News from CEA and accreditation activities.

CEA proud of its new logo and web site

In April, the redesigned CEA web site was launched. The new site reflects the new look and logo for CEA. The site has a section for programs wanting to learn more about accreditation (including international programs) and a link for students looking for English language courses. The "Featured Programs" area of the site rotates through the Directory of accreditation programs and schools on a weekly basis as a way to market CEA accredited programs and schools to students and the public. Copies of the CEA Standards for English Language Programs and Institutions, the CEA Policies and Procedures, and the application for eligibility are also available on the site.

CEA to create new database and materials management program

The Commission has approved the development of a new database and materials management program for CEA. The current ACCESS database, developed in the late 1990s, no longer serves CEA needs for management of the increasing numbers of accredited programs. CEA has reached agreement with Solutions Developers, a Washington DC area company, to create a new database system, which will make it much easier to manage all of the details of the accreditation process, including tracking program progress through the accreditation process and sending reminders of materials and reports due, a. The system will also provide a materials management system, leading to electronic submission of all reports, including the self-study, one-year, annual, and interim reports. The new system should fully support staff efforts to provide efficient service.

CEA 2010 and 2011 workshops

CEA holds three accreditation workshops annually. In order to attend a workshop, a program must first submit an application for eligibility, available on the web site. Once eligibility is confirmed, the site is invited to send a representative to a workshop. Workshop dates follow:

2010 Thursday and Friday, July 15 - 16, CEA office, Alexandria VA

2010Thursday and Friday, October 14 - 15, CEA office in Alexandria VA

2011Tuesday and Wednesday, March 16 - 17, TESOL Convention, New Orleans, LA, USA

2011Thursday and Friday, July 14 - 15, CEA office, Alexandria VA

2011Thursday and Friday, October 13 - 14, CEA office, Alexandria VA

CEA also offers customized workshops at a program’s location. This is an opportunity for all faculty and staff to participate and leads to a valuable understanding of the process by all who are going to be involved.

April 2010 Commission meeting

The Commission updated its Strategic Plan and the Implementation Plan for 2010. The review confirmed the three CEA goals established in the original plan: 1) to establish an effective organizational structure; 2) to expand services and resources; and 3) to create a positive public perception of CEA and accreditation. The Commission’s Advancement and Expansion committees are directly guided by the Strategic Plan. One idea under consideration by the Expansion Committee is whether CEA should establish a mentoring program for sites seeking accreditation (See Goal 2 above). The Advancement Committee continues to focus on ways to promote CEA accreditation (See Goal 3 above).

The following are decisions the Commission may make:

• For initial accreditation, the Commission may grant 5-year accreditation to programs in compliance with the CEA Standards or one-year accreditation to programs that substantially meet the standards but need to address minor standards-related deficiencies.
• Programs granted one-year initial accreditation are granted 4-year continued accreditation if the deficiencies are corrected.
• For re-accreditation, the Commission may grant 10-year re-accreditation to programs that fully meet the standards or one-year re-accreditation to programs that have standards-related deficiencies that may be met in one year.
• Programs granted one-year re-accreditation may be granted 9-year continued accreditation if the deficiencies are corrected.

Accreditation may also be administratively withdrawn for failure to follow CEA procedures.

In accordance with Section 602.26 of the U.S. Secretary of Education's Recognition of Accrediting Agencies (effective July 1, 2000), notice is hereby given of the following acredition actions.

Granted 10 year re-accreditation
Language and Culture Center, University of Houston

Granted 9-year continued accreditation
inlingua, Arlington VA

Granted 4-year continued accreditation
ESL Program, Wilkes University
Intensive English Communication Program, Penn State University
Mukogawa Fort Wright Institute, Spokane WA

Granted 1-year initial accreditation
Center for Global Languages, Valencia Community College
English Language Program, College of Southern Nevada
Internexus, Salt Lake City
Intensive English Program, University of Central Missouri

Granted 5-year initial accreditation
Foundation Program English Department, Qatar University
International Center for Language Studies, Washington DC

Administrative withdrawal of accreditation
English Language Institute, University of South Florida

Notice of Upcoming Accreditation Reviews
In accordance with regulations of the U.S. Department of Education, CEA must provide an opportunity for input from the community of interest prior to making final decisions on any candidate program or institution. Voluntary comments may support or question a site’s compliance with the CEA Standards for English Language Program Accreditation. Comments, which should be signed and mailed to the address below, will be reviewed by the Commission at its August 2010 meeting.

The following sites will be reviewed:

• English Language Institute, American University of Cairo
• English Language Institute, Missouri State University
• Goal Training, Illinois
• Language and Culture Institute, Virginia Tech National Capitol Region
• OISE Boston

If you have any questions about CEA or about this notice, please contact Terry O’Donnell, Executive Director, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..