A 5-member team of Council on Occupational Education (COE) inspectors completed their thorough review of the Self-Review for Center for Service Support (CSS) on Aug. 20. This is the final step prior to full COE accreditation.

The council is a nonprofit, voluntary membership organization serving post-secondary education and training institutions to provide quality assurance reviews of their workforce training programs.

The COE determined that CSS was in compliance with all ten of their standards and recommended CSS for re-accreditation without any follow-on recommendations. All five members of the team responded, "no findings, no recommendations," as they debriefed Capt. Derric T. Turner, CSS commanding officer.

"The comments per category were consistent, "No findings, no recommendations, and no suggestions," said Turner in an email to the entire CSS domain. "It doesn't get any better than this exceptional result for our important/significant 5-year accreditation."

"It was especially great to hear from the COE team members that they appreciate working with military organizations," said John Smith, CSS curriculum evaluation and accreditation manager. "They each affirmed the professionalism of CSS personnel and the exceptional services and products we provide our customers."

According to Dan Dull, Ed.D, team leader for the inspection team, COE is a national accrediting agency that conducts in-depth reviews of occupational programs to validate career and workforce training standards and practices. The council evaluates various public and private organizations using the standards and criteria outlined in their charter. There are typically 10 or 11 applicable standards that organizations must meet in order to be accredited through COE.

"The most challenging aspect of our responsibility is deciphering the language of diverse communities we inspect, Dull said. "The military has a lot of jargon and acronyms. Often we have a ask questions to gain a complete understanding of the organization."

COE requires all organizations to conduct a self-study before their team visit. This self-study is compiled into a volume publication that defines and self-reports on the 10-standards. The study becomes a vehicle for an organization's future improvement and development, which usually aligns to or supports the development of a command's strategic planning efforts.

CSS conducted a self-study process during the past nine months to document the qualifications required for COE accreditation. During their assessment, the COE team reviews all self-study documents; interview staff, faculty, administrators and students; visit three of the seven CSS commands and learning sites, review procedures, policies, programs and plans; and seek to secure a comprehensive view of an organization. COE's close observation of an organization's conditions and practices are used to determine compliance with the standards and criteria required for accreditation. CSS's self-study supports the command mission "to provide Sailors in the Naval Administration, Logistics, and Media communities the necessary skills, knowledge, and education to enhance lifelong learning and to support the fleet's warfighting mission."

CSS is comprised of active-duty military, civilian and contractor personnel who direct the training efforts of administration, logistics and media schools for active-duty and commissioned officers. The CSS team ensures curriculum and professional development tools are current.

For more news from Center for Service Support, visit www.navy.mil/.