Between 1945-1973, the American Public Health Association (APHA), a membership organization for public professionals, accredited graduate programs in public health. In 1974, the APHA and the Association of Schools of Public Health (ASPH), a national association representing deans, faculty, and students of accredited schools of public health, jointly formed the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH or Council) to conduct accrediting activities. Initially, CEPH limited its focus to schools of public health embedded within colleges and universities. However, in the late 1970s, CEPH responded to requests from practitioners and educators to accredit community health/preventive medicine programs, and to a request from the APHA to accredit community health education programs. The CEPH accredits schools of public health and public health programs outside schools of public health. The agency currently accredits 40 schools of public health and 71 public health programs located in 41 states, plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. This paper presents the recommendations of the staff of the National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity (NACIQI) concerning CEPH's petition for continued recognition.