The Commission Executive Committee of the Council on Occupational Education has granted accreditation to the Arkansas Career Training Institute.
The accreditation comes for the comprehensive rehabilitation center after an extensive self-study and a team review process and was voted upon by members of the committee.
ACTI is one of eight comprehensive rehabilitation centers nationwide, offering Arkansans with disabilities a wide range of programs in vocational training, employability skills instruction, medical services, and counseling. ACTI joins the Woodrow Wilson Rehabilitation Center in Virginia as COE-accredited institutions.
"I am incredibly excited the Arkansas Career Training Institute has achieved accreditation," said Jonathan Bibb, who serves as ACTI administrator and the interim commissioner of Arkansas Rehabilitation Services.
"This is a monumental accomplishment and is a result of the commitment on the part of the ACTI Leadership Team as well as the support from all divisions of the Arkansas Department of Career Education."
Leaders at ACTI began pursuing accreditation in May 2011. The goal was to pursue state and national certifications for the available programs and then seek full accreditation.
"I remember clearly the exhortation spoken by Arkansas Department of Career Education Director [William L. "Bill"] Walker: 'When a student walks across the stage and receives a diploma from ACTI, it has to be more than just a piece of paper!' Now our diplomas are backed not only by state licensures and national certifications, but they are awarded by a nationally-accredited institute," Commissioner Bibb says.
The Council on Occupational Education assures quality and integrity in career and technical education. The accreditation lasts until 2020 and will require the facility to host a visiting team in that year for reaffirmation.
"This is another step to ensure the students who leave ACTI have the best skills to become gainfully employed and develop into productive, tax-paying citizens in our cities, our state, and our country," said Director Walker.
"Commissioner Bibb and the ACTI Leadership Team are to be commended for reaching this historic day in the life of ACTI."
Local on 07/05/2014