Q: Many of our students call to ask if our programs are accredited. Do you guys have any information or thoughts on Accreditation in Continuing Education and Lifelong Learning programs? Are there any studies done on the benefits of Accreditation for our industry? Can you recommend one organization over another or is there a list we may want to consider?
A: Accreditation is important for your institution, but very few divisions of continuing education have separate accreditation. Your institution, The University of the Virgin Islands is accredited by the Middle States The Middle States Commission on Higher Education. This is the entity that accredits degree-granting colleges and universities in the Middle States region, which includes the territory.
Since you are part of an accredited institution, your continuing education unit does not need to have separate accreditation. There is an organization that does this, but those in its list of accredited organizations are mostly small or for-profit organizations who are seeking accreditation to increase their credibility.
LERN offers a Program Review and Certification which is an in-depth review of your CE unit. We make recommendations for improvements and adoption of best practices in the key areas of Continuing Education. This is not in any way an accreditation process, but many CE units have found it helpful in becoming more financially and operationally successful.