Environmental education is a growing profession.  As with any profession, we know the importance of preparing practitioners who possess the knowledge and abilities to provide high quality environmental education to diverse audiences in a wide variety of settings. 

Building off of the Guidelines for the Preparation and Professional Development of Environmental Educators, NAAEE has initiated a program to formally recognize excellence in college and university environmental education programs.  NAAEE’s Accreditation: Distinguished College and University Programs formally recognizes high quality college and university programs that consistently prepare well–qualified environmental educators who possess the understanding, skills, and dispositions associated with environmental literacy, as well as the ability to apply them in their educational practices. NAAEE Accreditation provides third-party, standards-based recognition of high quality higher education programs that engage in the preparation and professional development of environmental educators. 

To apply for Accreditation college/university programs submit a Self-Study Audit, documenting how the program aligns with the Guidelines for Excellence and assesses program participants against those same Guidelines. For Accreditation to be awarded, a panel of NAAEE-trained environmental education professionals review and approve the Self-Study Audit. We believe that accreditation encourages and recognizes excellence in the preparation and professional development of environmental educators, and facilitates in-depth, continual assessment and improvement of EE preparation & professional development programs in higher education institutions. Thus far, four programs have received Accreditation: Eastern Kentucky University, Montreat College, NOVA Southeastern University, and University of Wisconsin at Stevens Point

Accreditation does not mean that one size fits all. We know that environmental education is a diverse field.  Although higher education programs are asked, as part of this Accreditation process, to provide evidence of how they address the Guidelines for Excellence, programs are also given flexibility in how they are met.  There is no one mold into which a program must fit – no set number of courses or experiences, no set examinations or measures.  The Accreditation program has been designed with the understanding that college and university programs are unique and how they go about preparing high-quality environmental educators reflects that distinctiveness.

We invite you to reflect on your own program and apply for recognition based on the Guidelines for the Preparation and Professional Development of Environmental Educators (NAAEE 2010a).

Want to start the Accreditation process? Download the Accreditation application (https://naaee.org/our-work/programs/higher-education-accreditation). Self-Study Audits are due by April 15, 2016.   Join the conversation in the Higher Education (link is external)or Guidelines for Excellence(link is external) eePRO groups!