Decoding College Accreditation: Why It Matters for Your Future Career

Quick Highlights:

• Accreditation is a process where independent accrediting bodies evaluate colleges, universities, and specific academic programs to ensure they meet established quality standards.
• There are different types of accreditation provided by regional, national, and specialized programmatic accrediting agencies and organizations.
• Accreditation brings many valuable benefits like eligibility for federal financial aid, acceptance of transfer credits, meeting educational requirements for employment, licensure and further education, and overall quality assurance of your credential.
• Red flags of unaccredited institutions and diploma mills include deceptive marketing, lack of transparency about their accreditation, extremely low-cost accelerated degrees, and failure to be accredited by a legitimate, recognized accrediting body.
• Always carefully research and verify the accreditation details for any school or program you are considering to make sure it holds proper accredited status.

When you decide to pursue a college education, you’ll probably hear the word accreditation quite a bit. But what exactly is accreditation? Why is it so important? And how can you make sure the school you choose is properly accredited?

This article will break down everything you need to know about college accreditation. By the end, you’ll understand:

• what accreditation means
• why it matters for your future career
• how to verify whether a school meets accreditation standards

Getting an accredited education can also open up many doors and opportunities after graduation. Read on as we answer all your questions about college accreditation.

Related:

• Does CACREP accreditation really matter?
• What To Do When Your College Choices Add You to the Waiting List
• Why College Graduation Rates Matter
• Building Your Brand: Social Media Strategies for College Students

What is College Accreditation?

Accreditation is a review process conducted by independent accrediting agencies or organizations. These agencies evaluate colleges, universities, and even specific programs. The goal of accreditation is to make sure they meet established quality standards for things like:

• faculty
• curriculum
• student services
• overall academic quality

There are two primary types of accreditation that you need to know about:

Institutional accreditation: This type of accreditation looks at the overall college or university as a whole institution. It evaluates things like:

• the school’s mission
• finances
• resources
• policies
• administration
• student outcomes across all programs

Programmatic or specialized accreditation: This type focuses specifically on certain academic programs or departments within a school. Some popular programs that go through programmatic accreditation are nursing and counseling. We’ll look at some more examples of these specialized accreditors later on. Programmatic accreditors evaluate areas like:

• curriculum requirements
• faculty expertise
• facilities
• whether graduates are prepared to work in their chosen field after graduating

The agencies that provide institutional accreditation can be divided into regional and national organizations:

Regional accreditors review and accredit schools within a specific geographic area of the United States. Major examples include:

• the Middle States Commission on Higher Education
• the Higher Learning Commission
• the WASC Senior College and University Commission

National accreditors operate across the entire U.S. and commonly review career, vocational, technical, or religious-based institutions. Groups like the Distance Education Accrediting Commission and the Accrediting Council for Continuing Education and Training fall into this category.

How Accreditation Works

So how does the accreditation process actually work? While the specific steps may be different depending on the accrediting agency, there are some commonalities:

Self-Study – The school or program begins by performing an extensive self-evaluation. They prepare an in-depth report that explains their mission and operations. Their report will also include information about their policies and procedures and student outcomes.

Site Visit – A team of peer reviewers from the accrediting agency visits the school’s campus. They tour facilities and review materials. They will also observe classes and conduct interviews with students, faculty, staff, and administrators.

Agency Review – The accrediting agency itself reviews the self-study report and site visit findings. They’ll also look at any additional materials to determine if the school or program meets their established accreditation standards and criteria.

Decision – Based on their review, the accrediting body will decide whether to grant initial accreditation or renew an existing accreditation status. They can also issue provisional accreditation if there are issues that need to be corrected.

Ongoing Monitoring – Accredited institutions must go through periodic renewals about every 5-10 years. They need to stay in compliance with standards on an ongoing basis between review cycles.

The Importance of Accreditation

So why does accreditation even matter? It can seem like a lot of work for colleges and universities, so why do they do it?

Accreditation is actually beneficial for both students and colleges. When students earn their degree from an accredited school, they can feel confident they’ve gotten a comprehensive education that meets established standards. Accredited status also helps colleges to attract more students. From the school’s perspective, accreditation is valuable because it proves to potential students that they provide a quality education. Here are some additional reasons why accreditation is so important:

Quality Assurance – Accreditation provides an independent validation that a school or program meets quality standards.

Financial Aid Eligibility – Students can only receive federal financial aid like the Pell Grant, student loans, and other assistance if they attend an accredited institution approved by the U.S. Department of Education.

Credit Transferability – Most schools, especially accredited ones, will only accept transfer credits earned from other accredited institutions. Accreditation helps ensure credit portability.

Employment Prospects – Many employers require a degree from an accredited program. This is common for certain career paths like engineering and nursing.

Entrance into Continuing Education – Accreditation can be required for admission into advanced degree programs like a master’s and doctoral degree at another school.

Professional Licensure – Certain professional licenses and certifications may only recognize a degree from an accredited program that meet quality standards in that specific field.

Since accreditation is so beneficial, it should be one of the first things you look for in a university or degree.

Different Types of Accreditation

We gave an overview of institutional and programmatic accreditation earlier, but there’s more information you should know when it comes to the different types of accrediting bodies and agencies.

Regional Accreditation

Regional accreditors are associations that operate in a specific area of the United States. Each of those associations are responsible for reviewing institutions within that area. The six major regional accrediting bodies are:

• Middle States Commission on Higher Education (Mid-Atlantic region)
• New England Commission of Higher Education
• Higher Learning Commission (19-state region covering the North Central area)
• Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities
• Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges
• WASC Senior College and University Commission (California, Hawaii, and Pacific territories)

Regional accreditation is particularly important for more traditional, non-profit colleges and universities. Regional accreditation is usually considered the gold standard.

National Accreditation

National accrediting bodies review institutions across the entire United States. These agencies usually are responsible for accrediting career-focused institutions like:

• Technical, vocational, or trade schools
• Distance learning/online colleges
• Faith-based religious schools
• For-profit colleges and universities

Examples of national accreditors include:

• Distance Education Accrediting Commission (DEAC)
• Accrediting Council for Continuing Education & Training (ACCET)
• Association of Biblical Higher Education (ABHE)

National accreditation is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education, but some consider these accreditors inferior to regional accreditation. If you are planning to transfer any of your credits, you could run into problems. The credits you earn from a school with national accreditation may be challenging to transfer to another school.

Programmatic/Specialized Accreditation

Depending on your major, you may need to make sure your program is also accredited. Specialized accrediting agencies provide focused program-level accreditation for different fields of study. Some examples include:

• ABET: Accredits programs in applied and natural science, computing, engineering and engineering technology
• AACSB: Accredits business, accounting, and management programs
• COAPRT: Accredits recreation, park resources, and leisure studies programs
• NAAB: Accredits architecture programs
• CCNE: Accredits nursing education programs

Programmatic accreditation ensures that graduates are properly prepared to work in their profession. Many students pursue degrees from programmatically-accredited programs to meet requirements for licensure, certification, or employment in certain career fields.

Red Flags: Diploma Mills and Unaccredited Institutions

There is no doubt that accreditation by a legitimate, recognized agency is valuable. Unfortunately, there are also many unaccredited institutions and outright “diploma mills” that seek to take advantage of unsuspecting students. Attending one of these can turn your education into a costly waste of time and money.

Here are some major red flags that indicate an institution or program may not be properly accredited. We encourage you to proceed with caution if you encounter any of these:

• They claim to offer extremely fast degree programs with minimal coursework and lots of “life experience” credits
• Tuition is charged as a flat, up-front fee regardless of how many credits you take
• They aggressively advertise through spam emails, pop-up ads, or unsolicited marketing calls
• They make hard-sell claims like “Get your degree in weeks, not years!”
• Their website is vague or deceptive about their accreditation status and accrediting bodies
• They are not accredited by an agency officially recognized by the U.S. Department of Education or Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA)

If a school seems suspicious, shady, or “too good to be true,” there’s a good chance it’s an unaccredited diploma mill whose degrees have no real value or acceptance. Always verify their credentials before enrolling.

Attending an unaccredited institution has serious risks. Your degree may not be recognized or accepted by other colleges for:

• credit transfer
• graduate admissions
• employers
• licensing boards
• the government for certain programs

Unless you are fully aware and accepting of the risks, getting an unaccredited education will probably be a waste of your time and money. It’s always better to prioritize enrolling in an accredited program to ensure your credential holds real value.

Practical Tips for Evaluating Accreditation

Accreditation is incredibly important, but how can you actually verify whether a particular college or program meets accreditation standards? You can start by getting familiar with the various accrediting bodies and what they cover. The U.S. Department of Education and Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) are good resources to find lists of legitimate accreditors. Fortunately, most colleges and universities will provide clear information about their current accreditation status, accrediting bodies, and dates of their most recent reviews right on their official website. If it’s difficult to find this information, that could be a red flag. You shouldn’t just take the school’s word for it though. It is a good idea to cross-reference the information. You can check if the school is accredited by visiting the websites of the accrediting agencies. Legitimate accreditors provide search tools and listings.

You should be able to determine accreditation status fairly easily. If you still have any lingering questions or concerns about a school’s accreditation, you can contact the accrediting agency directly. They can verify the institution’s current status and any other details. If you are planning to pursue a degree in an area that requires specialized accreditation (think areas like nursing, accounting, or counseling) make sure to confirm that the program holds the necessary programmatic/specialized accreditation required for that field of study.

By taking these steps, you can determine whether a school meets the proper accreditation standards. You can confidently choose an accredited education program that best aligns with your goals. As you search for the right school, make sure accreditation remains a top priority throughout the selection process. An accredited degree carries significant value, acceptance and prestige that an unaccredited credential simply cannot provide. Invest in yourself by choosing a school that holds accreditation by a respected agency. With an accredited program, you’ll be setting yourself up for success and opening doors to many future opportunities in your desired career field.