History and Accreditation

History of Chatfield College

Proud of its Catholic heritage, Chatfield College is the only Associate's degree liberal arts college in southwest Ohio, offering fully-accredited academics with individual attention and small class sizes to meet the needs and improve the lives of diverse lifelong learners. In cooperation with other accredited colleges and universities, Chatfield offers opportunities to achieve Bachelor’s degree completion.

In 1845, a group of Ursuline Sisters dedicated to education came to Ohio from France. Their leader, Sister Julia Chatfield, founded the Ursuline convent in St. Martin, Ohio and the community immediately began construction of a log cabin school in the Brown County wilderness. From that foundation, the educational mission of the Ursulines of Brown County has reached children and adults through the public school system, a boarding school, a summer camp, counseling, high school, and college.

In 1958, the Sisters founded the Ursuline Teacher Training Institute to provide a quality liberal arts education to women joining the Ursuline Order. In 1971, the public was admitted and the school was renamed Chatfield College in honor of Sr. Julia Chatfield. Today, Chatfield College continues the Ursuline tradition of fine education at both the St. Martin campus in rural Brown County, Ohio and the Cincinnati location at historic Findlay Market in downtown Cincinnati.

Accreditation

Chatfield College is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (30 North LaSalle Street, Suite 2400; Chicago, Illinois 60602; (800) 621-7440). Chatfield is a member of the Greater Cincinnati Consortium of Colleges and Universities, and credits earned at Chatfield are easily transferable to other accredited institutions. Chatfield College is authorized by the Ohio Board of Regents to grant the Associate of Arts degree. Chatfield is accredited to offer the third year of study towards the bachelor’s degree.

After more than two years of research and preparation, Chatfield College has finalized and submitted its self-study report to the North Central Association of Colleges’ Higher Learning Commission for accreditation.

To view the 2010-2011 self-study report submitted to the Higher Learning Commission click here.

To view Chatfield's formal accreditation report from the Higher Learning Commission, giving Chatfield 10-year reaccreditation status, click here. A copy of the formal letter notifying Chatfield of it's reaccreditation can be found here.