The National Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships announced Monday that it granted national accreditation to Southeast Technical's concurrent enrollment program. NACEP accreditation validates the quality of college courses offered in high schools and ensures that the course content and expectations for student work match the standards of the sponsoring post-secondary institution.

"I am ecstatic that our Connect 2 College program earned NACEP’s national accreditation," said President James Johnson of Minnesota State College – Southeast Technical. "This accreditation validates to our partners throughout rural southeast Minnesota of the deep, collaborative relationships our leadership team and faculty have fostered with secondary schools. Students throughout the region benefit from the advanced post-secondary standing they earn by successfully completing our courses."

NACEP Accreditation Committee Chair Becky Carter remarked: "I'm very pleased to recognize Connect 2 College (C2C) at Minnesota State College-Southeast Technical as one of a select group of 89 concurrent enrollment partnerships nationwide accredited through NACEP's extensive peer-review process. Minnesota State College-Southeast Technical has demonstrated to its peers that the college courses it offers in high schools are of the same quality as courses offered on campus."

To earn accreditation from NACEP, concurrent enrollment programs conduct a self-study, document how their programs adhere to NACEP's 17 standards, and are evaluated by peer reviewers from NACEP-accredited programs. NACEP’s standards were developed and refined over many years, serve as a model for quality standards in 15 states, and are adaptable to a wide range of higher education institutions.