Page 176 - 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 available to determine
whether higher education in radiography, radiation therapy, medical dosimetry, and magnetic
resonance, is of sufficient quality to provide the knowledge, skills, and professional attributes
needed by graduates to meet the growing needs of the communities they will serve.

Accreditation is founded on the principles of self-analysis and peer review evaluation. It is the
only accepted method used by the federal government to determine the quality of higher
education and for establishing eligibility to receive federal and state funding.

Credibility of the programs is measured by compliance with the standards established by the
profession. JRCERT accreditation not only assures that the program meets minimal quality
standards, it also assures the public that the sponsors of JRCERT-accredited programs go
through the same self-analysis and peer review evaluation by an appropriate institutional
accreditor.

Programmatic accreditation provides value in several additional ways. JRCERT accreditation
establishes the student capacity of programs based upon the availability of resources; assures
fair, ethical, and equitable treatment of students, faculty, and staff; and adherence to federal
safety regulations. It encourages programs to strive continually to improve their current level of
quality. To document consistency and comparability, the JRCERT provides direct comparisons
of quality across all programs regarding program effectiveness measures–program completion
rate, credentialing examination pass rate, and job placement rate. These comparison statistics
can be found at www.jrcert.org, Students Tab, Program Effectiveness Data.

The JRCERT works with other professional organizations, for example, the American Society of
Radiologic Technologists (ASRT) and the American Association of Medical Dosimetrists
(AAMD) in order to establish educational curricula that meet the needs of the respective
professions.

Some employers and/or states use graduation from a JRCERT- accredited program as one of the
criteria for employment and/or licensing. Graduates of JRCERT-accredited programs are
eligible for employment in all 50 states.