NOVA Receives NACEP Accreditation for High Quality and Rigorous Standards of Dual Enrollment

Northern Virginia Community College is pleased to have received accreditation from the National Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships (NACEP) for high quality and rigorous standards of its dual enrollment program. NOVA was among ten institutions receiving initial accreditation, alongside nine receiving reaccreditation. In addition, NOVA is the only institution in Virginia to hold this accreditation.

NACEP is the nation’s only accrediting body for concurrent enrollment programs and serves as the standard-bearer for ensuring parity in faculty, course content, student outcomes and support. And accreditation means an institution has met the most rigorous standard in program development, management and evaluation across program areas.

To earn accreditation from NACEP, concurrent enrollment programs must conduct a self-study, document how their programs adhere to NACEP’s 16 standards and undergo rigorous peer-review. Accreditation is valid for five years for new accreditations and seven years for reaccreditation, during which time programs are expected to uphold NACEP standards and report annually.

“Ensuring program, and ultimately student success requires strong partnerships between secondary and postsecondary education and a mutual commitment to quality in all aspects of the program,” said NACEP Executive Director, Amy Williams. Concurrent enrollment increases student’s college aspirations, engagement, and success thus concurrent enrollment programs hold tremendous potential for increasing college completion and addressing national attainment gaps. The positive benefits of dual and concurrent enrollment on college access and degree attainment were validated by the Department of Education’s What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) in a review of the experimental and quasi-experimental literature.

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