The King's Connection Magazine Volume 23 Number 1//Summer 2012 | Page 8
FEATURED ARTICLE
ANOTHER FIRST FOR KING’S!
King’s Awarded First Environmental Studies Program
Accreditation in Canada
I
t’s another in a long line of firsts for King’s that makes it such a
great place to attend---and to support.
The King’s University College Environmental Studies (ENVS)
program was recently granted professional accreditation from
Environmental Careers Organization (ECO) Canada, the certifying
body of the Canadian Environmental Accreditation Commission
(CEAC). This Professional accreditation is in addition to the
academic accreditation already granted by the Campus Alberta
Quality Council.
King’s University College is the only post-secondary institution
in Canada to receive such professional recognition for an
environmental studies program that includes BA and
BSc degrees.
“We are delighted at this recognition of the quality of our
environmental program,” says President Harry Fernhout. “Doubly
so as it came only after an accreditation team from across the
country visited us for two days, reviewed all our material, and
interviewed numerous faculty and students. They were impressed
with what they saw and heard, and confident our program truly
measured up to their rigorous professional standards.”
What do all these acronyms mean to students? The ECO’s
granting of accreditation to King’s encourages all future and past
graduates of the ENVS program to apply for the designation
“Environmental Professional,” and put the letters “EP” behind
their names, along with their degrees.
“For our graduates, accreditation of King’s ENVS program will
mean increased employment opportunities---employers will
know the program meets national standards,” says Dr. Michael
Ferber, director of environmental studies for the university. “The
site evaluation team had no knowledge about King’s before their
arrival, and were quite taken by the quality of our programs,
professors and students overall. This is just another example of
what a hidden gem we are, and the high quality of what we
do here.”
The professional accreditation process is a rigorous process.
A four-member Site Visit Evaluation Team (SVET) visited King’s
for two days this past September to review the environmental
studies program. Prior to the site visits, King’s prepared a
comprehensive and detailed Self Study Report, which was given
to the SVET team in advance. The team interviewed those
involved with the delivery of the program as well as current
students, alumni of the program and employers. Out of their
review, the SVET team prepared a 36-page report evaluating the
program on the basis of an extensive set of criteria.
The King’s evaluation team concluded that all the criteria had
been met and there were no specific recommendations for
changes to the programs or their implementation.
The power of the ENVS program is in the ten areas of
concentration offered through bachelor of science and bachelor
of art degrees. With every student taking a different approach to
their degree in a different area of focus, King’s ENVS ??????)???????????????????????????????????????????????????)?????????????????????????????????????????????????)????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????)????????????????????????????????????????????????????(+?q????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????)????????????????? ???????????????????A?????????????Q????????????????????????????????)???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????)???????????-????e?9YL???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????)????????????????????????????????????????????????(+?p((?????Q???-????e?
?????????????M????????()-????e?M?????)Q????1???((?((