Contact:
John Adey at ABYC
(410)
990-4460, x117
jadey@abycinc.org
Contact:
Dave Gerr at Westlawn
(207)
853-6600, x50
dgerr@westlawn.edu

Westlawn Announces its Ninth
Reaccreditation
DETC Finds Top-Notch
Boat-Design Training at Westlawn

February 24, 2012,
Annapolis, MD and Eastport, ME: The Westlawn
Institute of Marine Technology is pleased to announce that its U.S. accrediting
body, the Distance Education and Training
Council (DETC), has reaccredited Westlawn without condition, during
Westlawn’s regular five-year reaccreditation review. This is the ninth
consecutive reaccreditation for Westlawn Institute without a single condition
or correction required—a nearly unequalled record. Founded in 1930, Westlawn
has been nationally accredited by DETC since 1971—for forty years. Westlawn’s
next reaccreditation is scheduled for five years from now, starting in 2016.
Michael P. Lambert, Executive
Director of the Federally-recognized Distance Education and Training Council
(DETC), located in Washington, DC, said this about Westlawn's grant of
reaccreditation:
"Westlawn Institute has been
accredited by DETC for the past forty years, and this most recent
reaccreditation underscores the fact that Westlawn has continued once again to
prove that it meets the very rigorous academic and business standards of the
DETC.
Accreditation from DETC is not easily
earned, and only about one in five applicant institutions are able to achieve
it. The standards of DETC are among the most stringent and consumer-friendly in
the nation, and Westlawn has earned its accreditation laurels without
conditions nine times in the past four decades. Each time, Westlawn has been
able to sail past the finishing line with all colors flying, and each time,
Westlawn has shown that it merits the utmost confidence of the public, the
boating industry and most of all its students as being the very best it can be
as a world-class educational institution.
On behalf of the Accrediting
Commission of the DETC, we warmly congratulate Westlawn Institute on its
well-deserved grant of reaccreditation."
Westlawn director, Dave
Gerr, stated:
“People outside of the academic world
are often unfamiliar with the accreditation process. It is exhaustive. In fact,
the U.S. Department of Education sets the overall regulations that govern the
process, and in recent years has made requirements more and more rigorous. This
includes a requirement that all accredited institutions be 100% compliant with
all regulations and standards. There is no longer any allowance even for minor
deviations. In addition to complying with regulations and standards, accredited
institutions must submit their entire curriculum for review to two outside
experts in the field being taught. These experts are selected independently by
DETC and, favorable or not, the school never knows who the reviewing experts
are, so evaluations are completely unbiased and completely independent.
Accreditation further looks at every aspect of a school’s operation, from
enrollment and grading policies, through student services, to financial and
accounting practices, to long-range planning.
Though it’s a big project and a big
investment for any school—made even tougher by the new Department of Ed
rules—the work involved for accreditation pays off in systematically ensuring
that the school evaluates and improves its programs and operations. Further,
the school receives outside assessments and recommendations from other
education professionals. Even more important is the benefit to our students who
can be assured of the very best educational experience, industry recognition of
their training, and the ability to transfer credit to other schools and
educational programs. We’ve found DETC to be an invaluable partner for over
four decades, and look forward to their continued support.”
In addition to its
long-standing U.S. accreditation by DETC, Westlawn Institute’s Yacht & Boat
Design Program was accredited by the Royal
Institution of Naval Architects (RINA), in London, England, in May of 2011.
Westlawn Institute thus maintains two accreditations, U.S. and international.
The Distance Education and Training Council (DETC)
is a non-profit accrediting association located in Washington, D.C. The Council
was founded in 1926 to promote sound educational standards and ethical business
practices within the correspondence field. The independent nine-member
Accrediting Commission of the DETC was established in 1955; shortly thereafter
it gained the approval of the U.S.
Department of Education as a "nationally recognized accrediting
agency" under terms of Public Law. The Council
for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) also recognizes the Accrediting
Commission.
With its 86 years of history
and its highly refined and federally recognized accreditation program, DETC
offers distance-learning institutions the most current, relevant and practical
services for the 21st Century. DETC accreditation assures students, employers
and the public that the institutions it accredits have been thoroughly
evaluated and been found to meet the highest educational and administrative
standards of excellence.
Founded
in 1930, the Westlawn Institute of Marine
Technology is the only nationally accredited distance-learning school of
small-craft design in the United States. Westlawn is accredited by
the Distance Education and Training Council (DETC), in
Washington DC, and is listed as an accredited school by the U.S. Department of
Education and by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). Westlawn
is internationally accredited by the
Royal
Institution of Naval Architects (RINA), in London, England. As
the not-for-profit educational affiliate of the American
Boat and Yacht Council (ABYC), the mission of the Westlawn Institute of
Marine Technology is threefold:
· To provide our
students with the skills and knowledge required to build a rewarding career in
the profession of yacht and small-craft naval architecture, via distance
learning.
· To support continued
growth of the recreational and small-craft marine community through the
development of well-trained, safety-oriented, boat designers developing better
products for the benefit of the boating public.
· To provide continuing
education to marine-industry professionals.
To
learn more about Westlawn, please call (207) 853-6600 or visit the Westlawn
website at: www.westlawn.edu.