Medical Education and Training Campus awarded national accreditation Published April 22, 2013 By Lisa Braun METC Public Affairs FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas -- The Medical Education and Training Campus (METC) has been granted accreditation status by the Commission of the Council on Occupational Education (COE). The announcement was made by Gregory Garrett, COE chair, following a meeting in Kissimmee, Fla. Feb. 16-18. The award of accreditation status was based on an evaluation to demonstrate that METC meets not only the standards of quality of the COE, but also the needs of students, the community, and employers. The COE's evaluation process included an extensive self-study performed by METC and an intensive review by a visiting team of professional educators representing the COE's member institutions from other states. Navy Rear Adm. Bill Roberts, METC commandant, praised the METC team for its success. "I am intensely proud of the entire METC team, especially our Standards and Evaluation personnel, for their notable contributions to this singular achievement," he said. Army Col. Larry Hanson, METC's dean of academics, credits the hard work and detailed preparation by METC personnel for this achievement. "The highly successful COE accreditation survey was only accomplished through the meticulous preparatory work the staff and programs did preparing METC's responses to the 10 COE standards. METC would not have been successful without the hard work and support of the entire Campus." Institutional membership in COE can only be achieved by becoming accredited. There are currently over 400 institutional members, including postsecondary public technical institutes, specialized military and national defense schools, Job Corps Centers, private career schools, non-profit technical education providers, corporate and industry education units, and federal agency institutions. Institutional accreditation is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.