The process includes an application for candidacy, a candidacy visit, a candidacy approval vote by the Commission, a self-study report, a preliminary visit by the team leader, a team visit, a team report, the school’s response, and a final accreditation approval vote by the Commission. As COE is a national accreditation agency, and to insure objectivity, each visiting team member should be from a different state and no team member may be from the state of the host school.

The self-study and COE team visitation study address accreditation requirements from two perspectives.  First, the operations of the school, learning resources, budget, staffing, and support services are assessed in a manner similar to that of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS).  Secondly, each occupational training program is assessed for compliance with COE standards.  Some of the standards for each program are industry endorsed curriculum, student retention and completion rates, job placement rates, documented employer participation, and licensure exam pass rates.