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The Importance of Accreditation

You've probably seen references to accreditation while searching for schools -- like "X College is fully accredited by the Greater Northern Waukegan State Accreditation Association". But what does it mean?

Accreditation is essentially a process of school approval. In order to gain accreditation, a school is reviewed thoroughly over the course of several years by an outside agency who holds the school to a set of standards (that it has adequate resources, provides a basic level of education and services, etc.) and then determines whether the school meets those standards. There are two types of accreditation: institutional (for entire schools) and specialized (for departments or schools within a university). Because accreditation is such a difficult (and costly) process to go through, it's a good way to differentiate between legitimate and fly-by-night schools or "diploma mills" ("Pay $250 and get your MBA in just 10 days!").

Gaining a degree from an accredited institution means that other schools and employers will recognize your degree as being legitimate. (Imagine wasting your time and money at an unaccredited school and, in the end, having a prospective employer turn you down because of the school's failings!) Similarly, having a degree from an accredited institution is especially important in specialized fields where schools need to have accreditation from very specific agencies who set commonly-held standards (such as the Commission for Dental Accreditation for dental schools).

So, as long as a school says it's accredited, everything's okay, right?

Well, unfortunately, accreditation isn't such a cut and dry issue. First of all, some schools aren't accredited for a variety of reasons. Because accreditation is a voluntary process, not all schools go through it; some religious schools, for example, have philosophical reasons for not pursuing accreditation. Also, accreditation takes years -- which means that relatively new schools may not have had time to complete (or even start) the process.

Complicating matters further is the issue of suspect or shady accrediting agencies. Much of the confusion comes from the fact that education in other countries is centralized, so schools don't need to seek accreditation since it's controlled by the government. In the U.S., however, it's not centralized, and accreditation is done by private agencies, not the government. This means that it's sometimes difficult to determine who is a legitimate accreditor. It's very easy for a school to say that it's accredited by the "Greater Northern Waukegan State Accreditation Association", when that accreditor may not be legitimate itself (or even exist).

So, what's a prospective student to do? The answer: ask questions. Find out if the school you're looking at is accredited, by whom, and then look into the accrediting agency to double-check that they're legitimate (start with the Department of Education link below). If your school isn't accredited, ask why not. Are they currently a candidate in the process? Were they rejected? Have they ever applied? Remember, your degree's worth could be riding on your school's accreditation -- don't chance it.

Additional resources:

• Department of Education -- Accreditation information
  http://ed.gov/offices/OPE/accreditation/index.html
• Council for Higher Education Accreditation
  http://www.chea.org/