Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH) Accreditation
2022 Accreditation Process
First accredited in 2010, the School of Public Health will be reviewed for reaccreditation in 2022. The reaccreditation review requires the development of a comprehensive self-study, which will be submitted to CEPH in May 2022, followed by a site visit by CEPH on October 31 – November 2, 2022. A decision is expected in May 2023, and our current accreditation will remain valid through that time. The SPH reaccreditation effort is being led by the Associate Dean for Academic and Faculty Affairs together with the Office of Planning and Evaluation and several SPH members, forming eight sub-committees across the CEPH criteria sections. We began our efforts formally in September 2020 with the launch of the sub-committees and the development of the self-study documents, and have been engaging with our SPH community members in the reaccreditation process in various ways. Additional updates on this process will be provided throughout the year.
2022 Self-Study Report
The University of Maryland School of Public Health has a CEPH accreditation review scheduled for October 31, 2022. CEPH is accepting written comments on the School’s practices, procedures, and policies up to 30 days prior to the site visit. Students, alumni, faculty, staff, community partners, and members of the general public are invited to submit written comments directly to CEPH at submissions@ceph.org no later than September 30, 2022. If you have any questions about this process, please contact Stephen Roth at sroth1@umd.edu.
Access our self study for the accreditation review here.
The information below provides an overview of our prior, successful reaccreditation process, including links to our 2015 self-study and CEPH’s final report.
2015 Accreditation Process
In 2015, the University of Maryland School of Public Health successfully completed the reaccreditation process and is CEPH-accredited through 2022.
Accreditation is an important process of peer review to assess and verify the quality of institutions, programs and services, and to ensure continuous improvement. Schools and programs in public health are reviewed and accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH), the independent accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education to ensure the quality of education and training in public health. The University of Maryland School of Public Health was first accredited by CEPH in 2010 and successfully completed our reaccreditation review in 2015.
Overview of the 2015 Accreditation Process
The school conducts and produces a self-study that comprehensively describes and evaluates the school’s organization, governance, resources, faculty, students, curriculum, research, and services within the context of specific criteria set forth by CEPH. An external peer review committee evaluates the resulting self-study, then visits the school and meets with a variety of stakeholders including faculty, students, staff, alumni, and external community representatives. This committee makes a recommendation to the CEPH Board on whether the school should continue to be accredited; the CEPH Board subsequently makes the ultimate decision.
About the 2015 Self-Study
The format of the document and many of the tables are prescribed by the CEPH Criteria and organized into four major sections: (1) The School, (2) Instructional Programs, (3) Creation, Application and Advancement of Knowledge, and (4) Faculty, Staff and Students. Like most accreditation documents, it is heavily process-oriented and supported by data and examples. In addition to the data tables in this document, an additional PDF of appendices includes key data tables referenced in the self-study document.
View the UMD School of Public Health Self-Study for CEPH Accreditation.
About the 2015 Site Visit
The on-site visit by a team of peer reviewers is an important component of the accreditation process. This affords the review team opportunity to validate the self-study document, and to elicit clarifying and complementary information from faculty, staff, students, alumni and community partners. The UMD SPH site visit was held April 29 through May 1, 2015.
| Date | Milestone | Completed? |
|---|---|---|
| 12/1/2014 | Preliminary Self-Study & Electronic Resource File Due to CEPH | Yes |
| 1/29/15 | Receipts of "comments letter" from CEPH Preliminary Reviewers on Preliminary Self-Study | Yes |
| 1/29/14-3/29/15 | All SPH constituents notified of accreditation review and opportunity to submit 3rd party comments to CEPH | Yes |
| 3/30/15 | Final Self-Study Document Due to CEPH | Yes |
| 4/29/15-5/1/15 | CEPH Official Site Visit | Yes |
| 10/22/15-10/24/15 | CEPH Board of Councilors Meeting, accreditation decision made | Yes |
| Nov. 2015 R | Receive official CEPH notification of accreditation decision (Within 30 days of CEPH Board of Councilors Meeting) | Yes |
CEPH accreditation serves multiple purposes for different constituents. In general, specialized accreditation attests to the quality of an educational program that prepares for entry into a recognized profession.
- For the public, accreditation promotes the health, safety and welfare of society by assuring competent public health professionals.
- For prospective students and their parents, accreditation serves a consumer protection purpose. It provides assurance that the school or program has been evaluated and has met accepted standards established by and with the profession.
- For prospective employers, it provides assurance that the curriculum covers essential skills and knowledge needed for today’s jobs.
- For graduates, it promotes professional mobility and enhances employment opportunities in positions that base eligibility upon graduation from an accredited school or program.
- For public health workers, it involves practitioners in the establishment of standards and assures that educational requirements reflect the current training needs of the profession.
- For the profession, it advances the field by promoting standards of practice and advocating rigorous preparation.
- For the federal government and other public funding agencies, it serves as a basis for determining eligibility for federally funded programs and student financial aid.
- For foundations and other private funding sources, it represents a highly desirable indicator of a program’s quality and viability.
- For the university, it provides a reliable basis for inter- and intra-institutional cooperative practices, including admissions and transfer of credit.
- For the faculty and administrators, it promotes ongoing self-evaluation and continuous improvement and provides an effective system for accountability.
- For the school or program, accreditation enhances its national reputation and represents peer recognition.