Earlier this summer, The College of the North Atlantic’s Respiratory Therapy program lost its accreditation. In 2016 the Council on Accreditation for Respiratory Therapy Education placed the program on a one-year probation, and then although the college tried to address deficiencies, apparently there was not enough improvement to maintain their status. For more see this CBC article and this interview on NTV.
The 13 students accepted into the program for this fall have been refunded their money, but another 26 who have completed their first and second years are stuck. Regardless of the issues, as is often the case in post-secondary struggles it is the students that pay the price. As one student echoed, even if they are able to have their money refunded, they are still out the time and effort they have invested.
In one department I teach in, we are not externally accredited per se, but because each course is university transferable, routinely each PSI in the province, reviews the outline and learning objectives to determine if it will be transferable and if so what the equivalent course or number of credits it will be. Maintaining standards is important not only for an institutions reputation but also for how we value our students. I think often PSI’s forget that they are or should be in the service of students.
Alena M. Buis 