A Northern Illinois University special education program that teaches professionals how to serve in roles meant to help those with visual impairments recently received national accreditation.

NIU’s College of Education’s Visual Studies program received full accreditation April 21 from the Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired (AER), according to a news release.

The accreditation remains in place through April 2031.

“Earning full AER accreditation reflects our ongoing commitment to preparing highly qualified professionals who are ready to serve individuals with visual impairments with skill and innovation,” said Stacy Kelly, professor in the NIU Department of Special and Early Education and coordinator of the Visual Studies Program, in a news release.

The master’s program’s specialization in vision studies is one of the nation’s preeminent programs for preparing professionals to provide educational and rehabilitation services for persons of all ages with visual impairments, according to the website.

NIU’s programs for Teachers of Visually Impaired and in Assistive Technology, which prepare professionals serving people living with blindness or low vision, are in full compliance with the standards set forth in the AER Accreditation Program for excellence in management policies and practices, according to the release

“This recognition reinforces the quality of our program,” Kelly said, “and the important role NIU plays in addressing the long-standing and severe shortage of teachers of students with visual impairments (TVIs) and assistive technology instructional specialists for people who are visually impaired.”

AER’s accreditation program continues the commitment made in 1962 by the Commission on Standards and Accreditation of Services to the Blind as a direct response to heightened federal attention to consumer rights in general and to the need for the highest quality of services by the growing numbers of people living with vision loss.

Specialized rehabilitation and education for adults and children with blindness or low vision is facing critical shortages. Current national statistics project an increase of 118% to 25 million people by the year 2050 needing these services, according to the release.