ACCET- Accrediting Council for Continuing Education and Training

Accrediting Council for Continuing Education and Training-ACCET is an independent organization that monitors, evaluates, and accredits higher education institutions. It was established in 1974 to improve proceeding with education and accredit colleges that provide continuing education and training courses to their students.

It has been formally approved by the U.S. Department of Education since 1978 as a reliable agency for accreditation of valuable instruction and preparing. It was the first national accrediting agency to achieve the designation of the ISO 9001 Quality Management System.

ACCET’s central goal is to enhance quality-aligned continuous education. Also, training through the establishment of proper standards.

The mission of ACCET is “to inspire and promote quality-oriented continuing education. Also, training through the establishment of standards and the assurance of an accreditation process focused on integrity. It aspires to the continuous refinement of our recognition as a valid and reliable authority”.

ACCET accredited institutions offer distance training programs and provide in-service. corporate training, organizations for continuing education programs.

ACCET- Who are they and what do they do?

• It is a private, non-profit organization, which is the first national accreditor to achieve the ISO 9001 Quality Management System designation under the International Organization for Standardization.

• The Accrediting Council for Continuing Education and Training has been monitoring. It ensures the quality of higher education.

• It also provides accreditation for non-collegiate educational institutions and organizations. It offers corporate training, continuing education, and vocational programs. including programs offered via distance education.

ACCET Accreditation Process

The entire accreditation process is completed within ACCET’s Accreditation Management System (AMS). The step by step process of accreditation is as follows.

• Completion and submission of the Inquiry Questionnaire. It processes fees to determine whether an institution is eligible to apply for ACCET accreditation.

• Acceptance of the application is not a suggestion or evaluation. The institution’s compliance with Standards for Accreditation. simply an initial sign of congruence with the eligibility requirements.

• Applicants are required to send at least one representative to the ACCET Accreditation Workshop. before submitting the Analytic Self-Evaluation Report (ASER).

• The Analytic Self-Evaluation Report is not an assemblage of descriptive data and information. must reflect a penetrating analysis of the operation, its strengths, and its weaknesses.

• Examination team members are chosen with particular regard for the unique characteristics of the institution and program(s) to be evaluated. 

• The On-Site Examination Team visit is a fact-finding initiative on behalf of the Accrediting Commission.

• A copy of the team report is sent to the applicant institution within 30 days of the end of the visit via the institution’s portal on ACCET’s website, providing an opportunity to respond and to submit additional documentation for consideration by the Accrediting Commission.

• The Accrediting Commission Action meets periodically to review and evaluate institutions and may accredit for a period of up to five years.

• Applicants accepted before the conclusion of a given Commission review cycle may be scheduled for an on-site evaluation during the following review cycle based upon timely submission of the appropriate documentation and fees.

ACCET Accreditation Requirements for colleges

An institution to be labeled as ACCET accredited has to meet a list of eligibility requirements that are stated below:

• It has control for no less than two years promptly preceding application.

• It is a foundation that offers post-secondary diplomas, certificates, or degrees up to the Associate's level.

• It has not had an earlier accreditation pulled back from a broadly perceived certifying office, nor has it willfully pulled back under a show-cause activity, within one year before application to ACCET.

• Programs offered must give a plain intuitive segment of instructive technique fitting to the topic and it should be training oriented.

• It ought to be on a consistent and to convey constant instruction and training for a long time promptly preceding application.

• It meets appropriate state authorizing prerequisites.

• It endorses a correspondent time volume of instruction and training offered in proceeding with training or credit hours.

• It offers instruction and training other than that required for scholastic certifications.

  

Why it is necessary to go to an ACCET accredited school?

• Because Institutions that are accredited by the ACCET accrediting agency which is recognized by the Department of Education have voluntarily submitted to an evaluative comparison by their peers with established qualifications and standards.

•  The institutions or the schools which are accredited by ACCET comply with the Standards for Accreditation, both upon initial application and at regular intervals thereafter.

Perks of opting for ACCET Accreditation

There are certainly numerous benefits of choosing an institution that has been accredited by ACCET.

• Listing in Directories of Accredited Institutions: ACCET and its accredited institutions are listed in the American Council on Education’s Accredited Institutions of Postsecondary Education Directory and the CHEA Almanac of External Quality Review for recognizing credible education and training institutions related to establishing tuition payment policies.

• Department of Homeland Security: ACCET licensed foundations will have the capacity to give student visa printed material for F and M visas.

• Quality Assurance: The ACCET accreditation process speaks to both an authoritative sense of duty regarding and a vital arrangement for quality instruction preparation of students.

• Access to US government funding: The US government offers funds at federal and state levels to reimburse training costs for US companies. Each state has a training funding program helping companies empower their workforce by providing reimbursement for their employee training.

• Qualified Tuition Plans (QTP): Authorized QTP plans may be used at accredited vocational institutions that are eligible to participate in a student aid program managed by the U.S. Department of Education.

• Continuing Education Units (CEUs): ACCET accredited institutions are authorized to offer the Continuing Education Unit, which attests to a precise and substantive evaluation of the organizational and instructional abilities of a training organization.

• Government Training Contracts: ACCET accreditation assists institutions seeking contracts with government agencies and the armed forces, which often require accreditation as a condition to bid on training proposals.

Scope of ACCET Accreditation

ACCET offers accreditation to institutions and organizations which essentially function for imparting quality education and also for organizations that strive to promote the continuation of education as an identified institutional objective within its premise, which comprises in-service corporate training.

ACCET accreditation can include educational institutions that offer programs at locations other than the main headquarters under specified conditions and constraints to ensure orderliness.

ACCET extends support to the non-collegiate to continue education and training organizations across the length and breadth of the United States and also accredits the programs abroad.

Institutions that may become eligible for accreditation comprises of the following: 

• Corporate training departments

• Intensive English programs

• Trade and professional associations labor union training programs

• Religious organizations and ethical societies

• Public affairs and cultural societies

• Social service, volunteer and personal development organizations

Decision Making Bodies of ACCET

Let’s now understand which are the most essential decision making bodies that turn out to be the backbone and the major support for ACCET.

• Commissioner Chair/Executive Committee (Public)

• Commission Vice-Chair/Executive Committee (Public)

• Commission Treasurer/Executive Committee (Public)

• Commission Secretary/Executive Committee (Institutional)

• Commission Past Chair/Executive Committee (Institutional)

Conclusion 

Accrediting Council for Continuing education and Training is the council that provides accreditation to colleges and universities whose main aim and motto is to support the continuation of education & training. The organization aims to encourage education. Over the years, it has done a mammoth task of assuring the quality of the education which is being imparted by the various institutions across the length and breadth of the United States.

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