When you begin to think about your higher education, you inevitably run into the term accreditation. For students-to-be, it is an essential term to remember. Accreditation is a way to control the quality of education and distinguish between colleges and universities. Why is accreditation important? Because it ensures that higher-ed institutions meet the established standards for quality of teaching.
A commission of unbiased evaluators visits the college in person and determines if the standards are met. This, among other procedures, helps students decide which college or university to attend. Choosing a college is hard enough, and accreditation is how students can ease this process.
What Is College Accreditation?
College accreditation is a measure of the institution’s quality. An independent non-governmental organization carefully evaluates a school and decides if it meets the predetermined quality standards. Accrediting organizations develop the criteria for testing and reviewing schools. A school that wants to be accredited has to first compare its practices to education quality standards. They are set by the accrediting organizations. Then, a commission goes to the school to see if the quality standards of education are met.
What is accreditation in college? It is a mechanism that keeps higher education institutions accountable. It ensures healthy competition among schools and helps students make one of the most important decisions of their lives.
Students who go to accredited colleges and universities often end up with more possibilities. Essentially, accredited colleges are a network, meaning you can transfer credits and go for graduate studies. Most importantly, you can qualify for federal financial aid instead of relying on private loans. Additionally, going to an accredited college is how a student can pave the way to a well-paid job, security and a strong career.
Types of College Accreditation
There are two main types of college accreditation – institutional and programmatic, which is also called specialized.
Institutional accreditation assesses the entire school. It reviews staff qualifications, overall organization, the school’s financial stability, and students’ performance. This type of accreditation can be regional or national.
- Regional accreditation is more prestigious and is often held by public and nonprofit universities.
- National accreditation is mostly awarded to vocational and trade schools, and for-profit institutions, too.
Programmatic or specialized accreditation is applied to departments, programs, or schools within a university or college. Meaning, an institutionally-accredited college can contain a school with programmatic accreditation. Nursing, business, law, or engineering programs are common examples of departments with specialized accreditation.
What Does Accreditation Mean for College?
To put it bluntly, accreditation is everything. When a college or university is accredited, it signals to applicants that they will obtain relevant knowledge and skills. An independent accrediting organization reviews the school’s faculty, programs, curriculum, materials and student services. A team of experts ensures that quality, academic integrity and performance standards are maintained at a high level.
Accreditation is not final. The period of accreditation is granted by the accreditor. During that time, the school is constantly monitored and can be reevaluated. Monitoring ensures that the quality of education stays at the level set by the accrediting body. At the end of the accreditation period, a school has to be reevaluated. Accreditors review the school anew and determine if the accreditation continues or not.
Accreditation College: What It Means for Students
Easy Credit Transfer
For students, going to an accredited uni or college means more opportunities for continued education, as well as more leeway during the entire process. That means, if you want to transfer to another school, choose a different program or change the course of your education altogether, you should be able to transfer the credits earned at the initial institution.
If you fail to look at accreditation for colleges you want to transfer to, you may end up at a non-accredited school. That will most likely mean your credits won’t transfer, and you might need to take some classes or even an entire course all over again.
Continued Education
A graduate degree is required in many occupations, from law to healthcare and education. Students who want to pursue graduate education should closely review the college accreditation before choosing a school. Going to an accredited college is a must if you want to continue your education. Grad schools will most likely not recognize your degree if you show up with a diploma from an unaccredited college.
Academic institutions that provide graduate education often don’t value unaccredited degrees. That means, you will need to re-take classes, do additional coursework and maybe complete a bridging program at an accredited institution that you want to attend.
Employment Opportunities
University accreditation in USA is an indicator of quality and worth, and employers recognize this. When the choice is between two candidates with a diploma from accredited and uncredited colleges, the former is far more likely to get the job.
If you want to work at a federal or governmental job, going to an accredited school is mandatory. In fields like education, engineering, law, or medicine, an accredited diploma will also be required. In these highly competitive fields, you need to prove yourself, and a diploma from an accredited university will help you with that.
A college’s accreditation on your diploma will signal to the employer that you have received high-quality education, you are acquainted with the best practices, modern methods, and have obtained the skills necessary for the job.
Financial Aid Options
Federal financial aid, like loans, grants, scholarships, and work-study, is only available to students attending an accredited institution. Federal Student Aid (FSA), the institution within the US Dept of Education, will not award money to students attending unaccredited colleges. The
reason is simple – these institutions have not been proven to provide high-quality schooling. In other words, they can teach anything, no matter if the knowledge is relevant or even true.
Federal financial aid is given out to support students in need and help them obtain a high-quality education. By limiting aid to accredited schools, the FSA ensures that taxpayer money goes to those who actually need it and is spent rationally. Otherwise, that money could be wasted on a degree that is not recognized by employers or schools.
How to Pick an Accredited Institution
Most of the time, colleges and universities that have been accredited will post all the details about it on a dedicated website page. If you already know what colleges you want to apply to, it should be easy to check if they are accredited. However, if you are not sure and you need to research a bunch of schools, it could take a while. So, how to check college accreditation in USA?
The first and easiest way to check would be on the Council on Higher Education Accreditation’s (CHEA) website. There, you can look up schools one by one if you have a list. The advanced search will be great for people who want to filter through schools and see all their options.
The Database of Accredited Postsecondary Institutions and Programs is another way. The search there is slightly less convenient, but it gets the job done. The database also provides addresses, OPE ID, and all the details on the accreditation type.
About Accreditors
There is no one governmental body that would determine the quality of higher education institutions all over the country. Instead, states have varying policies and measures of control over accrediting organizations.
Accreditors are private, independent organizations that set the rules and standards for institutions. It is an independent, evidence-based process. Established professors and education policy experts study trends in higher ed and come up with the quality standards for institutions.
During the accreditation process, a team of accreditors makes a detailed review of a school’s operations. They assess how well the faculty is run and the quality of teaching. They also look at student organizations and the curriculum.
Accreditors in the US are regulated by two bodies: the non-governmental Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) and the US Department of Education (USDE). On the CHEA website, you can search for accredited colleges and programs, while USDE recognition primarily determines a school’s eligibility for federal aid programs.
Degree Mills
Understanding the rigorous process of accreditation is your best defense against its fraudulent counterpart – the degree mill. Degree mills are illegitimate organizations posing as real universities that often sell fake degrees. Other than that, they can promise to award you with a degree in a short period of time. Some diploma mills will actually give out assignments and tests, but still give out a “degree” shortly. Some of these organizations will go as far as giving you a diploma based on the admission letter.
All these businesses are a scam. They sell invalid diplomas for the price of college education. Sometimes they are cheap, too, but that doesn’t make them any less fake or any safer to use. An informed employer will spot a fake degree from a mile away. And if they won’t they will still be able to tell that an applicant hasn’t been to university.
What Happens if a College Loses Accreditation?
College accreditation can be taken away if an institution doesn’t pass reevaluation at the end of the accreditation period. If the accrediting body decides the university doesn’t meet the quality standards anymore, the school can become unaccredited. It doesn’t happen instantly, so no need to worry if you’re already a student. But if you think your college’s accreditation is at risk, think about transferring ASAP!
If your school loses accreditation, you won’t be able to transfer credits anymore. The school will lose federal aid, and so will its students. Your degree will not qualify you for graduate studies, and the school itself is likely to shut down.
How to Check a University Accreditation
To check an institution for accreditation college students-to-be can take several paths.
- The official website of the US Department of Education, which offers the Database of Accredited Postsecondary Institutions and Programs.
- The Council on Higher Education Accreditation’s (CHEA) website.
Both are governing bodies that review and approve accreditation agencies.
Alternatively, you can check the website of a school you’re interested in. As a rule, accredited universities and colleges will have a dedicated page on their sites. The school will list the accrediting body, date of the last and next evaluation, and the type of accreditation provided, along with other details.
Conclusion
The US college accreditation system can be tough to navigate. All the different types of accreditation, organizations that evaluate colleges and quality standards are way beyond the scope of a regular human’s comprehension. Luckily, students are superhuman.
Besides, with all the tools and tips we’ve given you in this post, you should be able to find a good college in no time. Look for proof of accreditation on the school’s website, and use official databases for your search. Keep your eyes open, don’t fall for degree mills, and you’ll graduate in no time!