August 2023 News from CEA

Message from Nick Ferdinandt, 2023 Commission Chair

Greetings on behalf of CEA. As 2023 Commission chair, I’m pleased to report these updates and reminders. 

CEA’s August Commission meeting was recently held in Alexandria, VA. The Commission accomplished its planned work, including an accreditation decision-making session, a professional development session for the Commission, in addition to committee meetings and the range of reports and updates that are delivered in every meeting. Importantly, the Commission adopted changes to the CEA Policies and Procedures as a result of the annual review of the document as well as the end of the declared federal emergency in the U.S. Please see below for important announcements and reminders.

Nick Ferdinandt
2023 Commission Chair

Recent accreditation decisions
The Commission met August 4-6, 2023, to make accreditation decisions and conduct other CEA business. Accreditation decisions are announced on the CEA website under “Recent Decisions” within 30 days of each meeting. Please direct any questions about CEA or its accredited programs and language institutions to staff at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Guidance ends
As forecast in the April News from CEA and the June Constituent Council Meeting Proceedings, temporary flexibilities extended to accreditors have ended with the announcement of the end of the federal emergency on May 11, 2023. Provisions set forth in the CEA Statement on COVID-19 expire September 15, 2023, including the option to deliver courses through distance education (see below).

Distance education survey
Programs and institutions must submit a response to a mandatory survey regarding distance education by September 15, 2023. Effective September 15, any sites wishing to continue delivering instruction via distance education must file advance notice for expansion of scope to add distance education to the scope of accreditation with CEA, and submit a full substantive change report by February 1, 2024.

Policies and Procedures
The 2023 Policies and Procedures Committee has completed its annual review of the CEA Policies and Procedures. As a result, several policies have been updated and clarified. Section 23 Temporary Policy Adaptations allowing for Hybrid Site Visits, Extensions of term of accreditation and Extensions of eligibility have been rescinded. CEA will return to in-person site visits, and extensions and extended hiatus will be handled through existing policies.

Nominating Committee and Ballot
An independent Nominating Committee reviews commissioner applications, conducts interviews, and selects candidates for Commission service. CEA conducts an election for new commissioners between September 15 and November 1 each year. Per CEA’s Policies and Procedures, members of the CEA Constituent Council as represented by their primary contacts are responsible for voting to elect the new commissioners. Constituent Council will receive information about the slate of candidates and instructions for voting prior to September 15, 2023.  

Fee Schedule
Each year in August, the Finance Committee reviews the CEA Fee Schedule to approve all fees for the following year. There are no increases to sustaining fees. The site visit fee for domestic site visits will increase by 5.1% to $7,200 to reflect higher travel costs in airfare, lodging, and food. The new fee schedule is effective February 1, 2024.

Workshops
CEA regularly delivers accreditation workshops and reviewer training workshops in-person and online.  CEA also regularly invites new program directors and primary contacts from newly-accredited sites to participate in an informational webinar related to ongoing requirements. CEA will hold a virtual accreditation workshop and a virtual reviewer training workshop in October. CEA workshops are not open to the public, and attendance requires staff approval. Additional information and workshop dates are on the CEA website: https://cea-accredit.org/accreditation/workshops and https://cea-accredit.org/reviewers/become-a-reviewer.

Please contact staff at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with any questions about this News from CEA, or to update contact information for your program or institution. 

April 2023 News from CEA

Message from Nick Ferdinandt, 2023 Commission Chair

Greetings on behalf of CEA. I consider myself very privileged to give you this news as 2023 Commission chair.

CEA’s April Commission meeting was held in person in Alexandria, VA near CEA’s office. The Commission accomplished its planned work for the April Commission meeting, including an annual orientation of the full Commission, an accreditation decision-making session, guided discussions around potential changes that may affect sites in 2023, and team-building, in addition to committee meetings and the range of reports and updates that are delivered at every meeting.

Further below you’ll find a summary of CEA’s work, but I want to bring one important pending development to your attention. While the CEA Statement on COVID-19 issued in March of 2020 remains in place, the United States Federal Government has announced plans to lift the emergency declaration regarding the pandemic. As a result, the Commission will revisit the CEA Statement on COVID-19 allowing for temporary operational changes as well as the Section 23 Temporary Policy Adaptations allowing for hybrid site visits, extensions to terms of accreditation and permissions for extended operational hiatus. So, please stay tuned for announcements of how changes to these policies may impact your program or institution.

In keeping with past calls for service and participation with CEA, I encourage you to seriously consider service as a volunteer peer reviewer or as a member of the Commission, CEA’s accreditation decision-making body and nonprofit governing board. In its work, CEA strives to represent the field as a whole. It may surprise you to learn that for either peer reviewer service or Commission service, it is not a requirement to be from a CEA-accredited site. So, we encourage you to pass on this information to other colleagues in the field who have interest or expertise in accreditation or program evaluation. Peer reviewer applications are accepted on an ongoing basis, and the 2023 Call for Nominations to serve as a Commissioner has been posted (see also below). Applications are due July 1, 2023. Not only do both activities provide an opportunity to do valuable and challenging work with highly qualified and experienced colleagues, they also represent specific professional development opportunities in our field. CEA peer reviewers are professionals from the field who serve as the “eyes and ears” of the Commission during site visits. Commissioner qualifications are outlined in the call, and the current call encourages applicants from single-site or multi-site institutions, those with community college experience or those who have jobs which involve at least 50% teaching-related responsibilities. Having served as a peer reviewer and on the Commission myself, I can personally highly recommend it. We invite you to put yourself forward or encourage others to apply to join us in serving the field and helping CEA achieve its mission.

Nick Ferdinandt
2023 Commission Chair

Recent accreditation decisions
The Commission met March 31-April 2, 2023, to make accreditation decisions and conduct other CEA business. Accreditation decisions are announced on the CEA website under “Recent Decisions ” within 30 days of each meeting. In addition, below I’ve provided information about other Commission actions and matters. Please contact Heidi Vellenga, CEA’s Executive Director at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with any questions you may have about the Commission actions, announcements and activities described below.

Meeting reminder: 2023 Constituent Council meeting
The 2023 Constituent Council meeting, CEA’s annual business meeting, will be held virtually on Friday, June 9, 12:00 noon – 1:00 PM Eastern Time. The agenda and connection information will be issued no later than 30 days before the meeting as required by the CEA Policies and Procedures. Section 19 Constituent Council Governing Rules, describes the role of each accredited site’s primary contact.

Reminder: 2023 Call for Nominations
The 2023 Call for Nominations (for service January 2024 – December 2026) has been published and disseminated. CEA is seeking three new volunteers for service on the Commission, and applications are due July 1, 2023. The Call for Nominations is available on the CEA website at http://cea-accredit.org/about-cea/governance/the-commission/call-for-nominations-for-the-cea-commission. If you have questions about Commission service or the application process, please feel free to contact me directly.

Guidance remains in place
The CEA Statement on COVID-19 remains in place. All sites are required to notify CEA of any changes to aspects of operations as a result of, or in response to, COVID-19 by sending an email message to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Sites returning to fully in-person courses who have not previously notified CEA should do so. The CEA Policies and Procedures Section 23 Temporary Policy Adaptations allowing for Hybrid Site Visits, Extensions of term of accreditation and Extensions of eligibility remain in place until rescinded or revoked by the Commission.

Please contact staff at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with any questions about this News from CEA.