How CASCE Accreditation Will Elevate Your Strength and Conditioning Program
Your strength and conditioning academic program stands to gain in multiple ways with CASCE accreditation.
Introduction
CASCE accreditation is designed to help your program recruit more high-caliber students and prepare them for fulfilling careers in the strength and conditioning industry.
In doing so, you fortify your program’s reputation as a leader in our field and propel our industry to new heights of professional excellence.
CASCE accreditation isn’t just a box for you to check or a badge to place on your website. It’s a long-term investment in your program’s success. Our team understands that the accreditation journey takes time, resources, and effortful collaboration, so we’ve worked hard to ensure that it strengthens your program in the short term and contributes to your long-term development as a CSCS exam-ready program.
Throughout the accreditation process, the CASCE team will be here to support you from start to finish. We’ve compiled this guide to help you understand the benefits of accreditation and communicate them to students, faculty, and administrative leaders. Along the way, we’ll offer insider tips for your journey to accreditation, informed by our conversations with leaders at CASCE-accredited schools. Thank you for joining us!
Why CASCE?
As a program leader, you’re responsible for leveraging a limited pool of resources to balance numerous competing demands, all while facilitating the delivery of consistently excellent education. We understand that your work is challenging—CASCE accreditation was built with that in mind.
Our framework was developed in collaboration with leaders in the strength and conditioning industry to provide value to everyone invested in your program, from high-level administrators to first-year students.
Here’s a closer look at how CASCE accreditation will enhance your program, empower your students, and elevate our industry.
Enhancing Your Program
CASCE accreditation is highly valuable for your program, beginning from the moment you gain accreditation and lasting for decades. With CASCE, your program will benefit from:
Stronger Recruitment
High-performing students and faculty will gravitate toward your program, facilitating enrollment growth.
Proof of Credibility
Accreditation provides concrete evidence that your program delivers a high-quality education and stellar outcomes.
Enhanced Reputation
Your association with the NSCA’s CSCS will elevate your program’s value by demonstrating its relevance to the industry.
Industry Leadership
As you consistently graduate well-trained professionals, you’ll drive our field toward new standards in performance and safety.
Empowering Your Students
Sustained growth in strength and conditioning begins with equipping students for success. With CASCE, your students will benefit from:
Automatic CSCS Qualification
The CASCE framework is designed to help your students excel on the CSCS certification exam, the gold standard in our profession.
Authoritative Assurance
Your students will enter your program confident that they’ll receive the knowledge and skills needed for fulfilling careers.
A Top-Tier Education
Coupled with CSCS certification, a degree from a CASCE-accredited program sets graduates apart in the eyes of potential employers.
Elevating Our Industry
Accreditation truly matters because of the impact it will have on athletes of all ages: keeping them safe, healthy, and performing at their best. With CASCE, our industry will benefit from:
A Well-Qualified Workforce
As demand for injury prevention rapidly grows, highly qualified professionals are needed now more than ever.
Consistency in Training
CASCE’s rigorous, standardized process ensures that recent graduates can safely and effectively train and care for athletes.
Satisfied State Regulators
Improved standards give legislators and state regulators confidence that our profession will evolve alongside the changing strength and conditioning landscape.
Industry Momentum
Accreditation elevates the credibility of our profession, facilitating progress and safeguarding against stagnation
Communicating CASCE Benefits To Key StakeHolders
Now that you have a firm understanding of the benefits of accreditation, we’ll move into an equally crucial topic: how you can communicate them to students, faculty, and administrators. The examples below offer guidance on how you might speak with each group about the value of CASCE accreditation.
Speaking with Students“Eager to get hands-on experience? CASCE programs give you the opportunity to gain real-world training, supervised by passionate, experienced professionals.” “Whether your dream is to train NFL athletes, work in college athletics, or help make strength training more accessible to the general public, picking a CASCE-accredited program is the best first step.” “By choosing a CASCE-accredited program, you automatically qualify for the CSCS certification exam, which is the gold standard for strength and conditioning professionals. Earning your CSCS certification doesn’t just demonstrate your commitment to professional excellence, it opens new doors for career growth and boosts your earning potential.” |
Speaking with Faculty“CASCE accreditation will bring more high-performing students to your classroom. Whether you’re teaching first-years or graduate students, this uptick in enrollment will allow you to do more of what you love: help students succeed.” “CASCE-accredited programs are leading the charge toward excellence in strength and conditioning education and research, positioning you to rise to the higher standard in your work.” “CASCE-accredited programs are leading the charge toward excellence in strength and conditioning education and research, positioning you to rise to the higher standard in your work.” |
Speaking with Administrators“CASCE brings prestige. By cementing your status as a leader in your region, you’ll more easily attract talented students and world-class faculty members.” “The quality of your education drives your reputation. Working through CASCE’s collaborative accreditation process is the best way to ensure that your departments are delivering top-tier education.” “CASCE is focused on elevating our profession — not just for years, but for decades. In leading the ascent toward excellence, you pave the way for sustainable program growth and enhance the credibility of our profession in the eyes of state regulators and the general public.” |
Preparing For CASCE Accreditation
We understand that accreditation is a significant investment for your program, and the CASCE team is here to support you and your program every step of the way. Please reach out to accreditation@nsca.com with any questions and we’ll get back to you promptly.
As you progress toward accreditation, we recommend that you take the following steps to make sure that your entire institution is on the same page.
As You Explore Accreditation
While discussing accreditation, you should become familiar with the basics of CASCE.
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- Read the Guide to Accreditation to learn more about the policies, procedures, and general timelines associated with the accreditation process.
- Review the Professional Standards and Guidelines to understand the exact standards you must meet to become accredited and assess your readiness.
- Nail down the key deadlines. Remember, the CASCE application window is October 1 through December 1!
Prior to Applying
Before you begin your application, use our pre-application toolkit.
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- Take the short Get Started Quiz to find out how well you meet the criteria for CASCE accreditation.
- Use the Program Readiness Tool to determine how your program matches up with every CASCE standard and receive guidance for achieving compliance.
Once you’ve confirmed that your program has the core pieces in place and aligned with administrative leaders in pursuit of accreditation, you’re ready to complete the application any time between October 1 and December 1. After submitting your application and paying the application fee, your program will conduct a Self-Study during the academic year to identify its strengths, weaknesses, and degree of compliance with CASCE standards.
Remember: The accreditation process typically takes two years, so it’s in your best interest to get started soon!
Reach out to accreditation@nsca.com with any questions.
The CASCE Accreditation Journey: Insider Tips
Our team collected input from leaders at programs that have recently achieved CASCE accreditation. As you embark on your accreditation journey, keep their advice in mind.
Tip 1: Connect with the CASCE team and community.
The journey to CASCE accreditation is meant to be a dynamic, interactive process. If you run into roadblocks along the way, contact our team and we’ll work with you to find the best path forward. Connecting with leaders at programs that have already completed the process is another great way to stay on top of key requirements.
Tip 2: Align with administrative leaders early.
Due to the rigor of the accreditation process, it’s crucial to have all key players on the same page before diving into the details. To receive accreditation, your program may need to modify curricula, arrange for workload releases, and potentially hire new faculty members. As you coordinate changes like these with university administration, transparency and defined avenues of communication will prove invaluable.
Tip 3: Know the Guide to Accreditation like the back of your hand.
Everything you need to know about the CASCE framework — history, processes, policies, standards, and more — is in the Guide to Accreditation. Going through your program with a fine-tooth comb and highlighting areas that need the most attention is a vital first step along the way.
Tip 4: Explore the CASCE Accreditation Grant.
To ease your program’s transition to accreditation and help your program get off to a strong start, we strongly recommend exploring the CASCE Accreditation Grant, which funds most of the fees required to earn and maintain accreditation prior to the 2030 requirement for the CSCS. The sooner your program applies, the more it stands to gain from the grant!
CASCE Accreditation Grant: Savings for Your Program
Rise to the Higher Standard with CASCE
We’re honored to have the opportunity to partner with leaders in the strength and conditioning industry in our shared mission to advance the profession.
We’re confident that CASCE accreditation will enhance the quality of your program, strengthen your recruitment efforts, elevate your prestige, and ultimately, lead to a well-qualified and high-performing professional workforce.
If you’re ready to begin your CASCE accreditation journey, take the five-minute Get Started Quiz to see how your program matches up with CASCE standards. With any questions, please reach out to the CASCE team at accreditation@nsca.com to discuss the right next steps for your program.
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