CEA (Commission on English Language Program Accreditation), the world’s leading accreditation agency for quality in language teaching in higher education, granted 10-year accreditation to Yaşar University Prep-Class. Being a first after getting its first accreditation for 5 years in December 2011, Yaşar University Prep-Class again led the way in becoming the first institution in Turkey which has been re-accredited for 10 years since December ,2016. During the meeting held in Washington in December, the CEA Commission decided that Yaşar University meets all of the 44 quality standards applying to the U.S. universities and language schools. During the meeting held in December 2016, accreditation decisions were made on the applications submitted by 30 institutions including University of Washington, University of Iowa and Yaşar University, all of which were accredited for 10 years.
The Washington-based CEA is recognized as the only accreditor in language teaching authorized by the U.S. Department of Education. CEA is recognized on a par with ABET in the field of engineering, AACSB in the field of business and NAAB in architecture as it is a member of ASPA (Association of Specialized and Professional Accreditors).
Accreditation in higher education is known to be the most objective criterion which indicates that the education offered for students are sustainable and of internationally-recognized quality standards. On the other hand, students who graduate from accredited education programs are granted certificates and diplomas which are internationally recognized.
“Recently, increased quality -rather than a numerical increase- has been more significant for the Council of Higher Education in Turkey. Council of Quality in Higher Education will take on an important task in monitoring universities with the aim of achieving sustainable quality,” said Yaşar University Rector Prof. Cemali Dinçer, who also expressed that accreditation in higher education has been gaining an increasing importance. Highlighting the significance of accreditation for the higher education institutions that claim that they offer quality education, Prof. Dinçer also expressed that the CEA Accreditation bears great importance for the university’s globalization strategy. Dinçer continued saying that the accreditation has been among the important objectives set in the university’s strategic plan for 2016-2020 while also noting that the other departments within the university have been going through similar processes.