Frequently Asked Questions

I’m so busy. Will ACCE accreditation take up huge amounts of time?

Cooperative education programs seeking ACCE accreditation will first complete a self-study that documents how the program meets the criteria for accreditation, provides statistics on program participation in the form of a Cooperative Education Profile and Characteristics of Programs/Units seeking accreditation. Most of the information can be easily found in annual reports and other statistics you are generating for your institution. The self-study will likely take the most time but it depends on how easily you can answer essay questions and point the reader towards appropriate supporting documentation. Most of the program directors that have gone through the process estimate that the self-study takes approximately three working days. Then you’ll need to prepare for a site visit and host a site visit team which will take a few more days. If you add the entire time together it’s probably little more than one work week of your time to completing the ACCE accreditation process.

I’m not sure I can afford a site visit. Should I forget about proceeding with ACCE accreditation?

We know that money is tight and ACCE will try to keep costs as low as possible by finding appropriate site visit team members whose transportation costs will be as low as possible. You will need to have funds available to cover a site visit team (rarely above $3,000-$4,000) but those funds may also be available at your institution. Before you eliminate the idea of becoming accredited through ACCE, check with the appropriate officers of your institution to see if funds for an accreditation visit can be found from another budgetary source on your campus.

I don’t have a large program. Can I still be accredited by ACCE?

ACCE is looking for specific program attributes and the number of students participating in the program is not necessarily a reflection of its quality. A quality co-op program that follows the attributes of cooperative education with a few students may become accredited while a program with several hundred that does not adhere to the attributes of cooperative education in the management of the program would not be eligible for ACCE accreditation.

I know that some of my programs could be accredited but I’m not sure about some others. Can I get only part of the program accredited?

The applicant determines what entity or entities will be reviewed. You can address “The Unit Issue" in any manner that you feel is in the best interest of your program. We recommend that institutions seek accreditation at the program level, but schools have the option to choose a review at the unit or departmental program level. Substantial compliance is judged at the level chosen by the institution. It is possible to have some cooperative education programs receive ACCE accreditation without all programs at an institution accredited through ACCE. For example you may wish to have the College of Engineering accredited by ACCE without requesting that we review the co-op programs in any other academic unit. In that case ACCE would designate that the College of Engineering as having been accredited by the ACCE and not the university. Your subsequent advertising efforts would need to reflect this distinction.

Our office handles both co-op and internships. Can we still become accredited through ACCE?

The Accreditation Council for Cooperative Education only accredits programs of cooperative education and does not accredit internships. When ACCE reviews your program it will only review the co-op responsibilities of your office. The fact that you also work with internships won’t hurt or help your chances to become accredited by ACCE. We will, however, look at how you distinguish each individual program to ensure that cooperative education is a distinct program and is not confused with internships by students, employers or university faculty and administrators.

Can parallel programs or two-year programs be accredited by ACCE?

The Accreditation Council for Cooperative Education has accredited several programs that are strictly parallel or mostly parallel. ACCE recognizes several models of cooperative education. These are defined as:

• Full-Time Alternating

The institution will have in place formalized alternation of periods of full-time classroom study with periods of full-time work experience approximately equal in length to the classroom periods.

Baccalaureate programs Curriculum includes at least one academic year of multiple terms of full-time work experience. (Normally totals at least 30 weeks, depending on the institution calendar.) Two-year academic programs and graduate-level programs Curriculum includes a minimum of two work periods, one of which is not a summer term. (Normally totals well over 15 weeks due to the "two-work-period" definition.)

• Parallel

The student will be classified by the educational institution as, at least, a half-time student. The institution will have in place a formalized plan for a work experience component which will encompass approximately one-half of a regular work-week in length.

Baccalaureate programs Curriculum includes four or more work/school combination periods scheduled over, at least, two academic years. (Normally totals at least 60 weeks, depending on the institution calendar.) Two-year academic programs and graduate-level programs Curriculum includes two or more work/school combination periods scheduled over, at least, one academic year. (Normally totals at least 30 weeks, depending on the institution calendar.)

• Combination Alternating / Combination Parallel

Combination Alternating plans meet the defining features of full-time alternating models; in addition, they include one or more parallel components. Combination Parallel plans meet the defining features of parallel models; in addition, they include one or more periods of non-alternating full-time work.

Will ACCE accreditation give me more leverage on my own campus?

In this area, ACCE accreditation has seemed to have an early and perhaps unexpected impact. Most programs accredited through ACCE have reported a very positive enhancement of their program in the eyes of their own campus. Faculty and administrators understand the importance of accreditation and of maintaining quality standards through the accreditation process. In this particular area, it seems that ACCE accreditation has really paid off for those programs. For more solid evidence of this impact, read what Co-op Program Directors have to say. There is also preliminary evidence that prospective students, their parents, and employers are beginning to view ACCE accreditation as an initial indicator of program quality and desirability.