Accreditation
Accreditation
WKU's B.S. in Recreation, Park, and Nonprofit Administration is accredited by the Council on Accreditation of Parks, Recreation, Tourism and Related Professions (COAPRT).
WKU was one of the first 16 programs to be nationally accredited in 1980. Since that time, the program has successfully maintained its accredited status which is reported on annually and receives a comprehensive review every seven years.
The Council on Accreditation of Parks, Recreation, Tourism and Related Professions (COAPRT) accredits baccalaureate programs in parks, recreation, tourism, sport management, event management, therapeutic recreation, and leisure studies offered at regionally accredited institutions within the United States and its territories, and at nationally accredited institutions in Canada, and Mexico.
As part of maintaining accreditation with the Council on Accreditation of Parks, Recreation, Tourism and Related Professions we are required to post our annual report and learning outcomes data (see below).
- 2025 Annual Report (2023-24 academic year data)
- 2023-24 academic year (7.0 series aggregate learning outcomes data)
- 2024 Annual Report (2022-23 academic year data)
- 2023 Annual Report (2021-22 academic year data)
- 2022 Annual Report (2020-21 academic year data)
- 2021 Annual Report (2019-20 academic year data)
Important Information Regarding Degree Mills and the Value of Accreditation
Please watch this important video regarding degree and accreditation mills. According to CHEA, "Degree mills and accreditation mills mislead and harm. In the United States, degrees and certificates from mills may not be acknowledged by other institutions when students seek to transfer or go to graduate school. Employers may not acknowledge degrees and certificates from degree mills when providing tuition assistance for continuing education. "Accreditation" from an accreditation mill can mislead students and the public about the quality of an institution. In the presence of degree mills and accreditation mills, students may spend a good deal of money and receive neither an education nor a useable credential." Read more on CHEA's website.
CHEA defines accreditation as "the primary means of assuring and improving the quality of higher education institutions and programs in the United States. Active for the past 100 years, this private, voluntary system of self-examination and peer review has been central to the creation of a U.S. higher education enterprise that is outstanding in many respects." Read more about the Value of Accreditation.
WKU was one of the first 16 programs to be nationally accredited in 1980.
Since that time, the program has successfully maintained its accredited status which is currently reviewed every seven years by the Council on Accreditation of Parks, Recreation, Tourism and Related Professions.