November 2006: The Middle States Commission on Secondary Schools (MSCSS) has announced that Blackstone Career Institute has been accredited for the period ending November 9, 2009. The decision to accredit Blackstone Career Institute was awarded on the basis of an agreement approved by MSCSS and the Distance Education and Training Council (DETC). The agreement allows a school to utilize the rigorous process of self-study, visitation, and report of one of the two accrediting agencies to apply for accreditation from both MSCSS and DETC. The agreement between the two agencies also ensures that any school seeking accreditation through the cooperative agreement can demonstrate that it meets the standards of quality for both agencies.

MSCSS is one of six regional accrediting agencies recognized around the world for promoting standards of quality for schools and its protocols for promoting school improvement. DETC is a well-known leader in recognizing and promoting quality distance education schools. Both MSCSS and DETC are recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education as approved accreditation agencies.

To be accredited by the Commission on Secondary Schools, a school must meet the Middle States Association’s standards for each major area of a school’s work and activity. These areas include the school’s philosophy/mission/beliefs/objectives, governance and leadership, organizational design and staff, educational programs, learning media services and technology, student services, student life and activities, facilities, health and safety, finances, assessment of student learning, and planning.

“Blackstone Career Institute is to be congratulated for having completed the rigorous and demanding accreditation review process successfully,” said Dr. Henry G. Cram, Executive Director of the Commission on Secondary Schools. “By meeting the standards of the Association, and by having established a comprehensive and challenging strategic plan to improve targeted areas of school performance, Blackstone Career Institute has joined a growing number of schools in the Middle States region that are committed to public accountability for their results. Blackstone has demonstrated that it is a quality institution using distance education as a means to provide access to their educational programs.”

For more information about the accreditation of Blackstone Career Institute, contact Emily Eider by phone at 610-871-0031, ext. 212 or by email at eeider@blackstone.edu.