SJC Recreation and Leisure Studies Receives Full Accreditation

December 21, 2010

BROOKLYN and PATCHOGUE, NY December 22, 2010 St. Josephs College is pleased to announce that its Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies on both campuses has become the only program in Brooklyn and Long Island to receive full accreditation from the National Recreation and Parks Association (NRPA).

St. Josephs College has reached the highest standard possible in the nation for its recreation and leisure studies curriculum. Of the 550 institutions in the United States that offer a degree in the field, only 87 of them are accredited by the Council on Accreditation of Parks, Recreation, Tourism and Related Fields (COAPRT), an accreditation program within NRPA focusing on academic institutions.

According to NRPAs website, "COAPRT provides quality assurance and quality improvement of accredited academic programs throughout the United States. COA is the only accreditation of recreation, park resources and leisure services curricula recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation.

"The program was established on the Long Island Campus in 1974 and the Brooklyn Campus in 2004. Since then, it has grown exponentially, said Dr. Gail Lamberta, chairperson of the Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies at St. Josephs College. "We knew we offered a quality program to our students, but now it has been confirmed. We may be small but we do big things and are in the company of very impressive schools.

The Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies at St. Josephs College will remain accredited by NRPA for the next five years, at which time it will need to reapply for accreditation in fall 2015. For more information on the NRPA, visit www.nrpa.org.