NEWPORT, R.I. -- The Council on Occupational Education (COE) is scheduled to conduct a reaffirmation of accreditation for the Center for Service Support (CSS) June 12-15, 2023. 

The COE is a national accrediting agency with the mission to assure quality and integrity in career and technical education.  Federal institutions may affiliate with the Council by becoming a candidate for accreditation and subsequently achieving and maintaining accreditation. CSS is applying for reaffirmation of accreditation. 

The COE evaluation process includes an extensive self-study by the institution, an intensive review by a visiting team of professional educators representing COE member institutions from other states, and a decision of the Commission based on the Council-approved standards and criteria for accreditation. 

As part of the self-study preparing for reaffirmation, CSS is providing an opportunity for the public to comment on their qualifications for accreditation.   

Those wishing to make comments should either write to:  Executive Director, Commission of the Council on Occupational Education, 7840 Roswell Road, Bldg. 300, Suite 325, Atlanta, GA 30350, or submit their comments through the Council’s website (www.council.org).   

Naval Education and Training Command (NETC) implemented the accreditation process to demonstrate its commitment to promoting improvements in quality and accountability through self-study and peer recommendations. Institutional accreditation is a public status granted to an educational institution or program that meets or exceeds established and recognized criteria and standards of learning. It is a voluntary method of quality assurance. Accrediting agencies develop evaluation criteria and conduct non-governmental peer reviews to assess whether or not those criteria are met. 

Accreditation is important to Sailors. It is validation that Navy education and training institutions are on par with technical institutions of recognized quality throughout the civilian learning community, nationwide. Accreditation provides measures that academic institutions may use to determine if credits can transfer from Navy schoolhouses to civilian degree-granting or certificate-issuing institutions. Twelve of NETC’s learning centers are accredited by COE. 

For more information on the Center for Service Support, visit https://www.netc.navy.mil/CSS/. 

For information on NETC, visit https://www.netc.navy.mil.