Message from the 2012 Commission Chair
Ann Frentzen

CEA entered a new and exciting growth period with the passage of PL 111 requiring that intensive English programs be accredited. And, while most of this growth is coming from institutions needing accreditation to operate, we continue to receive a heartening number of applications from university/college programs and from those outside the US. As of mid-August 2012, CEA had 109 accredited sites and over 210 new applicants in various stages of the accreditation process.

Read more ...

Message from the 2011 Commission Chair

Rebecca Smith-Murdock

We knew it was coming. We began preparations. And it has come. In December 2010, the U.S. President signed into law the Accreditation of English Language Training Programs Act, Public Law. 111-306. As a consequence, all English language training schools currently SEVP certified, are required to attain accreditation in order to continue to issue I-20s.  The application deadline was December 14, 2011.  On December 14, 2011, CEA had more than 160 English language programs and institutions at various stages in the application and self-study process.  This is in contrast to the 40 that have typically been in the application and self-study process at any point of time in the past.      

Read more ...

CEA Receives Grant from the TOEFL Grants and Awards Committee

CEA thanks the TOEFL Grants and Awards Committee for granting CEA an award of $14,230 for developing training materials and a reviewer corps to implement CEA’s revised standards and on-line self-study report. The 6-month project will provide funding for CEA to redesign the reviewer workshop, develop new on-line training materials, develop a cadre of trained reviewers who can train others, and conduct a pilot workshop. As a result of the project, CEA will increase its capacity to meet the needs of the ever-increasing numbers of applicants for accreditation and continue to represent good practice.

CEA has received prior grants from the TOEFL Grants and Awards Committee: one to carry out a review of the CEA Standards; another related to reviewer training; and one to create a standards document for international reviews. CEA thanks TOEFL and the Committee for the on-going support of CEA and its activities.

Read more ...

Happy New Year from CEA! Members of the Commission and CEA staff send best wishes for 2011 and thank everyone who has supported CEA over the past 10 years. We specifically thank all members of the Constituent Council, the many volunteer reviewers who play such a critical role in the review process, and of course the commissioners, whose responsibility it is to make final accreditation decisions as well as to govern CEA. Their work includes making policies that will sustain CEA as an accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

Read more ...