Professional Accreditation for International Continuing Education.

Overview & Synopsis

It is reasonable to argue that the members of a profession are the only ones who can directly address issues of accreditation. In the context of accreditation for international continuing education, it may be argued that professional organizations in continuing education cannot function as accrediting bodies except in the sense that they determine and apply criteria for admission to their own organization. The field of continuing education is too variable and in too much flux to be captured in a set of prescriptions. Some have suggested that approaches comparable to the International Organization for Standardization's ISO 9000 standards in the international exchange of goods and services be considered as a way of certifying the quality of intellectual commodities. Several years ago, the Global Alliance for Transnational Education (GATE) was created to establish procedures for accreditation of electronically delivered continuing education programs. However, already-existing accreditation agencies in the United States seriously questioned the need for GATE. Similarly, an interlocking web of existing professional disciplinary societies and institutional accrediting agencies, such as the Association Mexicana Educacion Continua, University Continuing Education Association, Canadian Association for University Continuing Education, and University Continuing Education Network, can meet the need for accreditation of international continuing education. (MN)