Our American system of accreditation is voluntary;
it is not in any way mandated by the government. We at Crestmont
and the THQ leadership team over the last several years made a
conscious and collective strategic choice and decision to pursue
and embrace accreditation. We believe it assures the effectiveness
of instruction and training fundamental to the strength and vitality
of officership in the Western Territory.
It is a status granted only to educational institutions in the
United States that exceed stated criteria of educational quality.
The status is conferred by non-governmental bodies, in
our case by the regional Accrediting Commission for Community
and Junior Colleges (ACCJC). Accreditation is based on the review
of an institutional self-study followed by an on-site visit
by an evaluation team and a subsequent review and decision
by the central accrediting group. Increasingly, attention
is given to the concept of educational outcomes as the central
basis for evaluation.
What is the true value?
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Assures The Salvation Army that cadets (and prospective cadets)
are educated within a context of quality and established regional
and national standards.
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Ensures the distinctive values of The Salvation Army are captured
and transferred to a diverse group of candidates who are called
to this place to serve. In this way, the values and all
they represent transform the lives of our cadets.
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Validates the educational program and promotes consensus among
the faculty, staff and cadets on expected learning outcomes and
graduate competencies.
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Facilitates life long learning and academic/career progression,
including transfer of course credits from Crestmont to four
year and graduate programs. For officers who wish to
seek additional academic training, this is a significant advantage
to their officership and their career in The Salvation Army.
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Opens our minds to new ways of addressing and making lifelong
education a real and recognized commitment; this is a very
real and strategic goal of The Salvation Army.
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Introduces the probability of added rigor and skill emphasis
to the academic, spiritual development, and field training preparations.
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Mandates that we staff our courses with officers and adjunct
faculty who have the credentials, teaching skills and commitment
to the Army to be truly effective in their instructional, spiritual
formation and field training roles.
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Requires the application of focused discipline and basic fundamental
soundness in all we do at the college, including the development
of deeper cultural and spiritual values.
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Ensures that the values of institutional autonomy, academic
freedom, commitment to degree education, and collegial governance
are understood and supported.
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Links cadet performance at the college with actual demonstrated
and projected outcomes in the field and serves as a prerequisite
for entering a profession, not simply attaining a degree.
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Ensures that faculty and staff are grounded in the experience
and actual needs of cadets in training as they prepare for
demanding officer roles.
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Ensures curricular and co-curricular innovation and a culture
of quality – a culture of evidence of real learning.
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Encourages donors to support the college and The Salvation
Army at large. People invest in our organization because of
its standards and its reputation for effectiveness.
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Helps the college sustain its vibrancy, resilience and effectiveness
in addressing the needs of The Salvation Army for well-trained
and committed officers.
The College and The Salvation Army benefit from
self-evaluation and self-directed institutional and program improvements. The
cadets benefit from the assurance that the program is meeting their
needs. Officers in the field and the public at large benefit
from the assurance that external evaluation confirms conformity
to general expectations in higher education and in professional
training. Those many constituents and soldiers served by
the Army benefit from well-administered services and increasingly
dynamic Corps activities. All stakeholders benefit. Accreditation
means accountability, and accountability means assessment, and
assessment in this case means a stronger training college, stronger
Corps, a stronger territory and a stronger Army.
That is the true value. |
