Important Information from NASEMSO regarding
your paramedic program.
What is Accreditation and Why is
it Important to any Student?
Broadly speaking, accreditation is an effort
to assess the quality of institutions, programs and services,
measuring them against agreed-upon standards and thereby assuring
that they meet those standards.
In the case of post-secondary education and training, there are two
kinds of accreditation: institutional and programmatic (or
specialized).
Institutional accreditation helps to assure potential students that
a school is a sound institution and has met certain minimum
standards in terms of administration, resources, faculty and
facilities.
Programmatic (or specialized) accreditation examines specific
schools or programs within an educational institution (e.g., the
law school, the medical school, the paramedic program). The
standards by which these programs are measured have generally been
developed by the professionals involved in each discipline and are
intended to reflect what a person needs to know and be able to do
to function successfully within that profession.
Accreditation in the health-related disciplines also serves a very
important public interest. Along with certification and licensure,
accreditation is a tool intended to help assure a well-prepared and
qualified workforce providing health care services.