The School’s BSPH offering is now one of just 12 standalone public health baccalaureate programs in the nation—and currently the only one in Florida—accredited by CEPH. The accreditation is for a five-year term, through July 1, 2023.
“We’re definitely among the earliest programs to be recognized in this process,” said Martin M. Zdanowicz, Ph.D., M.A.Ed., M.A., associate dean for Health Studies at the School of Nursing and Health Studies (SONHS).
After graduating its first BSPH class in 2016, the SONHS was eligible to embark on the extensive CEPH application process. Accreditation by CEPH, an independent agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education, is retroactive. It applies to all graduates of the program, which was launched in 2012 with accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.
“I am very proud of Dr. Zdanowicz and our faculty for creating and sustaining excellence in undergraduate public health education at the SONHS, and equally proud of our exceptional staff and amazing students,” said Dean and Professor Cindy L. Munro, PhD, RN, ANP-BC, FAAN, FAANP, FAAAS.
The accreditation review involved detailed documentation and on-site interviews addressing eight overall review standards, such as faculty, areas of study, and student outcomes.
“One of the most important outcomes CEPH looks for,” Zdanowicz explained, “is our ability to demonstrate that students who leave the program go on to graduate schools at high rates and are able to pursue their careers in public health.”
The program’s first graduating class of 27 students had a 96 percent retention rate and a 90 percent post-graduation placement rate, he said. This past spring, 53 out of 55 graduating BSPH students, or 96 percent, reported employment and/or graduate school placement.
The CEPH’s final report, said Zdanowicz, underscored the program’s high quality of education, which includes many opportunities for local and international fieldwork, research with faculty, and career preparation.
“Massive kudos to the faculty—Dr. Ashley Falcon, Dr. Andrew Porter, and Dr. Diego Deleon. They were recognized by everybody, and particularly the students, as being phenomenally dedicated and outstanding,” says Zdanowicz. “They bring lots of innovation to the program and use many teaching techniques to really engage the students and prepare them to go out and be successful in tackling health challenges worldwide. The accreditation would never have occurred without them.”
CEPH’s two corporate members are the American Public Health Association and Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health. SONHS and the Graduate Programs in Public Health at the Miller School of Medicine also offer the CEPH-accredited BSPH to Master’s in Public Health (MPH) and Master of Science in Public Health (MSPH) 4+1 programs.
