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42-570: EACC is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission . Its primary service area includes Cross, Lee, Monroe, St. Francis, and Woodruff counties. In 1968, citizens of St. Francis County created a college committee out of a desire and need for a community college. At the time, the closest schools were in Memphis, Tennessee , and Jonesboro, Arkansas . The Crowley's Ridge Community College Corporation received approval for its initial charter

84-505: A 2002 report by George C. Leef and Roxana D. Burris of the American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) argued that the system does not ensure or protect educational quality, while still imposing significant costs. In a 2006 "issue paper", Robert C. Dickeson wrote that a lack of transparency, low and lax standards, and outdated regionalization were among the problems with regional accreditation. Others, such as Edward M. Elmendorf of

126-534: A four-mill tax to finance construction of the college. The college began holding classes on August 26, 1974. It had 684 students enrolled for its initial semester. In 2005, the school opened an extension center in Wynne, Arkansas . In 2017, the Arkansas General Assembly passed Act 636, which laid out the process for merging EACC and the nearby Crowley's Ridge Technical Institute (CRTI). On July 31, 2017,

168-561: A more grassroots membership, billing and fees, and advisory role of the accrediting associations, improving the public image of accrediting, and improving the ability to lobby the Federal government. CHEA's immediate predecessor was the Council for Recognition of Postsecondary Accreditation (CORPA), which was formed following the dissolution of COPA. CHEA grandfathered in those accrediting associations recognized by COPA, provided that more than half

210-501: A religious viewpoint and may require students and/or faculty to subscribe to a statement of faith. Additionally, as of 2009, 20 U.S. states and Puerto Rico had some form of exemption provision under which religious institutions can grant religious degrees without accreditation or government oversight. Since 2001, the use of the top-level internet domain , .edu has been restricted to accredited institutions, but non-qualifying institutions can still use .edu domain names obtained before

252-521: A specific program of professional education or training, but in some cases they cover the whole institution. Best practices are shared and developed through affiliation with the Association of Professional and Specialized Accreditors. Both the US Department of Education and CHEA maintain lists of recognized US programmatic accreditors: For broad resources on how programmatic accreditation is managed in

294-480: Is assured . It is coordinated by accreditation commissions made up of member institutions. It was first undertaken in the late 19th century by cooperating educational institutions, on a regional basis. The federal government began to play a limited role in higher education accreditation in 1952 with reauthorization of the G.I. Bill for Korean War veterans . The original GI Bill legislation had stimulated establishment of new colleges and universities to accommodate

336-407: Is a non-profit, non-governmental association focused on U.S. and non-U.S. accreditation and higher education quality assurance worldwide. CHEA is led by a board of directors that consists of 20 members, including presidents of colleges and universities, other institutional representatives, and members of the public. As of 2022, Gena Glickman, Ph.D., President Emerita of Manchester Community College,

378-464: Is that the traditional system is limited to measuring "input" factors, such as adequate facilities and properly credentialed faculty, rather than the quality of a school's educational output. In his 1996 book Crisis in the Academy , Christopher J. Lucas criticized the accreditation system as too expensive, onerously complicated, incestuous in its organization, and not properly tied to quality. Similarly,

420-452: Is the chair of the CHEA Board of Directors. The staff president of CHEA is Cynthia Jackson Hammond. CHEA has voiced opposition to various accreditation reform efforts by the U.S. Department of Education . The organization faces challenges in helping the public to better understand accreditation in the U.S., and distinguish between the recognition of accrediting agencies conducted by

462-500: The American Association of State Colleges and Universities , reject these claims, arguing that they are "picking around the edges" of a proven and necessary system for upholding standards. Thomas C. Reeves notes that some schools unable or unwilling to meet the standards of traditional, regional accrediting bodies are closely involved in creating national accrediting agencies with significantly lower standards. At various times

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504-614: The Arkansas Higher Education Coordinating Board voted for the merger, and EACC assumed the property, personnel, and funding of CRTI. EACC has a performing arts center located on campus which opened in 2010. The center is a 33,000 square foot center and is designated as a 'Class A' performance hall, one of only three in the entire state of Arkansas. It features a 1,100-seat auditorium, 2,900 square foot stage, banquet hall, kitchen, black box theater, and art gallery. Notable performers at EACC have included: Under

546-463: The Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) (a non-governmental organization ) both recognize reputable accrediting bodies for institutions of higher education and provide guidelines as well as resources and relevant data regarding these accreditors. Neither the U.S. Department of Education nor CHEA accredit individual institutions. With the creation of the U.S. Department of Education and under

588-523: The Higher Education Act of 1965 included Program Integrity provisions designed to strengthen the gatekeeping triad for student loan guarantees and financial aid (i.e., state licensing bodies, accreditation associations, and Federal government). The higher education community viewed with alarm the establishment of State Postsecondary Review Entities (SPREs), which were given accrediting powers under special conditions. "When campus lobbyists heard about

630-527: The U.S. Congress , which representation was widely viewed as ineffective, particularly in regard to the new legislation establishing the SPREs. In April 1993, COPA voted to disband itself by the end of the year. Work by the National Policy Board on Higher Education Institutional Accreditation (NPB), and other groups laid the groundwork for a national successor to COPA. Among their concerns were establishing

672-446: The U.S. Secretary of Education , and those recognized by private nongovernmental associations, such as CHEA. CHEA recognition of accreditors differs from the recognition by the U.S. Secretary of Education, required for Title IV (HEA) student financial aid eligibility and loan guarantees. For the purpose of state government oversight of higher education, the state of Oregon authorizes accreditation organizations recognized by both

714-400: The 1980s and 1990s. Problems with tuition increases, scandals, and doubts about the value of postsecondary higher education plagued all parts of the higher education sector. In particular, Congressional investigations of soaring student loan defaults and student aid abuses were highly critical of the laxity of accreditation and accreditation processes. Consequently, the 1992 amendments to

756-465: The Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges, a national accreditor, were occasionally sued for leading prospective students to believe, incorrectly, that they would have no problem transferring their credits to a regionally accredited school. The U.S. Department of Education recognizes the following organizations as institutional accreditors: These accreditors typically cover

798-520: The Council for Higher Education Accreditation" states that it does not guarantee that all accredited schools are listed in the database. In 2012 CHEA launched the CHEA International Quality Group (CIQG) to advance understanding of international quality assurance and to promote high-quality higher education through international accreditation bodies worldwide. The CIQG provides a database of recognized accreditation agencies globally. It

840-504: The National Commission on Accrediting (an association of specialized and national accreditation agencies) had merged to form the Council on Postsecondary Accreditation (COPA), which had the purpose of ensuring the quality of accreditation. In 1993, COPA was dissolved because of tensions among the different types of accreditation agencies that formed its membership—ultimately the result of the increasing problems for higher education in

882-574: The U.S. government has investigated changes to the accreditation system. In 2002 the House of Representatives Subcommittee on 21st Century Competitiveness criticized the system. Accreditation was a major topic of the Spellings Commission , which released its report on September 26, 2006. The Council for Higher Education Accreditation recognizes that there are criticisms, but has opposed these calls for reform, with President Judith S. Eaton arguing that

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924-787: The United States (and globally) see Accreditation.org which provides background on the process, accords, agreements, and accrediting bodies related to engineering and computing degrees. Several organizations exist that accredit institutions and which are not recognized by the U.S. Department of Education or CHEA. These include: Although many schools related to religious organizations hold regional accreditation or secular national accreditation, there are four different agencies that specialize in accreditation of religious schools: These groups specialize in accrediting theological and religious schools including seminaries and graduate schools of theology, as well as broader-scope universities that teach from

966-409: The United States were overseen by seven regional accrediting agencies established in the late 19th and early 20th century to foster articulation between secondary schools and higher education institutions, particularly evaluation of prospective students by colleges and universities. These seven agencies were membership organizations of educational institutions within their geographic regions. Initially,

1008-540: The annual tournament support the EACC Foundation which helps students. 35°02′31″N 90°46′05″W  /  35.04197°N 90.76799°W  / 35.04197; -90.76799 Higher education accreditation in the United States Higher education accreditation in the United States is a peer review process by which the validity of degrees and credits awarded by higher education institutions

1050-536: The change was intended to allow students to be able to access the best school for their needs no matter what region they reside in. Four months after this change was made, the WASC Senior College and University Commission became the first accreditor to formally change its membership rules and requirements to allow institutions outside its historical geographic region to apply for membership and accreditation. Historically, educational accreditation activities in

1092-490: The current rules came into force. A prominent example of such a domain name registered before the current rules came into force is Academia.edu , a for-profit social networking site for academics. Various commenters have written about the role and effectiveness of the American accreditation system. It has drawn particular interest since the rise of e-learning classes and institutions. A frequent point of discussion and criticism

1134-511: The department of Office of Student Activities, the colleges has a variety of clubs and organizations which students can become members of and participate in their activities. EACC students participate in intramural sports against other ADLI colleges year-round in the following sports: EACC holds an annual golf tournament and held its 10th annual one in 2021. Some of the sponsors included Arkansas Concrete Company , Boar's Head, Forrest City Medical Center , and Johnson Controls . All proceeds from

1176-605: The entire institution, specific programs, and distance education within an institution. Prior to 2020, there were regional and national accrediting agencies, both of which were accountable to the Department of Education . Regional bodies historically accredited institutions in a particular region of the country. National bodies were established to accredit institutions across the country, and sometimes beyond it. Within American higher education, regional bodies were considered more prestigious. (The regional bodies were older, and included

1218-871: The faculty set the academic policies. Regionally-accredited schools were required to have adequate library facilities. Except for some specific subject areas such as nursing, nationally accredited schools did not hire many full-time faculty, usually hiring faculty by the course, without benefits and with no influence on the school's academic policies, which were determined by non-academic administrators, and ultimately investors. Their library facilities, if they existed at all, were far inferior to those of regionally-accredited schools. While there were some legitimate and well-intentioned nationally accredited schools, similar to for-profit institutions with regional accreditation, some institutions existed with little educational rigor. Some critics considered national accreditation to be not as reputable as regional accreditation. Schools accredited by

1260-516: The following year. In 1971, Betty Jo Hodges donated $ 25,000 to the organization enabling it to purchase approximately 40 acres of land in Forrest City, Arkansas . Two years later, the Arkansas Board of Higher Education announced that St. Francis County had met the requirements necessary to form a community college district. On November 8 of the same year, voters approved the proposal to initiate

1302-442: The influx of new students, but some of these new institutions were of dubious quality. The 1952 legislation designated the existing peer review process as the basis for measuring institutional quality; GI Bill eligibility was limited to students enrolled at accredited institutions included on a list of federally recognized accredited institutions published by the U.S. Commissioner of Education . The U.S. Department of Education and

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1344-476: The institutions that they accredited granted degrees. Each accreditor recognized by CHEA is independent, which means that accreditation requirements vary from group to group. CHEA maintains a website that contains a searchable database to check the accreditation status of recognized accreditation agencies, accredited schools, or schools currently in the process of getting accreditation (i.e., "candidates" for accreditation). CHEA's "user agreement for publications of

1386-453: The largest US for-profit universities (e.g., University of Phoenix , Grand Canyon University ) achieved regional accreditation. Regionally accredited schools were usually academically oriented and most were non-profit. Nationally accredited schools, a large number of which are for-profit , typically offered specific vocational, career, or technical programs. Regionally accredited institutions employed large numbers of full-time faculty, and

1428-411: The legislation and realized that non-governmental accreditation was being replaced by a federal-state agency evaluation of institutions, including assessments of academic quality never before carried out by the government, they 'went apoplectic', as one observer put it." Early in 1993, the regional accreditors voted to leave COPA, indicating their dissatisfaction with COPA's political representation in

1470-505: The main focus of the organizations was to accredit secondary schools and to establish uniform college entrance requirements. Accreditation of colleges and universities followed later, with each of the accrediting agencies splitting into separate organizations with one or more of those organizations focused exclusively on accrediting colleges and universities. The higher education institutions holding regional accreditation were primarily non-profit institutions, with significant exceptions, as

1512-620: The most well established institutions.) In February 2020, the Department of Education eliminated the distinction between regional and national accrediting agencies, creating one unified set of institutional accreditors. The department claimed that the change was intended to encourage cooperation between accredited schools to improve student experiences, uphold quality standards, and reduce the cost of higher education by encouraging transparent transfer of credits and mutual recognition of degrees between schools with common standards. It also claimed that

1554-666: The quality of higher education accrediting organizations, including regional , faith-based, private, career, and programmatic accrediting organizations. The organization has accredited colleges and universities as members, and currently recognizes approximately 64 accrediting organizations. CHEA is based in Washington, D.C. CHEA is a member of International Network for Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education (INQAAHE). The Council for Higher Education Accreditation serves its members, students and society through advocacy for

1596-534: The system is successful and needs to remain flexible to accommodate differences between schools and disciplines. In 2013, President Barack Obama proposed changes in the accreditation system to hold "colleges accountable for cost, value, and quality". He requested Congress change the Higher Education Act so that affordability and value are considered in determining which institutions are accredited and allow students access to federal financial aid; his criticism

1638-572: The terms of the Higher Education Act of 1965 , as amended, the U.S. Secretary of Education is required by law to publish a list of nationally recognized accrediting agencies that the secretary has determined to be reliable authorities on the quality of education or training provided by the institutions of higher education and the higher education programs they accredit. Professional schools, which are often graduate schools, have separate organizations for accreditation, e.g. American Board of Higher Education (ABHEC). Institutional accreditation applies to

1680-501: The value and independence of accreditation, recognition of accrediting organizations and commitment to quality in higher education. Established in 1996, CHEA is the successor to several earlier national nongovernmental associations formed to coordinate the U.S. accreditation process for higher education . In 1974, the Federation of Regional Accrediting Commissions of Higher Education (FRACHE; an association of regional accreditors ) and

1722-457: Was directed at for-profit institutions. An article published by "University World News" on 2 February 2018 stated that the higher education accreditation community, which confers the quality-assurance seal of approval that allows United States colleges and universities access to billions of dollars of federal student aid, must do a better job of explaining itself to the public if it wants to reverse waning public confidence in higher education. That

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1764-484: Was one of the tamer recommendations voiced at a conference for accreditors, who are feeling the brunt of growing scepticism about the value of a US college degree. Council for Higher Education Accreditation The Council for Higher Education Accreditation ( CHEA ) is a United States organization of degree -granting colleges and universities. It identifies its purpose as providing national advocacy for academic quality through accreditation in order to certify

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