Professional Accreditation

Professional Accreditation

Our undergraduate major in recreation and leisure studies core curriculum is accredited by the Council on Accreditation for Parks, Recreation, Tourism, and Related Professions (COAPRT). COAPRT is, in turn, accredited by the Council on Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA).

The Council on Accreditation for Parks, Recreation, Tourism and Related Professions (COAPRT) grants accreditation to institutions or programs that meet established criteria for academic quality. To this end, accredited program have completed a rigorous process which includes self-assessment and peer review, and have met standards established by the profession, which reflect competencies relative to entry-level positions in the field. As such, institutions continuously assess the quality of their programs and as a result, improve upon the same.

COAPRT standard 2.05:05 requires accredited programs to annually post 7.0 series aggregated data and additional evidence reflecting program academic quality and student achievement on their program and/or departmental website.

View Assessment Results

​CHEA requires accredited institutions to inform the public about “degree and accreditation mills.” Cautions concerning these are summarized in a video that can be viewed at https://www.chea.org/degree-accreditation-mills-video. According to CHEA:

Degree mills and accreditation mills mislead and harm. In the United States, degrees and certificates from mills may not be acknowledged by other institutions when students seek to transfer or go to graduate school. Employers may not acknowledge degrees and certificates from degree mills when providing tuition assistance for continuing education. “Accreditation” from an accreditation mill can mislead students and the public about the quality of an institution or program. In the presence of degree mills and accreditation mills, students may spend a good deal of money and receive neither an education nor a useable credential.

Read more on CHEA’s website, https://www.chea.org/degree-accreditation-mills.

College Accreditation 
St. Joseph’s College is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.