The Bermuda College is attempting to gain membership in a North American accrediting agency, the Hamilton Lions Club learned yesterday.

And Bermuda College vice president Larita Alford went on the offensive yesterday, trumpeting the College?s finer attributes in an attempt to reverse a barrage of negative publicity targeting the institution recently.

?The College has teamed up with the New England Association of Schools and Colleges Commission on Institution in Higher Education,? she said at the weekly Hamilton Lions meeting. ?In March 2005, the College will have its first site visit and review.

?Gaining membership in the Association will be a tremendous boost and endorsement of the excellent work that is done here at the College. This external certification would also solidify the articulation agreements that Bermuda College has with the 12 colleges and universities we are currently working with and could bring on board additional agreement options for Bermuda College students.

?What is unique about this membership is that this Association has 11 basic standards that all institutions must comply with in order to be considered worthy of membership.?

Other institutions accredited by NEASC include: Boston University, MIT, Harvard, the University of Connecticut and Bunker Hill Community College.

The membership also requires a ?self-study report?, forcing each institution to take a good look at itself and the achievement of its goals. ?In other words, the examination is all about whether institutions do what they say they are doing... This is all about institutional integrity.

?We are currently in the process of preparing our self-study document and are looking forward to submitting it for the visit next year.?

But the potential of accreditation is not the only positive factor at the college these days, she said. Even without it, students are having their credits fully transferred to top universities such as New York University while saving a conservative estimate of $18,000-$20,000 per year of post-secondary education they complete in Bermuda first.

Those savings are especially important when it comes to the possibly of graduate school and even further education, Dr. Alford noted. More than 4,000 students have graduated from the College with over 300 applications already received for the 2004 fall semester. And more mature students are returning to the College to complete and further their education: Dr. Alford said the average age of the students is 22.

In 2002, the year an extra year was added to the public secondary school system and no public students graduated, the average age of students at the College was 27.

As for accusations the College has lowered its standards, Dr. Alford said it has adjusted its entrance requirements over the years to allow more people the opportunity of an education.

?The Bermuda College does not, nor does it intend to, lower its standards for performance... It is all about what skills the students can leave with rather than some standards that do not permit students to even try.?