Home

Accreditation


Venture is Accredited by the
Association for Experiential Education 

The Venture Program was first accredited (for a 3 year period) by the Association for Experiential Education in April of 1995. This was the result of years of preparation and work to make sure Venture addressed the safety and quality issues that are considered vital in the field of outdoor adventure education. Venture was the fifth program nationally to receive this honor, and the second university (Cornell University was the first).

We were re-accredited (for the third time) in April 2003 for an additional 5 years.

The Certificate of Accreditation states: "UNC Charlotte, Venture Program has met the criteria for accreditation of adventure programs as set forth by the Association for Experiential Education. This evidences excellence in operational procedures including:

  • Adhering to Association's recognized philosophical, educational, ethical, environmental, and cultural tenets; 
  • Maintaining appropriate risk management plans, licenses, certificates, permits, and insurance coverage; 
  • Employing qualified staff and providing ongoing in-service education; 
  • Conducting all activities currently listed in promotional materials and working only with participants identified therein." 

The accreditation process involved sending copies of our manual and other paperwork to be reviewed. A team of 3 professionals spend 3 days at our program talking with Venture administrators, instructors and students; looking through our files; inspecting our equipment, ropes course and vehicles; observing some of our programs and orientations; and making judgments whether what they saw met the guidelines as established in the Manual for Accreditation Standards for Adventure Programs. We passed over 600 specific criteria. This includes such things as: "The program has written guidelines which focus on environmental ethics, and it follows these principles." "The program has explicitly designated staff ratios for each activity." "Activities are sequenced so that participants proceed to more complex elements after appropriate assessment and preparation." "Adequate instruction is provided."

Venture is proud to have received this recognition of our quality and safety, and we are pleased to be able to offer our accredited programs to you, our participants.

The Association for Experiential Education (AEE) is a not-for-profit, international, professional organization with roots in adventure education. They are committed to the development, practice and evaluation of experiential learning in all settings. AEE is one of the leading international organizations for the development and application of principals and methodologies for experiential education. Given the high standards of AEE, their accreditation is considered one of the most significant recognition in the field of adventure education.