2013 Standards
COAPRT has been undertaking a thorough review of the existing accreditation standards in order to remain responsive to the needs of accredited programs and at the forefront of parks, recreation and leisure services education. These efforts have resulted in the development of a set of student learning outcome-based standards. The Council has reviewed and incorporated feedback received from two rounds of public comment. The final 2013 COAPRT Standards have been published and are being pilot tested with selected programs representing the diversity of our profession. Additionally, the Council is seeking to engage other associations representing specialty interests in the recreation, park resources, and leisure services profession for assistance in developing accreditation standards specific to the needs of their specialty.
The following links provide information pertaining to the COAPRT Standards 2013. Programs now
have the option of addressing the standards in force at the time they began
their self-study or adopting the newest version and those versions are listed below with the version date.
The revision and development process takes time, as does the implementation process. The Council wants to ensure that voices of all constituent groups are heard and that the process for implementation is smooth and workable. Thus, the COAPRT has developed the following timeline:
- Publish draft standards for public review September 1, 2007
- Public review and input on draft standards September 2007 – December 1, 2007
- Publish revised draft standards for review January 15, 2008
- Publish final draft revised standards May 1, 2008
- Beta testing standards with pilot programs 2008 – 2009
- Engage potential specialization associations 2008 – 2009
- Develop training materials 2008 – 2009
- Piloting of accreditation process 2009 – 2010
- Optional compliance with new standards 2010 - 2012
- Mandatory compliance with new standards 2013
2004 Standards
The COAPRT
Standards 2004 have been revised, however remain in effect through 2013.
The new standards, COAPRT Standards 2013, are mandatory for all
academic accreditation visits taking place after October 1, 2012. Until
then, academic programs will have the option of complying with either
the 2004 or 2013 standards. The Council is developing additional
resources to assist academic programs with the transition to the 2013
standards and is piloting the process with a number of institutions over
the next several years.
TRiew/download the COAPRT Standards 2004.
Self Study Report Matrices:
The matrices shown
above assist both the institution and the COAPRT to see how the
accreditation standards are addressed by required courses. If OPTIONS
are also accredited, a matrix must be completed for the Option Standards
in the appropriate 9.00 series. Both the 8.0 professional competencies
standards and the 9.0 option standards (if applicable) should have one
specific course with primary responsibility for addressing the standard
(noted with a P in the matrix). If more than one course has primary
responsibility for addressing a standard there must be a discussion
within the self-study of how these courses are organized to ensure that a
standard is addressed. Note: The standards numbers included in the
templates refer to the 2004 edition of the Standards and Evaluative
Criteria. Course numbers are fictional samples and should be replaced
with your program courses and numbers.
Do you have a question/comment or would you like to provide feedback regarding the COAPRT accreditation process? Please submit your question or comment via the online form and someone will be in contact with you.