Page 119 - JRCERT Organizational Reports

Value of Accreditation

The higher education community in the United States has become dependent upon accreditation as the
primary vehicle for assuring the quality of educational institutions and programs. The JRCERT
believes programmatic accreditation to be the optimal method to determine whether higher education
in radiography, radiation therapy, magnetic resonance, and medical dosimetry, is of sufficient quality
to provide the knowledge, skills, and professional attributes needed by graduates to meet the needs of
the communities they will serve.

With JRCERT accreditation, the quality of educational programs is measured against compliance with
standards established by the profession. JRCERT accreditation assures the public that care provided by
students will be appropriately supervised. Additionally, JRCERT accreditation provides assurance
that students are instructed in the utilization of imaging equipment, accessories, optimal exposure
factors, and proper patient positioning to minimize the potentially harmful effects of radiation
exposure to patients, selves, and others.

Programmatic accreditation provides value in several additional ways including:

 Assures fair, ethical, and equitable treatment of students, faculty, and staff.
 Establishes the student capacity of programs based upon the availability of resources.
 Assures well-structured, competency-based curricula developed by the American Society
of Radiologic Technologists (ASRT) and the American Association of Medical
Dosimetrists (AAMD) with input from the profession.
 Assures compliance with state/federal safety regulations.
 Encourages programs to assess student learning and continually strive for program
improvement.
 Ensures that graduates of JRCERT-accredited programs are eligible for employment in all
50 states and in federal facilities (VA, etc.).

In an effort to demonstrate transparency and accountability to the general public, the JRCERT
publishes program effectiveness data - program completion rates, credentialing examination pass rates,
and job placement rates - for all accredited programs. The data can be found at www.jrcert.org,
Students Tab, Program Effectiveness Data.

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