Robin Dasher-Alston works with Cooley LLP’s clients to assist and guide them in dealing with the complexities of the system of voluntary accreditation that is a unique characteristic of American postsecondary education. With many years of experience as a senior executive of one of the largest accrediting organizations, she brings to her work a unique understanding of both the processes and the culture of accreditation. She assists institutions in preparing for initial and recurrent accreditation reviews and in the resolution of issues between institutions and accrediting bodies. Dasher-Alston is also a part of the team that advises accrediting bodies on appropriate procedures necessary to operate in consonance with both the fundamental premises of peer review and the evolving requirements of law.

Prior to joining Cooley, Dasher-Alston was executive associate director of the Commission on Higher Education of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools. She served on the staff of the commission and of the parent association for 15+ years, where she led the commission’s distance learning initiatives, which included developing and implementing policies and guidelines, and revising the commission’s Handbook for Applicants and Candidates for Accreditation and Handbook for Conducting and Hosting an Evaluation Visit. She also served as the commission’s representative on the task force of regional accrediting bodies that developed the first guidelines for institutions operating across regional boundaries.