News from CEA, May 2007
This memo highlights items from the April 2007 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 April 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 April 2017
Tutorium in Intensive English, University of Illinois at Chicago
Granted 1-year re-accreditation through April 2008
English Language Institute, University of Pittsburgh
English Language Institute, Virginia Tech
Intensive English Institute, University at Buffalo
Intensive English Program, University of Miami
Western’s English as a Second Language Program, Western Illinois University
Granted 4-year continued accreditation through April 2011
New Intensive Courses in English (NICE), University of Hawaii at Manoa
Foundation English Program, Petroleum Institute, Abu Dhabi
Denied accreditation
Global Village Hawaii, Honolulu
CEA welcomes new and former commissioners
Three new commissioners were elected to the Commission by the Constituent Council and began service in January 2007: Tom Riedmiller (University of Northern Iowa), Susan Marie Rumann (Cochise College, Arizona), and Deborah Sandstrom (University of Illinois at Chicago).
In addition, following the December 2006 meeting, two members of the Commission had to resign for personal reasons. The Commission publicly thanks Jane Hughey (Texas A&M University) and Martha Grace Low (Houston Community College) for their service. Following CEA procedures for filling remaining terms, former commissioners Julia Cayuso (University of Miami) and Michael Steadman (California State University, Northridge) have been appointed.
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 recommend viable ways to provide a more in depth review of the self-study by staff prior to approving a site visit. The Commission approved staff recommending a postponement of a site visit, with the final decision up to the site, if it appears to staff that the self-study is incomplete and that there is not enough information to carry out a site visit.
Standards Review Committee
The Standards Review Committee (SRC) is charged with reviewing the CEA standards as a whole and individually as part of a formal review cycle. In addition, the SRC addresses standards-related issues that may arise outside of the formal review. During the initial review by the U.S. Department of Education, CEA was required to focus more on outputs—student learning outcomes—and standards-related materials were revised. This has resulted in a lack of consistency in the use of several terms: course goals, course objectives, learning objectives, and student learning outcomes, which causes confusion in sites during the self-study. The SRC is in the process of clarifying how these terms, and the term “proficiency scale,” are used in CEA materials.
Change to Standard
The Commission gave its final approval to the proposed editorial revision of CEA’s
Administrative and Fiscal Standard 9, which was distributed to the public for comment earlier this year. The initial version required that a program have a “documented process” for development of the program or institution. The standard has always required a written planning document to help a program ensure that its activities are consistent with achieving its goals. The new version clarifies this requirement for a written document. AFC 9: The program or institution has a plan, in writing, for development of the program or institution, including planning, implementation, and evaluation.
Upcoming presentation at NAFSA
The Commission is sponsoring a pre-conference workshop at NAFSA in Minneapolis on Monday afternoon, May 28, from 1-5 p.m. Presenters will be Nancy Storer from Denver University and Kathy Romstedt from Ohio State University. The topic is “Aligning Curriculum Objectives & Assessment in IEPs: Applying the CEA Standards.” Objectives for the workshop are to discuss what is meant by observable and measurable learning outcomes, to write outcomes from curricular objectives, and to find ways to assess the progress of students relative to stated learning outcomes. Registration is still open.
2007 Accreditation Workshops
CEA will hold two more Accreditation Workshops in 2007 at the CEA office in Alexandria VA. Workshop dates and times are:
CEA also offers customized workshops at your site.
To attend or schedule a workshop, a site must submit an eligibility application (or a re-accreditation application) prior to attending a workshop. For information or for an eligibility form, go to the CEA web site or contact Kristen Wyckoff, Accreditation Manager at 703.519.2074 or by email at kwyckoff@cea-accredit.org.
International activities
CEA’s recognition as a standards-setting and accrediting agency continues to grow outside the US. CEA’s Executive Director, Terry O’Donnell, was invited to be a member of a working group sponsored by the Omani Ministry of Education and the Omani Accrediting Council to write student learning outcomes for Foundation English Programs throughout the Sultanate and to give a presentation on learning outcomes at a symposium. The project is to eventually lead to accreditation of Foundation programs by the Council. Ms. O’Donnell is also consulting with the Al Hussein Fund for Excellence in Jordan to review BA in English Language and Literature Programs in all higher education programs throughout the country.
For more information about CEA, go to the website at www.cea-accredit.org.