Page 185 - JRCERT Organizational Reports

CHEA Recognition–the JRCERT has sought, and has once again, received the
maximum recognition award of five years from the Council for Higher Education
Accreditation (CHEA). This recognition affirms that the standards and processes of the
JRCERT are consistent with quality, improvement, and accountability expectations
established by CHEA. This recognition is intended to advance academic quality, with
emphasis on student achievement, demonstrate accountability through consistent, clear,
and coherent communication to the public and the educational community, which
includes a commitment by the JRCERT to involve the public in accreditation decision
making.

Policy Change–New program directors are typically high-performing individuals that are
promoted from other positions. Unfortunately, they often lack some of the basic
knowledge necessary to assure that their programs remain in compliance with all
accreditation standards and policies. It has been noted that even when a clinical
coordinator is promoted to the position, they have had limited exposure to accreditation
and compliance requirements. Because of this lack of basic knowledge and
understanding, the Board of Directors has taken steps to assure that these individuals are
educated on accreditation requirements as quickly as possible following their
appointment. JRCERT policy has been modified to require new program officials
without previous program director experience to attend an accreditation seminar and/or
assessment workshop within the first of year of appointment.

Transparency–This is a current topic in all educational circles and programs will
continue to hear about the importance of transparency not only from programmatic
accreditors but from institutional accreditors as well. Transparency is considered
operating in such a way that makes it easy for others to see the activities and performance
of educational programs. It implies openness, communication, and accountability. Late
in 2013 and through the early part of 2014, all programs were asked to make certain that
key program information was placed on their Web page in order to communicate to
potential students and the public a clear picture of what is expected in order to complete
the course of education, both academically and financially. The publication of program
effectiveness data (credentialing examination pass rate, job placement rate, and program
completion rate) served to address the accountability aspect of transparency. By July,
100% of programs were in compliance with the publication of the required information.
We are extremely pleased with the response by our programs.

New Strategic Plan–the JRCERT has developed a new strategic plan to guide the
organization in a positive and forward direction. The plan will be used to determine
organizational functions and establish financial needs.

Information Technology Administrator–As the JRCERT continues to transition to a
fully electronic accreditation process, the need for in-house IT support became apparent.
We are pleased to announce the hiring of Paul Luhn to this new position.