Home | About CEA | FAQs | For students | Contact CEA

•  
• Accredited
  Programs & Institutions
•  
• Accreditation Basics:
• Accreditation
  Process
• CEA Standards
• Application Forms
• Workshop Schedule
• Fee Schedule
• Governance:
• Commission
• Meeting Dates
• Recent Decisions
• Upcoming
  Reviews
• Constituent Council
• Reviewers
• International Accreditation
• CEA Policies & Procedures
• CEA News
• Complaints
• Conference Presentations
• Friends of CEA
• Commissioner Login
•  

Why Study at an Accredited English
Language Program or School?

The decision to study English in the United States is a big one, and with that decision come many questions. The primary question is where to go to study. This may depend on whether your goal is to improve your English before going on to a college or university or whether it is to improve your English for business or personal purposes. Whatever the reason, going to an accredited program or school will help you be confident that it offers a quality learning experience.

A CEA accredited site has been reviewed extensively to see whether it meets the CEA Standards for English Language Programs and Institutions. CEA accredited programs and institutions have met the following requirements:

• They have a published mission that guides activities, policies, and allocation of resources.
• They have a curriculum focused on meeting the assessed needs of students. They maintain an effective system for assessing students for initial placement in courses and for progression from level to level.
• They maintain experienced, professionally qualified faculty that are committed to teaching.
• They have facilities and administrative and fiscal resources to provide an excellent learning environment.
• They provide a wide array of student services—on-going orientation; academic personal, visa, and immigration advising; and social, recreational, and cultural activities.
• They are pledged to use ethical recruiting practices; all promotional literature has been deemed to be accurate and complete and to fully inform students of what benefits they will receive from their tuition.
• They have in place formalized plans to continually review and revise programs and services.

The list of CEA accredited programs and schools is found here on this web site. You can sort programs and schools alphabetically or by location. So, the first thing you will want to think about is:

• Where in the U.S. do I want to study?

Once you have decided on a location, there are other things you should consider:

• What is the cost of tuition?
• What levels of instruction are offered?
• What is the length of the program and does it fit your schedule?
• Does the school offer a range of activities that you would enjoy?
• Does the language program focus on the types of instruction you are interested in—academic English, conversational English, or business English, for example?

The CEA list of accredited programs and schools on this web site links to each site’s web site. By going directly to the school’s site you will be able to answer your questions and to contact those schools you find meet your needs.

Finding a place to study English isn’t always easy because there are so many choices out there, but looking for CEA accredited schools can help limit the number of places you might consider.