While the true measure of our success is in the success of our graduates, it is rewarding when our efforts are recognized by outside organizations.
After a two-year self-study process concluding in 2009, president Dr. James M. Harder announced in that the HLC approved Bluffton University for the maximum 10-years of continuing institutional accreditation. Bluffton has been accredited by the HLC since 1956.
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In additional, several individual academic programs at Bluffton are accredited.
Education
Bluffton’s education department is accredited by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) and approved by the State Department of Education of Ohio for the preparation of teachers at the initial and advanced levels in the regular academic fields and in specialized fields.
NCATE currently accredits 623 institutions which produce two-thirds of the nation’s new teacher graduates each year. NCATE-accredited schools must meet rigorous standards set by the profession and members of the public. Teacher candidates must have in-depth knowledge of the subject matter that they plan to teach and the skills necessary to convey it so that students learn.
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Social work
The social work program is accredited by the Council on Social Work Education at the baccalaureate level. At the last review, Bluffton’s social work program received full re-accreditation through February 2013.
"For the institution and for prospective students, accreditation means they can have confidence that the program meets the standards of the profession," said Donald R. Brubaker, former director of social work program.
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Dietetics
The dietetics program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Dietetics Education of the American Dietetic Association. While Bluffton’s dietetics program has been "approved" by the America Dietetic Association since 1985, a change required that all programs undergo a more rigorous accreditation process, requiring an in-depth review by outside dietetics professionals. Bluffton University received initial accreditation of its dietetics program in 2005.
Bluffton is the only small, private university in Ohio to feature a dietetics program, and it attracts students from all over who are interested in the field. It is also the only Mennonite school to offer such a program.
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Music
Bluffton University is an accredited institutional member of the National Association of Schools of Music.
Recognitions
U.S.News and World Report
The 2012 edition of the U.S.News & World Report’s Best Colleges guidebook ranks Bluffton in the top tier - placing 25th among 95 institutions - in the "Best Regional Colleges" listing. Bluffton has made the U.S.News rankings the last 14 years.
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Barron’s Best Buys in College Education
Profiling nearly 300 colleges, private and public, across the United States, Barron's Best Buys in College Education is a practical and useful book. Barron's provides in-depth profiles with information about the setting (city, small town, etc.), the campus and academic atmosphere, application deadlines, financial aid, plus a profile of percentages graduating in various fields, how many go on to graduate school, how many land jobs immediately, and in what sorts of firms. Bluffton has been included in this annual publication since before 1999.
Affiliations
The university is an institutional member of
