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        The Gulf Coast Trades Center has recently undergone an extensive "Self Study" in preparation for their COE accreditation. The Council on Occupational Education (COE) is a national accrediting agency who works to assure quality and integrity in career and technical education.    

    The Council’s accreditation process is conducted on behalf of more than 233,000 students across the nation who pursues careers in a variety of technical fields.   

    The Council’s membership represents institutions in public, private, Job Corps, Army, Navy, Department of Defense, and private industry sectors which total more than 430 institutions that are both associate degree and non-degree education providers.  

    Recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education as an institutional accreditor, the Council’s peer evaluation process has been considered a reliable authority on the quality of education offered by the institutions it accredits.   

    "The self-study is designed to help us (GCTC) take a good look at our selves and make sure we are doing everything that is expected of us where the education and well being of our students are concerned," according to Mike Buzbee, Executive Director of Gulf Coast Trades Center.   

    The Gulf Coast Trades Center has worked with over 19,000 disadvantaged youth since being established in 1971. The Center received the highest certification possible in this same process conducted in 2000, a six (6) year accreditation.  

    "The accreditation team is made up individuals from various parts of the United States who do an extensive examination of our program," Buzbee added.  

    "I am extremely proud of the work we do in helping these young people to prepare to return to society and become independent and productive citizens. GCTC has on it’s team some of the most knowledgeable staff members there are, and they have all gone above and beyond to help make sure everything is as it should be to help make the visiting teams work as easy as possible," states Buzbee.

The Center will not know the outcome of the team’s recommendation until the final report has been filed at which time they will be notified of the results.  

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