CONSTRUCTION WORKFORCE EDUCATION ACCREDITATION
In 2021, ACCE expanded its mission to include accreditation of Construction Workforce Education Programs, which combine on-the-job work experience with classroom study to teach construction-related skills, methods, terminology, and other pedagogical topics to individuals to enhance their ability to perform construction-related work in a professional, safe, and quality manner. This process is separate from ACCE’s Professional Development Certification Program, which certifies industry-related professional development programs offered by Educational Institutions, Industry Associations, and private companies.
Overview
The mission of ACCE is to be a leading global advocate of quality construction education and promote, support, and accredit construction education programs and single-purpose institutions.
ACCE is comprised of industry professionals and educators who volunteer to establish and maintain standards and criteria for accreditation, provide guidance to those programs seeking to achieve accredited status, and carry out the accreditation process.
Scope
There are a variety of Construction Workforce Education Programs. To enter this space, the Construction Workforce Education Committee started by creating standards for accrediting apprenticeship Institutions that have one or more RAPs in good standing with the US Department of Labor Office of Apprenticeship (OA).
CWE Committee
The Construction Workforce Education Committee is composed of industry professionals and educators. A list of current CWE committee members can be found here.
Requirements
Based on the current workforce education accreditation standards, to be considered for accreditation, a program in apprenticeship education must:
-
Be located in an Institution or in an organization that provides a program of education beyond that of the secondary level;
-
Be a construction trade-related Registered Apprenticeship Program (RAP) in good standing with the US Department of Labor Office of Apprenticeship (OA) as outlined in 29 CFR Part 29.
-
Have had at least one graduation cohort; and
-
It has been in operation for sufficient time to permit an objective evaluation by ACCE of its educational program.
Are you interested in submitting a Program or Institution for ACCE Accreditation?
ACCREDITATION PROCESS TIMELINE
To initiate the process, the institution desiring to pursue ACCE accreditation contacts the ACCE President to obtain relevant documentation. Documents are available here. The ACCE President will provide guidance on their use. Contact the ACCE office by email at acce@acce-hq.org.
The Institution provides ACCE with an application for Candidate Status. A Program may remain in Candidate Status for five years.
-
ACCE will set up a OneDrive folder for the Program to upload their documents.
-
ACCE will send invoice for current applicable Application Fee
-
ACCE will provide a Mentor to assist with the documentation and preparations
The Program uploads their documents to the OneDrive folder.
ACCE reviews the submitted documents to determine whether or not to admit the Program into Candidate Status.
The Program develops their Self-Evaluation Study and submits the document via OneDrive for ACCE review.
If the review of the Self-Evaluation Study indicates that the Program is ready for a site visit, a Visiting Team is organized and a visit scheduled. If issues remain that require resolution, the site visit will be deferred until they are corrected.
A site visit is conducted to verify the contents of the Self-Evaluation Study and that the program is in compliance with ACCE standards. ACCE will send an invoice for the current applicable fee to cover the costs of the visit.
The Visiting Team submits a report of the site visit to the ACCE Board of Trustees who makes the final decision regarding award of accreditation during one of ACCE's Semi-Annual Conferences
ACCE notifies the institution immediately of the Board's decision. A letter to the Institution is sent regarding the terms of the award of accreditation.
Construction Workforce Accreditation Documents and Forms can be found on the Forms & Documents page under the RESOURCES tab above or here.
Are you interested in submitting a Program or Institution for ACCE Accreditation?