Oklahoma CareerTech recently received renewed recognition as the agency responsible for approving public postsecondary vocational education in Oklahoma.
The approval came from the U.S. Department of Education and allows the Oklahoma State Board of Career and Technology Education to continue to be the accrediting body for Oklahoma’s technology centers.
“The Oklahoma CareerTech board accredits the tech centers to ensure that they are compliant with federal and state laws and regulations, committed to continuous improvement and contributing to a world-class workforce,” said Jessica Ventris, Oklahoma CareerTech director of academic affairs. “The process assesses the quality of programs and services offered.”
The renewed recognition comes at the end of a two-year process during which Oklahoma CareerTech worked with the National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity. The state agency submitted examples of everything it does to accredit schools, and a NACIQI representative attended an accreditation visit and watched an Oklahoma State Board of Career and Technology Education meeting.
NACIQI recommended approval to the U.S. Education Department.
Each technology center in the Oklahoma CareerTech system undergoes the accreditation process every five years. The process starts with the tech center conducting a self-assessment and includes site visits and interviews from an accreditation team composed of trained examiners from the agency and other tech centers.
Each accreditation report is presented to the CareerTech board with a recommendation from the Oklahoma CareerTech’s accreditation division. After board approval, each tech center submits a plan for improvements based on the report.
For more information about Oklahoma CareerTech’s accreditation division, visit https://oklahoma.gov/careertech/technology-centers/accreditation.html.
Oklahoma CareerTech: Education that works for you
The Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education provides leadership and resources and assures standards of excellence for a comprehensive statewide system of career and technology education. The system offers programs and services in 29 technology center districts operating on 60 campuses, 397 PK-12 school districts, 16 Skills Centers campuses that include three juvenile facilities and 32 adult education and family literacy providers.
The agency is governed by the State Board of Career and Technology Education and works closely with the State Department of Education and the State Regents for Higher Education to provide a seamless educational system for all Oklahomans.
