News from CEA, August 2006

This memo highlights items from the August 2006 meeting of the Commission on English Language Program Accreditation and other information of interest from CEA.

Accreditation Decisions
As required by CEA and U.S. Department of Education policy, accreditation decisions must be made public. The following decisions were made at the August 2006 Commission meeting. For a complete list of CEA accredited programs and schools, see Accredited Programs & Institutions.

Granted 5-year initial accreditation, August 2006 – 2011
American Language Program, Ohio State University

Granted 1-year initial accreditation, August 2006-August 2007
Center for English Language Learning, University of North Alabama.

Granted 4-year continued accreditation, August 2006 – August 2010
Converse International School of Languages, San Francisco, CA

Granted 10-year re-accreditation, August 2006 – August 2016
English Language Institute, University of Delaware
English Language Program, University of Pennsylvania

9-year continued accreditation, August 2006 – August 2015
Career English Language Center for International Students, Western Michigan University
Intensive English Program, North Harris College, Houston, TX

1-year re-accreditation, August 2006 – August 2007
American English Institute, University of Oregon
Intensive English Program, University of Washington
University Language Institute, Tulsa, OK

Growing interest in CEA’s specialized accreditation
Accreditation in the U.S. is offered by regional accrediting agencies, national private career accreditors, and specialized accrediting agencies, which accredit specific programs, professions and independent schools. CEA is one of these specialized agencies and is both a programmatic (programs in colleges and universities) and an institutional (independent English language schools) accrediting agency. As a specialized agency, CEA is able to focus its attention on the needs of English language learners and assure that they are provided with the instruction and services they need for success.  

In the 1990s, when CEA was developed, one focus was to bring together the English language program community and provide a quality assurance system for both independent schools and university and college programs. The Commission is doing so. To date, there are 56 accredited sites—10 independent schools, 1 government program, 3 community college programs, 41 university programs, and 1 international program—and the numbers are growing. There are currently 19 new applications for accreditation–12 independent English language schools, 5 university programs, and 2 international programs.

Here is a complete list of CEA accredited programs and schools.

CEA sponsored session at TESOL’07 in Seattle, WA
CEA is presenting a pre-convention institute at TESOL entitled, “Strategies for English Language Program Planning and Review.” The session will be held on Tuesday, March 20, 2007, from 5-9 pm. Presenters will guide participants in developing documents for review of curriculum, student services, and student assessment practices, as well as for program and institutional development, using four of the CEA Standards for English Language Programs and Institutions.

Intensive English Program IS Academic Session at TESOL CEA has been instrumental in helping to plan the IEP IS Academic Session for TESOL’07. The topic is on curriculum development and student outcomes assessment. The session will focus on the complicated relationships at the intersection of curriculum, student outcomes, and student assessment in IEPs, using the CEA standards for curriculum and student achievement as the framework for discussion. Speakers include language program directors and researchers, some of whom have recent first-hand experience with CEA accreditation.

Upcoming CEA workshops for initial applicants
CEA will hold an all day Accreditation Workshop on Saturday October 21 at the CEA offices in Alexandria, VA. A workshop is the next step after a site submits an eligibility application for CEA accreditation.

Workshops for 2007 are scheduled for March 23/24 in Seattle following the TESOL convention, and on June 22/23 and October 19/20 at the CEA offices. Click these links for information or for an eligibility form or email Terry O’Donnell, CEA Executive Director. You may also call 703.519.2070.

International accreditation by CEA
In April, the Commission accredited the first international site accreditation by CEA—the Foundation English Program at the Petroleum Institute in Abu Dhabi, UAE. Read this article about the program and why it sought CEA accreditation.

For more information about CEA, go to the website at www.cea-aacredit.org or call Terry O’Donnell, Executive Director, at 702.519.2070 or send an an email.