Professional accreditation

The primary value of accreditation is in the process itself and not in the decision whether a faculty of forestry's program is accredited. To be valuable, the accreditation process should encourage and assist Canadian university faculties of forestry to assess and improve their educational programs. All other results of accreditation are secondary to this objective.Accreditation is a voluntary, non-governmental procedure, that must continue in this tradition if its values are to be protected and enhanced. Effective implementation will require a clear recognition and appreciation of what accreditation is all about. A national accreditation process, properly implemented, is an element essential to the pursuit of excellence in the forestry profession in Canada. No other similar cooperative initiative in recent history has such potential to advance forestry practice and education in Canada.