December 15, 2009

The College has again been re-accredited by National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD) for all of its eligible programs for the next five years. The NASAD accreditation is a renewal for our programs in Design & Merchandising, Digital Media, Fashion Design, Film & Video, Graphic Design, Interior Design and Photography, as well as first time accreditations for Television, Television Management, and the Visual Arts Management track of the Entertainment and Arts Management program—majors we've launched since the last accreditation. With 13 of our 18 programs up for NASAD accreditation, we've worked for nearly two years towards re-accreditation and nearly every faculty and staff member contributed to our self-study and to hosting the site visit. Dr. David Raizman organized our efforts and we congratulate him and all our faculty and staff for their support during this process.

NASAD, founded in 1944, is an organization of schools, colleges, and universities comprised of 294 accredited institutional members which represent the country's top art and design schools. It establishes national standards for undergraduate and graduate degrees and other credentials. The accreditation is a nearly all-consuming process of self-examination followed by an intensive visit from a team from the accrediting organization. Every aspect of our 13 programs was evaluated during the self study, which was provided to NASAD during their visit to campus in April, 2009. The self study is a nearly three hundred page report on our strategic plans that includes extensive specifics on our curriculum and faculty. And, as a self study, we included our own assessments of the progress and improvements we've made and those we intend to make in the coming years. Two hundred and eighty seven art and design schools are accredited by NASAD, including many of our peer institutions in the Philadelphia-area and most of the highest-ranked and best known art schools in the country.