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The Commission
on English
Language Program Accreditation
Accreditation is a continuous,
long-term activity that results in improvement and positive change.
The field of postsecondary English language teaching now has an
accrediting agency, the Commission on English Language Program Accreditation
(CEA), which has been deemed a nationally recognized accrediting
agency by the U.S. Secretary of Education . The existence of such
specialized accrediting agency for English language programs in
the
U.S. is evidence of the field’s interest in quality and self-regulation.
Since the late 1970s, there has been a discussion about accreditation
because of a concern among English language teaching professionals
about the quality of some programs and schools. Also, in the early
1990s, related to an interest in tracking international students
in the U.S., the Immigration and Naturalization Service indicated
that accreditation would be needed in order for schools to be certified
to admit international students. Thus, it became apparent that
accreditation was needed. The American Association of Intensive
English Programs,
Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, and the University
and College Intensive English Programs came together to establish
such an agency — CEA.
To become accredited a school must undergo
an intensive and rigorous period of self evaluation as it responds
to
standards in such areas as faculty, curriculum, and student services.
This is followed by peer review, an on-site visit, and review
by the Commission. Only those that can meet the standards are accredited.
Despite this extensive review, the numbers of CEA accredited
programs
and institutions are growing, as more and more professinally-minded
schools realize the importance of accreditation to the field
of international education.
Teresa D. O'Donnell
Executive Director
Commission on
English Language Program Accreditation
1725 Duke St., Suite
500
Alexandria, VA 22314
703.519.2070
www.cea-accredit.org
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