CEPH accreditation of stand-alone baccalaureate programs: a preliminary mapping exercise

Area of Science:

• Public Health Education
• Curriculum Development
• Accreditation Standards

Background:

• Quality assurance in health education is crucial for program effectiveness.
• The Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH) has new accreditation standards for baccalaureate public health programs.
• Health education specialists require specific competencies addressed by these standards.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide background on health education quality assurance.
• To overview the new CEPH accreditation process for public health programs.
• To describe the curriculum review experiences of two academic programs against CEPH requirements.

Main Methods:

• Two universities (University of Alabama, UNC Wilmington) conducted curriculum mapping.
• Courses were analyzed for introduction, reinforcement, and coverage of CEPH Critical Components Elements.
• The curriculum mapping process was documented.

Main Results:

• The curriculum mapping identified specific courses addressing CEPH requirements.
• The experience provided practical insights into aligning academic programs with accreditation standards.
• The study details the process of evaluating course content against new CEPH criteria.

Conclusions:

• Academic programs can successfully adapt to new CEPH accreditation standards through curriculum review.
• Curriculum mapping is an effective method for ensuring alignment with accreditation requirements.
• Recommendations are provided for programs pursuing CEPH accreditation.