Here’s Why UB’s School of Medicine is “Seeking its Own Accreditation”

While the University of Belize recently submitted its application for institutional accreditation, the university’s School of Medicine is following a separate path with its own accreditation process.

UB President Dr Vincent Palacio said on Thursday that the medical programme is “seeking its own accreditation” through the Caribbean Accreditation Authority for Education in Medicine and Other Health Professions (CAAM-HP), the regional body responsible for evaluating medical schools.

“Our medical school is seeking its own accreditation,” Palacio said, “We couldn’t go earlier because you had to show a cycle of students before we submit for that. So we’re on time with that, and it’s very important that that gets accredited also.”

According to the School of Medicine’s own website, preparation for accreditation and launch documents began in August 2023. The most recent milestone on that timeline shows the submission of documents to CAAM-HP for Provisional Accreditation in September 2025.

At the same time, UB is separately seeking institutional accreditation for the university as a whole through the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC), a process Palacio said took four years of preparation before submission this month.

That application focuses on accrediting the university as an institution, while the School of Medicine must satisfy specialised standards specific to medical education.