The Council on Occupational Education (COE) will conduct the Center for Naval Aviation Technical Training's (CNATT) Reaffirmation of Accreditation, Aug. 10-12, at the Pensacola, Florida, command.

The center announced, July 14, that Sailors and Marines can ask questions or comment about their training as part of the process.

COE is a non-profit voluntary membership organization serving postsecondary education and training institutions, centers, and similar entities, interested in the improvement of the workforce. The process will cover training throughout the CNATT domain, which trains more than 115,000 students annually at 27 subordinate learning sites located throughout the continental United States, Hawaii, and Japan.

"Accreditation is a status granted to a learning institution or program that meets or exceeds the criteria and standards of learning established by COE," said Randall Getchell, CNATT's COE accreditation liaison officer. "Accreditation has two fundamental purposes, to assure the quality of CNATT, and to assist in the improvement of CNATT and its programs. It's important that CNATT maintain its accreditation as a status of its continual improvement process to provide the best training and education to its students."

COE requires all organizations to conduct a self-evaluation or self-study before the team visit. There are 10 standards organizations must meet in order to be accredited through COE, and the self-study allows the organization time to meet those standards and prepare documentation to support their achieving those standards.

"Among other areas, we look at our mission and outcomes, as well as the learning resources, physical and technical infrastructure, and even our services and activities provided for students - our Sailors and Marines," explained Getchell. "The process of identifying needed improvements and designating them for immediate, short-term, or longer-term implementation is one benefit of the self-study process."

The visiting COE team will rely on CNATT's Self-Study Report, other available documentation, personnel interviews, and observations of conditions and practices, to determine if CNATT is in compliance with the standards and criteria required for accreditation.

"As part of the self-study, we invite past, present, and potential students, as well as fleet personnel, to contact us with any questions or comments about CNATT's COE accreditation," said Getchell. "They can reach me via email at randall.getchell@navy.mil, or (850) 452-8196; DSN: 459-8196."

For additional information about COE visit http://www.council.org/

For information about CNATT visit http://www.netc.navy.mil/centers/cnatt/
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