By MARTY LEVINE
“I don’t think people really grasp how much work goes into an accreditation — and I hope they don’t realize it,” says Renee Valenti, director of educational programs & accreditation initiatives in the School of Public Health.
If she does her job properly, Valenti says, most of that work remains behind the scenes.
And indeed it does often stay hidden, thanks to Valenti’s efforts, say the school administrators who recommended her as part of the University Times’ latest Pitt Works series.
She “expertly navigated” all the complex requirements of two different accreditations recently, they say — for the Council on Education for Public Health and the National Environmental Health Science and Protection Accreditation Council. These organizations may change what competencies they require to be taught in courses, and the school itself may introduce fresh programs — as with its new bachelor of science in public health — but Valenti has handled it all “while maintaining a positive attitude and an impressive level of efficiency.”
Some school departments even have specialized accreditations, Valenti points out. She helps to confirm that the right competencies are covered in courses, to “make sure that the programs and courses we offer at the school meet the standards of the accreditation bodies,” she says. “Faculty normally come with ideas and I say we can do it or can’t do it — or we have to pivot.”
Valenti has just helped with accreditations for both of the above councils. These can start several years ahead, preparing for an accreditation process that itself might last a year. The school must undertake a self-study, with the accrediting group sending visitors to meet with students, alumni and faculty, giving feedback and then requiring responses.
“With each, they’re going to want to look at historical data and we have to write up everything we do at the school,” she notes.
In the year leading up to a site visit, the work can be constant. Valenti recalls having to organize, write and send responses in 24 hours, completing one at midnight and then returning to the office the next morning at 8.
Valenti began her Pitt career as a student, graduating from the College of Business Administration with a bachelor of science degree in 2006. She worked first in the School of Medicine’s Division of Endocrinology as coordinator of fellowships, then moved to the School of Public Health in 2012.
Perhaps the least known part of her job, she says, is facilitating the required service-learning projects for the school’s undergraduates. But of course, she emphasizes, all of this work takes many school employees, and “it’s really a team effort.”
To get away from it all, she enjoys bicycling, which was “especially nice this year,” she says — at least until it snowed.
Marty Levine is a staff writer for the University Times. Reach him at martyl@pitt.edu or 412-758-4859.
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