FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Valparaiso, Indiana, July 17, 2018 – On June 29, 2018, College of Court Reporting (CCR) was granted a three-year grant of accreditation from the Distance Education Accrediting Commission (DEAC), the maximum available DEAC offers for new grants of accreditation. According to DEAC:
Accreditation is a reliable indicator of the value and quality of the distance education that an institution offers. In receiving this initial grant of accreditation, CCR has demonstrated its commitment to educational standards and ethical business practices that assure quality, accountability, and improvement in higher education
Although CCR was already accredited through 2019 with the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS), ACICS lost its federal recognition on Dec. 12, 2016. CCR promptly applied for provisional certification through the Program Participation Agreement (PPA) issued by the U.S. Department of Education and was granted that certification on December 23, 2016. This gave CCR time to find a new accreditor. CCR worked tirelessly to have an active application for accreditation in process with DEAC, which was accepted in the summer of 2017. CCR worked on modifying policies and procedures to meet or exceed DEAC requirements over the next nine months in preparation for a formal evaluation visit by DEAC. On April 3, 2018, expert evaluators visited the CCR campus located in Valparaiso, Indiana, to interview administrators, faculty, and students as well as perform a comprehensive audit and assessment of CCR. The confirmation of the grant of accreditation came almost three months later.
DEAC is a private, non-profit organization founded in 1926 that operates as an institutional accreditor of distance education institutions. Accreditation by DEAC covers all distance education activities within an institution, and it provides accreditation from the secondary school level through professional doctoral degree-granting institutions. DEAC grants accreditation to institutions for a specific period of time, prior to the expiration of which the institution may reapply and again be evaluated. Grants of accreditation vary in length. DEAC is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). The current DEAC Directory of Accredited Institutions is listed on www.deac.org.
This grant of accreditation is the culmination of almost two years’ worth of effort by all CCR administration and staff in making sure CCR’s doors remained open even when others thought they would close. Moreover, in the face of uncertainty and dwindling hope for accreditation of private, post-secondary institutions, CCR continued to provide a top-notch court reporting education. In fact, 23 students graduated during the last year, and CCR could not be more proud of their accomplishments. Those students persevered in the face of challenges and obstacles in order to join a profession in dire need of keepers of the record. Similarly, CCR met with challenges along the way, but its passion, belief in the importance of accreditation, and faith in its hard-working and dedicated student body propelled the school forward with a maximum initial grant of accreditation as its reward.
The College of Court Reporting has an online program that offers students an associates of applied science degree in court reporting. For more information, contact our Director of Admissions, Nicky Rodriquez, at 866-294-3974 ext. 222 or nicky.rodriquez@ccr.edu.
