Statistics
Each year the Alliance compiles information on the activities of the Accreditation Program, including an analysis of accreditation decisions and a breakdown of accredited museums by museum type, budget, governance type, staff size and region.
Demographic Information
The statistics below are based on 776 self-reporting accredited museums1 as of January 2012. Percentages are rounded to the nearest whole number.
Museum Type
Art Museum/Center
| 41% |
History Museum
| 22%
|
General (Multi-disciplinary)
| 10% |
Historic House/Site
| 8% |
Natural History/Anthropology Museum
| 8% |
| Specialized Museum (e.g., railroad, music, aviation) | 4% |
| Science /Technology Museum/Center (includes Planetariums) | 3% |
| Arboretum/ Botanical Garden | 3% |
Children's/Youth Museum
| Less than 1% |
| Zoological Park | Less than 1% |
| Nature Center | Less than 1% |
Aquarium
| Less than 1%
|
Budget
| $350,000 and under | 8% |
| $350,000-$499,999 | 6% |
| $500,000- $999,999 | 18% |
| $1,000,000- $2.9M | 30% |
| $3M - $4.9M | 12% |
| $5M- $14.9M | 17% |
| $15M and over | 10%
|
Governance Type
| Private Non-Profit | 63% |
| College/University | 16% |
| State | 7% |
| Municipal | 6% |
| Federal | 4% |
| County/Regional | 2% |
| Other (e.g., joint governance, trust, school district) | 2% |
Tribal
| Less than 1% |
Staff Size2
| 1-5 | 15% |
| 6-15 | 28% |
| 16-30 | 21% |
31-50
| 12% |
| 51-70 | 5% |
| 71-100 | 8% |
| 101-150 | 5% |
| 151-200 | 1% |
More than 200
| 6% |
Region
| Southeastern (SEMC) | 24%
|
| Midwest (AMM) | 18%
|
| Mid-Atlantic (MAAM) | 18% |
| Western (WMA) | 15% |
| Mountain-Plains (MPMA) | 14% |
| New England (NEMA) | 11% |
Accreditation Commission Decisions
Decisions Summary (2011)
Institutions Reviewed
| 39
| 59
| 37
| 135
| |
| Accreditation Awarded | 22
| 27
| 23
| 72
| |
Tabled
| 4 | 10
| 10
| 24
| |
| Denied | 0
| 0
| 0
| 0
| |
| Other | 13
| 22
| 4
| 39
| |
Institutions Reviewed: Includes all institutions on a given Commission meeting agenda. The number of institutions reviewed includes museums seeking interim approval, being reviewed by the Commission for the first time after a site visit and submitting progress or final reports related to an earlier tabling decision. Interim approval signifies that the museum appears eligible, its self-study submission appears complete and it is ready for a site visit.
Accreditation Awarded: Institutions granted accreditation for the first time or awarded reaccreditation. Museums awarded accreditation pending receipt of additional documentation are included in this number (there were no such decisions in 2011).
Tabled: The Accreditation Commission “tables” its decision on a museum’s accreditation status when it identifies one or more specific concerns that are barriers to the institution’s ability to meet the Characteristics of an Accreditable Museum, program requirements, eligibility and/or Accreditation Commission Expectations but which it anticipates can be addressed within one year or less.
Denied: Institutions whose bid for accreditation or reaccreditation was denied.
Other: Institutions that did not receive a final decision during the meeting (i.e., were not awarded accreditation, tabled, or denied). These include museums receiving interim approval and museums only presenting progress reports as part of a tabling action.
About Success Rates
The Accreditation Program has an overall success rate of 97%. About 2% are denied outright and 1% are unsuccessful after being tabled. The success rate is high in part because there are many steps built into the review process for the museum to receive feedback and counsel from the Accreditation Program staff, Commission and site reviewers; the museum then has an opportunity to respond or take some type of action. Museums also receive counseling and support from the program staff before and during the process to ensure readiness. Most museums come into the process well prepared.
All museums must go through reaccreditation approximately once every 10 years. For the current roster of accredited museums, 135 (17%) have been accredited once, 167 (22%) twice, 259 (33%) three times and 208 (27%) four times. Five museums have been accredited five times.
Tabling Reasons 2007-20113
Institutional Planning
| 35% |
Collections Stewardship
| 21% |
Financial Stability
| 12% |
Facilities and Risk Management
| 9% |
Governance
| 7%
|
Other
| 7% |
Mission
| 5%
|
Code of Ethics
| 3%
|
Interpretation
| 1% |
Tabling provides the Commission with an alternative to denial/withdrawal of accredited status so the museum can resolve very specific operational challenges in a focused and timely manner. Tabling is relatively common. Every year, approximately 30% of museums of all sizes and types have their decisions tabled.
Tabling is intended as a motivating and positive tool employed by the Commission for the benefit of the museum, rather than a negative decision. A tabling decision provides the impetus to immediately address weaknesses and can provide the leverage to secure resources and support to implement changes. A tabling decision is not punitive and is not an indicator of ultimate success or failure in the review process. Ninety-seven percent of all museums that have had their decisions tabled are awarded accreditation at the end of the tabling period.
1 This number includes several museum systems and museums with multiple sites, each counted as one accredited institution. Counting each museum within an accredited system increases the number to 1,095 museums. All demographic statistics are based on 776 accredited museums.
2 Two museums did not report staff size.
3 Based on 243 tabling reasons (a museum may be tabled for more than one reason). During this period, 108 museums were tabled.