News from CEA, January 2007
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 January 2007 Commission meeting. For a complete list of CEA accredited programs and schools, visit the CEA web site at www.cea-accredit.org. For information about each of the programs or schools below, click on the name of the site.
Granted 10-year accreditation through December 2016
Iowa Intensive English Program, University of Iowa
Granted 1-year re-accreditation through December 2007
English Language Institute, University of Utah
Granted 9-year continued accreditation through August 2015
Wisconsin ESL Institute
CMMS, University of Central Florida
Granted an extension of accreditation through August 1, 2007
Intensive English Program, Hawaii Community College
International English Institute, Nashville
CEA welcomes new commissioners
Members of the CEA Constituent Council, comprising representatives from accredited sites, elected new Commissioners to begin a 3-year term of service in January 2007. CEA welcomes these new commissioners: Tom Reidmiller, University of Northern Iowa, Culture & Intensive English Program; Susan Marie Rumann, Cochise College (AZ); and Deborah Sandstrom, Tutorium in English, University of Illinois, Chicago. The Commission thanks outgoing commissioners—Julia Cayuso, Bill Merriman, Belle Tyndall, and Moira Lenehan-Razzuri (public member)—for their service to CEA.
Presentations at TESOL and NAFSA
Pre-conference Institute at TESOL’07 in Seattle, WA: “Strategies for English Language Program Planning and Review”
CEA is presenting a TESOL Pre-conference Institute 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 as guidelines.
Pre-conference Workshop at NAFSA in Minneapolis: "Aligning Curriculum Objectives and Assessment in IEPs: Applying the CEA Standards"
This workshop, to be held on Monday, May 28, from 1-5 pm, will focus on building outcomes-based curricula and designing successful assessment practices to help English language program staff and faculty more successfully carry out the tasks necessary to build better English language programs. CEA’s accreditation standards, which require alignment of curricular objectives and student learning outcomes with student progress based on concrete evidence of how students meet the objectives, will drive the discussion.
Intensive English Program IS Academic Session at TESOL: "Curriculum Development and Student Outcomes Assessment"
The topic of the IEP IS Academic Session for TESOL’07 in Seattle, on Friday, March 23, is on curriculum development and student outcomes assessment, focusing on the alignment of curriculum, student outcomes, and student assessment in IEPs and using the CEA Standards for English Language Programs and Institutions as the framework for discussion. Speakers include language program directors and researchers, some of whom have recent, first-hand experience with CEA accreditation.
2007 workshops for initial and re-accreditation applicants
CEA will hold three Accreditation Workshops in 2007. Workshops are from 3-6 on Friday and from 9-3 on the following Saturday:
Sites must submit an eligibility application (or a re-accreditation application) prior to attending a workshop. CEA will accept applications through the end of February for the March workshop at TESOL. For information or for an eligibility form, go to the CEA web site or contact Terry O’Donnell, CEA Executive Director, at 703.519.2070 or by email.
International activities
The Foundation English Program at the University of Qatar has begun the process of seeking CEA accreditation. CEA held a customized workshop for the program to jump start the project. Over 100 faculty attended the initial presentation, and 8 faculty who will facilitate the self study for the large program spent two days learning about self-study and planning the process.
On-going, new (and renewed) Commission initiatives
Monitoring Task Force
The Commission’s Monitoring Task Force was charged with several tasks, among which was to finalize the format of the Interim Report, which will be due in the 5th year from those programs accredited for 10 years (and in the 4th year for those accredited for 9 years continuing). The Interim Report is now finalized, and policies for submission and review have been established. A copy of the report will be forwarded as a matter of information to programs and schools that have been reaccredited to date
Eligibility Task Force
One of the eligibility requirements for CEA accreditation is that a site offer an “intensive English program” of at least 18 hours per week of classroom instruction. This requirement was based on immigration requirements for F-1 students. However, there has been increasing interest from programs and schools that offer programs of fewer hours and those that serve an immigrant population, including community college programs. In addition, programs outside the US are less likely to offer an intensive program. Because of this interest, the Commission has charged a task force to look into several related issues, including: to define “IEP” and “program” in terms of the delivery of English language instruction; to consider whether the CEA standards are applicable to a “program” that does not offer 18 hours of instruction per week; and to identify the advantages and disadvantages of accrediting programs or schools that offer fewer than 18 hours.
Foreign Language Task Force
The Commission reconstituted a Foreign Language Task Force, which was initially responsible for drafting “Guidelines for Foreign Language Programs,” a document that guides the self-study for English language institutions that offer foreign language courses/programs in addition to English programs. The US Department of Education reviewed CEA’s current policies for review of foreign languages and suggested that CEA needed to be more specific in providing guidance as to what CEA expects in several standard areas, including curriculum and faculty.
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.