CNME Vision, Mission, Goals, and Values

Vision

The vision of the Council on Naturopathic Medical Education is to be recognized as the effective and innovative accrediting agency advancing the quality of naturopathic medical care internationally through accreditation standards and processes that promote excellence in education.

Mission

The mission of CNME is quality assurance: serving the public by accrediting naturopathic medical education programs in the U.S. and Canada that voluntarily seek recognition and meet or exceed CNME’s standards.

Goals

To enable CNME to pursue its vision and fulfill its mission, the primary goals of the CNME are to:

• Provide an accreditation service in the U.S. and Canada that works in collaboration with the naturopathic profession, educators, regulators, certifying bodies and the public in developing and administering its standards and processes.
• Foster collaboration and cooperation among the naturopathic educational institutions and other health care education institutions and professions.
• Pursue the development of processes and cooperative arrangements that minimize unnecessary duplication of effort for programs seeking accreditation.
• Maintain a practical, cost-effective and efficient model of governance and administration.
• Operate in a manner that respects due process and is characterized by openness, transparency, fairness, equality and consistency.
• Develop credible, relevant, clear and regularly updated accreditation standards and residency requirements.
• Ensure—through valid and reliable, evidence-based evaluation processes—that the CNME standards are being met by naturopathic medi­cine programs that seek CNME recognition.
• Give public recognition to those educational programs in compliance with CNME standards, and to foster and encourage the continuing improvement of naturopathic medical education programs.
• Foster the development of new institutions and new programs by providing assistance and information on program development and accreditation.
• Support the ongoing development and public acceptance of the naturopathic medical profession by finding ways to encourage and enable ND programs to meaningfully expand their research and scholarly activities, whether individually or in collaboration, including for example documenting clinical outcomes and writing case studies.

Values

In conducting its operations, the Council adheres to the following values:

• Supporting the traditional and evolving principles of naturopathic medicine as expressed in contemporary naturopathic medical education programs through program objectives, research activities, and didactic and clinical curriculum components.
• Quality and continuing improvement in naturopathic medical education programs—as well as in the Council’s own policies, standards and processes—achieved through ongoing assessment, creativity, productive innovation and responsiveness to change.
• Its primary accountability to the public, including students interested in entering or enrolled in educational programs in naturopathic medicine and the patients they will serve upon graduation.
• Due process characterized by honesty, openness, transparency, fairness, equality and consistency, as well as by objective, valid and reliable evidence-based approaches to the determination of a program’s compliance with accreditation standards.
• Partnership and peer review processes characterized by communication, consultation and cooperation with organizations and individuals involved in naturopathic medical education, practice, certification and regulation, as well as with naturopathic medical students and the general public.
• Supporting CNME volunteers and staff in contributing to and enhancing the Council’s work through orientation and training sessions, programs and other opportunities for learning and growth.
• Practical, efficient and cost-effective approaches to carrying out its obligations and responsibilities.
• Respect for the dignity of every individual—and inclusion of a diversity of people, backgrounds, experiences, and viewpoints, with fairness towards all.