flows freely.
• Align with international education standards to help students compete globally.
• Support strong faculty development and high-impact teaching practices.
• Maintain rigorous quality policies to sustain and monitor educational delivery.

• Create awareness of NWAC / Cognia accreditation among all stakeholders.
• Provide structured support for quality and accreditation processes.
• Offer frameworks and operational guidelines for NWAC / Cognia aligned schools.
• Monitor continuous improvement at the school level.
• Enhance the overall learning experience for students through partner schools.

The 12-year High School Diploma is a globally respected K-12 qualification focused on holistic student development.

• Curriculum designed by experienced academicians aligned with Indian and global guidelines.
• Emphasises cognitive, physical and meta-cognitive growth of learners.
• Incorporates research on early childhood education, experiential learning and vocational exposure.
• Encourages active involvement of school leaders, students, parents and teachers.

Yes. The Association of Indian Universities (AIU) has granted equivalence to accredited High School Diploma qualifications from U.S. regional agencies.

• Recognised as equivalent to the 12-year Senior Secondary School Certificate (e.g., CBSE and other recognised Indian boards) for equivalent accredited schools.
• Supports students in pursuing higher education and opportunities within India, subject to specific institutional requirements.

A credit represents the weight or value assigned to a subject based on the time and academic work a student completes in that subject.

A credit hour is a unit that reflects total learning time — including classroom teaching, labs, activities and academic tasks — across a term or academic year.

Students must complete a minimum number of credits in each subject area to pass a grade or programme.

• PLP (Grades I-V): 1 credit ≈ 120 hours (core and elective/language).
• MLP (Grades VI-VIII): 1 credit ≈ 120 hours (core and elective/language).
• SLP (Grades IX-X): 1 credit ≈ 180 hours (core and elective/language).
• HSLP (Grades XI-XII): 1 credit ≈ 180 hours (core and elective/language).

T3 is a multi-level teacher development program that helps educators continuously upgrade their teaching skills and understand learners better.

• Focuses on real classroom scenarios and activity-based learning.
• Encourages teachers to think from a student’s perspective.
• Promotes both academic effectiveness and mentoring skills.

• Embed strong social and community perspectives into teacher training.
• Address individual learning differences with inclusive strategies.
• Promote collaboration among educators locally and globally.
• Encourage reflective and contextual teacher preparation.
• Create a structured, multi-tier platform for teacher learning.
• Mentor teachers through interaction with experienced practitioners.

EPC is a long-term parenting program designed to help parents use their limited time with children more effectively throughout the K-12 years.

• Strengthens communication between parents and children.
• Helps parents understand developmental stages and needs.
• Encourages a balanced, informed and values-based parenting approach.

• Addresses cultural perspectives and differences in parenting.
• Focuses on early years, primary and adolescent needs.
• Covers child psychology, behaviour and learning techniques.
• Encourages optimal brain development and skill-building.
• Promotes responsible citizenship and global best practices in parenting.

In general, the fee or charges applicable to the academic course / examination are non-refundable.

• No refund (full or partial) is processed once the applicable fee is paid.
• Non-refund applies even if admissions, eligibility or job opportunities are later denied by any institution or organisation, in India or abroad.

Stakeholders should carefully review the fee policy and seek clarification before making payments.

Yes. SERI can associate with qualified institutions as Education Service Sub Agencies (ESSA) to support Cognia-aligned K-12 education in different regions.

• SERI evaluates academic, infrastructural and technical capacity of interested organisations.
• Partners are expected to share the educational vision and quality commitment of SERI and Cognia.

Interested organisations may formally apply to SERI for evaluation and assessment of their suitability as an ESSA.

The detailed application link / process can be provided by SERI through its official communication channels.

Allocation typically involves an evaluation of credentials, capacity, alignment with SERI’s mission and the ability to serve schools in the proposed territory.

The step-by-step process is shared directly with shortlisted organisations during the evaluation phase.

You can reach out to SERI through the official contact channels for further clarification on ESSA-related queries.

Stakeholders are encouraged to send detailed questions via the official enquiry form or email address listed on the contact page.