Athens, Ga. – The University of Georgia College of Public Health has received a full seven-year reaccreditation, the maximum term awarded, from the Council on Education for Public Health.
The Council on Education for Public Health, or CEPH, is the only independent agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education to accredit schools and programs of public health. Accreditation by CEPH provides assurance that the school or program has been evaluated and has met accepted standards established by the public health profession.
“Our reaccreditation not only affirms the strengths and accomplishments of the College of Public Health but demonstrates our commitment to training the next generation of public health practitioners and scholars,” said Mark Wilson, the college’s associate dean for academic affairs.
Schools seeking accreditation are evaluated on criteria such as curriculum, student learning outcomes, resources, research opportunities and student and faculty interactions. For reaccreditation, schools are required by CEPH to conduct a self-study detailing how the school met each criterion.
The college submitted its preliminary self-study report in October 2013. A team of peer reviewers conducted an onsite visit to validate the self-study findings in March 2014.
During the site visit, the team interviewed school administrators, university officials, faculty, students, alumni and community leaders. The team also inspected the school’s facilities, examined documentation corroborating the self-study and prepared a report of its findings.
The CEPH Board of Councilors approved the college’s reaccreditation at its September meeting, extending it to Dec. 30, 2021.
This was the College of Public Health’s second review for accreditation as a school of public health. With its initial review in 2009, the college became the first CEPH accredited school of public health in the University System of Georgia.
“I would like to thank the faculty, staff, students, alumni and community partners who contributed to this achievement,” said Wilson, who led the self-study steering committee. “The tremendous effort they invested in this two-year process made this successful reaccreditation possible.”
Founded in 2005 as a response to the state’s need to address important health concerns in Georgia, the college offers degree programs in biostatistics, disaster management, environmental health, epidemiology, gerontology, global health, health promotion and behavior, public health, health policy and management and toxicology. The college is comprised of 65 full-time faculty members, over 800 students and more than 3,000 alumni.
Currently, the CPH has over $30 million in active grants and, in fiscal year 2013, brought in more than $8 million in annual funding from agencies that include the National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. Department of Health and Humans Services and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
In addition to its research activities, the college’s service and outreach efforts have impacted communities across Georgia. Current projects underway include community-based obesity interventions like Action Pack Families in Colquitt County and the coordination of emergency response exercises in 232 hospital and health care institutions statewide.
Copies of the CEPH’s report are available by request to the college’s Office of the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at cphadm@uga.edu.
