Three Programs Receive Accreditation through
Association of Collegiate Business Schools and Programs

CONTACT: SUSAN MCCLURE, EXT. 2186

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 6/22/2001

PENDLETON --- Tri-County Technical College's Accounting, Business Technology and Office Systems Technology programs recently received accreditation through the Association of Collegiate Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP).

Following the College's extensive self-study of these programs, a team of program evaluators visited Tri-County in February to validate the programs' compliance with ACBSP standards. In addition to talking to department heads and College administrators, the evaluators met with other faculty, staff and students.

"The self-study material, the report of the program evaluators and our written response to that report were all reviewed by the appropriate board of commissioners, who made the determination that the accreditation standards were satisfactorily met," said Susan McClure, the College's Accounting department head and chair of the self-study.

"We received full accreditation with no recommendations, which is quite unusual," added Mrs. McClure.

Evaluators said the College's strengths included the Faculty/Staff Development program, advisory committees, dedicated faculty and staff, availability of computers to students, strong curricula, articulation agreements, planning processes and the library.

Initially, Tri-County sought accreditation to evaluate the effectiveness of its programs against the national standard, said Mrs. McClure. "We also wanted to identify the strengths and weaknesses in these departments. Accreditation status enhances the professionalism of our graduates and improves the College's grade on the Commission on Higher Education's performance indicators."

Accreditation has many advantages for students and employers, said Mrs. McClure. "Students are able to transfer course credit more easily from an accredited business program. Also, accreditation is important for employers, who can expect that prospective employees have completed an accredited program where students have been exposed to a comprehensive and relevant curriculum. In addition, it assures employers that the program will provide better-trained applicants for positions within their organization," she said.

Tri-County's accreditation status was granted for a period of 10 years. During this time, biannual quality assurance reports will be filed with the organization's national office.

"It was a one-and-a-half year process, but it was well worth it," said Mrs. McClure. "The team was very thorough and involved a lot of people around campus. We appreciate the time everyone devoted to this."
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