English Language Program Accreditation, CEA

News from CEA
January 2008

The Commission on English Language Program Accreditation (CEA) met December 7-9, 2007. Following are highlights of the meeting and other news from CEA.

Accreditation decisions
The Commission may grant 10-year re-accreditation to programs that fully meet the standards and one-year re-accreditation to programs that have standards-related deficiencies that may be met in one year. The Commission may also place on probation a program that fails to fully meet the standards cited in the grant of one-year re-accreditation. A program on probation continues its accredited status.

At the December 7-9, 2008, meeting, the Commission reviewed five programs for re-accreditation and one program that had received one-year re-accreditation. The following terms of accreditation were granted.

Granted 10-year re-accreditation
UCAELI, University of Connecticut
English Language Center at Gonzaga University

Granted 1-year re-accreditation
ESL Program, Duquesne University
INTERLINK, Indiana State University
INTERLINK, University of North Carolina, Greensboro

Placed on probation for 6 months following 1-year re-accreditation
English Language Institute, University of Utah

Election of new commissioners
Three new commissioners were elected by the Constituent Council to serve 3-year terms of service on the Commission. New commissioners are Kathy Trump, George Mason University, Janet Chang at inlingua, Arlington, VA, Rebecca Smith Murdock, University of North Texas, and Vicki Bergman-Lanier, Spring International at the University of Arkansas.

Commissioners who ended their terms on the Commission are Frank Bacheller, Utah State University; Julia Cayuso, University of Miami; Terry Simon, Texas Intensive English Program [Chair, 2007]; and Joy Tesh, University of Houston. CEA appreciates the service of these dedicated professionals.

New members of the CEA Executive Committee
Members of the CEA Executive Committee are elected by commissioners. Deanna Hochstein, University of Oregon, who served as Chair-elect in 2007, will serve as 2008 Chair of the Commission. Alan Broomhead, Northeastern University, has been elected to serve as Chair-elect in 2008 and Chair in 2009. Alan was formerly the Director of OISE in Boston and has also been a CEA reviewer. Michael Steadman, California State University, Northridge, was elected to serve as Treasurer for 2008. Michael was appointed to fill a vacant seat on the Commission in 2007, and was a member of the Accreditation Advisory Committee, which drafted the original standards and created CEA in the 1990s.

Fee increase
CEA has not increased fees for the past 2 years. Over the same time period, inflation has been approximately 6%. The Finance Committee, after carefully considering budget requirements, including a need to begin to build CEA reserves, proposed and the Commission approved increasing fees 5% in 2008. For annual sustaining fees, the base fee and the cap will rise, but the fee per student week will not. The change will take place for payment of 2009 sustaining fees. A copy of the revised fee schedule is posted on the CEA web site.

Standards Review Committee
The Standards Review Committee (SRC) of the Commission is charged with on-going review and revision of the CEA Standards for English Language Programs and Institutions. The 2007 committee recommended and the Commission approved revision to the discussion of several standards for clarity—Student Achievement 3, Student Complaints 1 & 2, and the “planning” standards, which are Curriculum 4, Student Services 9, Student Achievement 5, and Administrative and Fiscal 9. The Commission also approved revised wording for Student Achievement 3. The proposed change to the standard will be distributed for public comment, according to CEA policy, prior to final approval.

In addition, CEA policy requires that the standards as a whole be reviewed each 3 years. An “Importance and Clarity Survey,” last conducted in 2005 will also be distributed for public input later this year.

New policy on re-application following denial of accreditation
CEA has had a policy that requires a program or institution denied accreditation to wait at least one year prior to re-applying for accreditation to give them time to come into compliance with the standards. However, the CEA process itself has a timeline built in. Sites are given up to 18 months to complete a self-study, for example. Thus, the Commission voted to allow sites denied accreditation to re-apply at any time, with a recommendation that they take sufficient time to address the deficiencies that led to the denial.

New policy on accreditation workshops for sites seeking re-accreditation
CEA requires programs seeking accreditation and re-accreditation to attend an accreditation workshop. For those seeking re-accreditation, CEA has offered 3-hour re-accreditation workshops following annual meetings of the Constituent Council. However, statistics show that attending a full 2-day accreditation workshop makes it more likely that a site will receive 10–year accreditation at the time of the re-accreditation review. Thus, CEA will no longer offer the 3-hour workshop, and all programs seeking re-accreditation will be required to attend a full workshop.

International activities
CEA has recently approved applications for accreditation from the Intensive English Programs at the American University of Cairo and from Al-Akhawayn University in Ifrane, Morocco. Other programs and schools in Greece, Kuwait, Qatar, and Venezuela are currently conducting their self-studies.

Upcoming accreditation workshops
CEA will hold accreditation workshops at the CEA office in Alexandria, VA, May 30 and 31, following the NAFSA: Association of International Educators conference, and October 24 & 25. Accreditation Workshops run from Friday afternoon to Saturday afternoon. CEA also offers customized workshops at a program site. To attend or schedule a workshop, a site must submit an eligibility application. For information about CEA and for an eligibility form, go to the CEA web site or contact Kristen Wyckoff, Accreditation Manager at 703.519.2074.

A great professional development opportunity—call for CEA reviewers
Over 35 programs and schools are currently in the process of seeking accreditation. This means that in the next few years CEA will have a need for increased numbers of reviewers. There is a specific need for reviewers with experience working in independent language schools.

CEA reviewers have a great opportunity for professional development and service to the profession. Reviewers serve as the "eyes and ears" of the Commission, as they read self-study reports and carry out on-site reviews, which are usually held Thursday through Sunday afternoons. All expenses are paid. Reviewers are trained in a one and a half day workshop. CEA schedules site visits three times a year, and reviewers may volunteer for one or more reviews a year. If you have an advanced degree and have broad experience teaching or administering language programs, you are encouraged to apply. The next training for reviewers will be May 30-31 following the NAFSA: Association of International Educators. For more information and for an application form, go to the CEA web site and click on "Application forms" on the left side of the home page.