“The New Evangelization impels us to continue joyfully responding to the Spirit that never ceases to stimulate our communities to a deep conversion. Our call to celebrate the Gospel and to proclaim it to all our communities is at the very core of the creative ministry of the FIP. With years of Hispanic experience the Federation will continue to respond to the challenges of today’s world and will continue to serve by offering excellent faith, academic, and ministerial formation to our communities and beyond.”
What is Accreditation?
Accreditation refers to a range of activities concerned broadly with the assessment of new or existing programs. Accreditation is a process used by educational institutions and dioceses to ensure that their formation programs meet and maintain, minimum standards of quality and integrity regarding academic administration and related services. It is a systematic process by which the strengths and weaknesses of a specific program are analyzed. It implies several activities oriented to assess the conditions in which that program operates. It is important to understand it as an opportunity to introduce positive changes or renewal of the program.
What is the Purpose of the Accreditation process?
The purpose of most accreditations is similar in different context and realities:
- Improve the quality of educational programs through the use of standards and rigorous evaluation criteria.
- Achieve the best use of resources.
- Foster cooperation among the administrative and academic personnel.
- Facilitate academic planning and budgeting.
- Stimulate institutions toward higher levels of efficiency.
- Provide a system for public trust and accountability.
Why are these processes relevant today?
We all know that many pastoral programs have been established to serve the lay Hispanic population in the United States. However, there are serious questions about the quality of some of them and how they are responding to the needs and reality of the Hispanics. The Accreditation is a strategy to promote a constant improvement of these efforts because within the Catholic Church there is no centralized authority for accreditation of these types of programs.
Who does it?
The Accreditation team is formed by FIP’s members, advised by an expert.
Members:
Luz Romay (Advisor) Carlos Aedo
Paulina Espinosa Alejandro Siller
Miriam Bannon
Testimonials of Institutes that have experience the process:
"The evaluation was performed in an atmosphere of cordiality and great professionalism. Criteria were experienced as an organization.”
-Miguel Moreno
Instituto de Miguel Agustín Pro
“The self-assessment helped us identify areas for improvement. The committee's visit served to encourage us. We feel solidarity in those weak areas, it also reinforced us on areas of strengths of the assessment, that we were already doing. The committee’s representatives were able to enter our reality with objectivity.”
-Miriam Bannon
ICLM
For more information on the accreditation process or costs, please contact us at info@fipusa.org.
[Click here to download the accreditation brochure]
(Available only in Spanish)
top of page