Wright State School of Music’s accreditation renewed

Sound the trumpets and sing their praises — Wright State University’s Music Program has gained reapproval by the National Association of Schools of Music, its national accrediting body.

Accreditation by the National Association of Schools of Music is the “gold standard for any institution that has a high-level music program, like ours at Wright State,” said Dan Zehringer, D.M.A., professor of music and chair of the School of Fine and Performing Arts.

The association establishes a national standard for undergraduate and graduate degrees and other credentials for music and related disciplines. “It also provides a national standard to institutions and individuals who are engaged in artistic and scholarly education and other musical-related endeavors,” said Zehringer.

Founded in 1924, the National Association of Schools of Music is composed of 628 colleges, conservatories, universities and other accredited institutional members. Wright State has had accreditation from the association since 1972. Nearly all colleges and universities in Ohio are members of the association.

News of the reapproval was welcomed because of the longer-than-usual process, during which Wright State maintained its accreditation while under review.

The process, repeated every 10 years, began in 2015 but had been ongoing “because of construction, a reorganization, changing leadership and a pandemic,” Zehringer said.

“We received notice of our accreditation approval and are fully compliant and reaccredited,” he said. “It is a big, glorious feather in our cap for the School of Fine and Performing Arts to have this national accreditation as part of our program. Achieving NASM accreditation is a heavy lift for any nationally ranked music program. The faculty and staff are thrilled to be able to close the book on this latest accreditation cycle. Bravo tutti!”