The University of Central Arkansas has been granted national accreditation for its concurrent enrollment program.
UCA is among 22 schools in Arkansas, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota and Utah that received accreditation, according to a release by the National Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships. The accreditation validates the quality of college courses offered in high schools and ensures that the course content and student expectations match the standards of the sponsoring post-secondary institution.
The National Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships works to ensure that college courses offered in high schools are as rigorous as courses offered on the sponsoring college campus.As the sole accrediting body for concurrent enrollment partnerships, NACEP helps these programs adhere to the highest standards so students experience a seamless transition to college and teachers benefit from meaningful, ongoing professional development, stated the release.
“I am very pleased that our concurrent credit programs at the University of Central Arkansas have received NACEP Accreditation,” said Dr. Steve Runge, interim provost and vice president of academic affairs. “We strive for all of our concurrent courses to meet or exceed the high standards that we set for all of our courses. NACEP accreditation will help us ensure that we maintain that standard in all of the courses we offer in collaboration with our high school partners.”
To earn accreditation from NACEP, concurrent enrollment programs conduct a self-study, document how their programs adhere to NACEP’s 17 standards, and are evaluated by peer reviewers from NACEP-accredited programs.
“Through NACEP’s rigorous accreditation peer-review process, each post-secondary institution has demonstrated that it integrates high quality standards-based practices across its concurrent enrollment program,” stated NACEP President Lynn Burbank in a release. “We are pleased to award this prestigious recognition to these twenty-two institutions.”
