Accreditation
Definition
Accreditation is a status granted to an educational institution or program
that has been found to meet or exceed stated standards of educational
quality. Accreditation is an activity that has long been accepted in the
United States but generally unknown in most other countries. The United
States has always preferred to keep governmental restrictions on institutions
of post secondary education to a minimum and has encouraged the voluntary
system of accreditation in promoting quality education without inhibiting
innovation. This system of accreditation has helped to ensure that post
secondary education in the United States maintains the highest quality
both in the field of education and in the field of research.
Purpose
Accreditation has two fundamental purposes: to assure the quality of the
program and to assist in the improvement of the institution or program.
Accreditation--which is applicable to institutions or programs--should
be distinguished from certification and licensure, which apply to individuals.
Accreditation
Requiring each program seeking accreditation to:
1. Define its educational mission, goals, and purposes in writing after
consultation with students, faculty, alumni, and the hospitality industry;
2. Translate its mission into educational outcomes that can be objectively
and clearly assessed; and
3. Assure the Commissions that the hospitality program has the administrative,
financial and academic support to achieve its educational mission.
4. Ascertaining, by sending a team of qualified educators to the program
campus the degree to which the program has translated its mission into
educationally appropriate outcomes. This team also provides the experience
and knowledge of peers to help guide the program towards continuous improvement
of program quality.
5. Affirming, through Commission action and annual reviews that the program
meets a standard of educational quality and will maintain a programmatic
commitment to continually improving that quality.
Accreditation...from
the Student's Perspective
"There were many things I took into consideration when I began
searching for a university to attend. One of the reasons I chose to study
Hospitality and Restaurant Administration at Southwest Missouri State
was because of their accreditation. It is much more beneficial for me
to receive a degree from an accredited program."
-- Ling-Hua (Sherry) Chien
Accreditation...from
an Employer's Perspective
"ARAMARK has supported the accreditation process with both time
and with funding because we firmly believe in the value of continuous
improvement and in the partnership of industry and education. In industry,
this kind of evaluative process is undertaken regularly by the market
leaders and at costs which are tens of thousands of dollars higher."
-- Ed Evans, Vice President for Human Resources, ARAMARK
International CHRIE Recommends Accreditation
Commissions
International CHRIE recommends two accrediting bodies: the Accreditation
Commission for Programs in Hospitality Administration™ (ACPHA™)
which accredits hospitality administration programs at the baccalaureate
level, and the Commission for Accreditation of Hospitality Management
Programs (CAHM) which accredits
hospitality management programs at the associate's degree or equivalent
level.
Both Commissions' membership includes voting representatives from accredited
hospitality programs, hospitality industry professionals, international
programs, the public at large and ex-officio representatives
from International CHRIE.
The Commissions have
set up accrediting standards which represent those generalized conditions
or characteristics determined to be essential in order for program objectives
to be achieved. The standards are expressed qualitatively, applicable
to a diversity of programs, and consider educational outcomes (outputs)
as well as resources and processes (inputs). The standards for both Commissions
cover the following areas: Mission and Objectives; Evaluation and Planning;
Administration and Governance; Curriculum; Faculty/Instructional Staff;
Student Services and Activities and Resources.
The accreditation
process requires three major efforts—a programmatic self-analysis,
an evaluation by professional colleagues, and a review and decision by
the Commission. Through self study, the applicant program uses the standards
to analyze its effectiveness, strengths and weaknesses and to work towards
improvement. At completion of the self-study period and submission of
a self-study document, the program is visited by a team assembled by the
Commission staff. The evaluation team conducts a rigorous review of the
program and then prepares a report which is submitted to the Commission.
Based on the program's self study, the team report and the program's response
to the report, the Commission makes a decision whether or not to grant
accreditation. Accreditation is generally granted for not more than seven
years.
ACPHA™ consists
of 14 Commissioners, including hospitality educators, executives from
the lodging, restaurant and hospitality industry and members of the public
at large. The Commission members meet twice a year at their own expense
to review, assess and evaluate four-year hospitality programs at colleges
and universities across the United States.
CAHM consists of
13 Commissioners, including hospitality educators, executives from the
lodging, food, service and other allied hospitality members and the members
of the public at large meet twice a year at their own expense to review,
assess and evaluate two-year hospitality programs at community and junior
colleges in the United States and throughout the world.
The current commissioners
for ACPHA™ and CAHM
are:
ACPHA™
John Mahoney, Ph.D., Chair
Widener University
School of Hospitality Management
One University Place
Chester, PA 19013
Phone: (610) 499-1114
Fax: (610) 499-1106
Email: John.F.Mahoney@widener.edu
CAHM
Ronald Wolf, Chair
Florida Community College at Jacksonville
Hospitality and Culinary Arts
4501 Capper Road
Jacksonville, Florida 32218
Phone: (904) 766-6652
Email: rwolf@fccj.edu
Any program or individual interested in accreditation by either ACPHA™
or CAHM should contact the
Commissions' director of evaluation, Dorothy Fenwick. Dr. Fenwick may
be reached by fax at (410) 226-0177; by telephone at (410) 226-5527, or
by email at aoc@shore.intercom.net.
The Commissions' address is:
Association of Commissions
P.O. Box 400
Oxford, MD 21654
REPRINTED FROM THE CHRIE WEBSITE- January 2005 |