All About College Accreditation – How Does It Work?

You know that earning a bachelor’s degree will position you well for success in your career, unlocking higher income potential and giving you access to more exciting job opportunities. However, not all bachelor’s degrees are created equal.

Even if you select a degree in a growing field with notoriously high salaries for established workers – like information technology – you might find yourself enrolled in a school that is not respected by employers and thus unable to secure you the positions of your dreams.

Before you apply to any institution of higher learning, you need to be certain that the degree program you enroll in is properly accredited. What is accreditation? Read on to find out.

Higher Education Is Not Regulated by the Federal Government

Though many people assume that the Federal Government is imposing rules about how universities and colleges can operate – and what curriculum they can teach students – the truth is that regulatory power is left entirely to individual states. Every state maintains its own policies for upholding a certain degree of academic quality, and most of those policies involve schools seeking accreditation from specific agencies.

Accrediting agencies are independent organizations that investigate an education institution’s operations. Different agencies may hold different standards, so students may need to look for specific accreditations to ensure that the school they are interested in attending is properly respected by employers in their industry.

Though the Federal Government does not regulate schools directly, it does oversee the operations of the accrediting bodies trough the Council on Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) and the U.S. Department of Education. If a school does post its accreditations, students might verify that those accreditors are recognized by CHEA and the Department of Ed.

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There are two three types of accrediting bodies: regional accreditors, national accreditors and programmatic accreditors. Generally speaking, regional accreditors certify the quality of colleges and universities within a defined geographical area, and national accreditors have the authority to accredit colleges and universities anywhere in the U.S. Regional accreditors tend to have more rigorous standards, and as a result, credits earned from a regionally accredited school tend to be more easily transferred to other schools, even if their accreditations differ. More often, national accreditors focus on trade schools and for-profit institutions.

Programmatic accreditation does not apply to education institutions as a whole but rather to individual degree programs within a school. For example, if you are eager to earn a bachelor’s degree in information technology, you should search for an ABET-accredited program, which is awarded specifically to high-quality engineering and technology degree programs around the country. Students might familiarize themselves with the programmatic accreditations related to their fields of interest, so they can eliminate programs of lower quality.

Accreditation Is Essential for Academic and Career Success

You might assume that as long as you gain knowledge and skill associated with your field of study, it shouldn’t matter how the state or some independent group judges the quality of your education.

However, accreditations can tell you whether you are learning enough to qualify you for employment after graduation – and it can tell your employers whether you have requisite understanding and ability to function in the roles you apply for. Many employers will investigate the education credentials of entry-level employees, and if certain accreditations are missing from your program, you will not be a viable candidate.

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Accreditation is even more important if you expect to return to academia for more advanced degrees. If you do not have a bachelor’s degree from a properly accredited institution, grad schools are unlikely to recognize your credentials and admit you into their master’s or doctoral programs. In some professional fields where a master’s degree is the lowest level of education permitted for workers – like mental health counseling – it is even more essential that students enroll in accredited programs early in their education journey.

Many students ignore accreditation when applying for degree programs, but you should neglect accreditation at your own risk. By researching accrediting agencies in your region or field and enrolling only in schools with the proper awards, you can position yourself well for a high-quality education that leads directly to career success.