One question that seems to come up constantly when Virtual Students are looking for an online degree program is, “what about accreditation?” Accreditation is an important issue, important to understand and important to handle in your search for a good distance learning school.
First things first: “Accreditation” is an issue shrouded in a mist of vagueness that almost borders on secrecy. It is as if “mere mortals” (like us!) cannot be trusted with the secrets of accreditation. Therefore, we’re expected to simply believe what the schools and the accreditation agencies tell us about accreditation.
Sadly, there is a lot of misinformation and hype out there regarding this subject. Even though they often wrap themselves in a cloak of academic purity, every school has an agenda. They want you to believe a particular concept about accreditation, preferably the one that puts them in the best light.
So here we present the hype-free VirtualStudent.com explanation of accreditation. It’s both our description and our opinion of accreditation.
What is “accreditation” exactly?
Accreditation is one process by which institutions of higher education measure their effectiveness against a set of common standards. It is a voluntary process that schools undergo in order to validate the quality of their programs and the value of their degrees.
What does this mean to you? Well hopefully accreditation provides the public, prospective students, and various interested parties (such as grant makers, vendors, etc.) assurance of a school’s legitimacy. Saying that a school “is accredited” marking that school as a legitimate higher education player.
Hang a diploma from a legitimately accredited school on your wall, and everybody knows it’s the real deal.
Types of Accreditation
There are several groups that can handle accreditation. They include trade associations, private agencies set up for the specific purpose of accrediting schools, and, outside the US, government departments.
No government accreditation in the US? Not a chance. The US Department of Education approves accreditation agencies; but the agencies themselves are private organizations controlled by the schools themselves (smell something funny in here?).
On paper, all accreditation agencies might be considered equal. However, in reality some are considered “more equal than others.” There is a pecking order within the elitist pantheon accrediting agencies, just like most of higher education.
At the top of the pecking order are accrediting agencies that have been approved by the US Department of Education. These include a group known as “regional” accreditation agencies, “national” accreditation agencies, and “specialized” accreditation agencies.
The regional accreditation agencies are actually big trade associations, made up of member colleges and universities in particular geographic regions. Their primary areas of jurisdiction are the several regions of the United States, although some also accredit offshore and international schools.
You will often see regional accreditation referred to as the “best” or even the “only” mark of “real” accreditation. Note how often employment posting require a degree from a “regionally accredited college or university.”
This is mainly because the regional agencies accredit the largest, most powerful schools in their respective regions. Power breeds power. Surprised? Oh, please.
It is not necessarily true to say that a regionally accredited school is better than any other. However, regional accreditation is the most widely accepted mark of approval for a college or university. It is the “retail” brand of accreditation, most commonly known and accepted without investigation or question.
National accreditation agencies are generally private organizations. For the most part they are also membership associations like the regional agencies.
Often, the national agencies are special purpose accreditors. There are agencies that accredit just distance learning schools, or just Christian schools, or just business schools. And that just scratches the surface. There are a lot of accreditors out there.
In the marketplace of accreditation, in the US at least, national accreditation is considered an acceptable but not ideal mark of accreditation. The national accreditors, despite their extravagant efforts at self-importance, do not have the retail panache accorded the regional agencies.
Seems backwards, doesn’t it? Usually we think of something “national” as having more power and prestige than something merely “regional.” But in the Alice in Wonderland world of accreditation, it works exactly the other way around.
Finally, specialized accreditation agencies exist to accredit study programs in particular concentration areas. They accredit schools in a variety of subjects, ranging from nursing to landscape architecture.
The specialized agencies differ from the regional and national agencies in that they accredit individual programs. The regionals and nationals accredit entire institutions only. Specialized accreditation is program-specific, while national accreditation is considered “institutional.”
So, you might go to a regionally accredited state university and study landscape architecture in a program accredited by a specialized agency. Overlap? Oh, yeah.
There are two other types of agencies that are worth our attention, both private organizations.
First off, there are plenty of reasons a legitimate school might wish to be accredited by an agency that is not affiliated with the United States Department of Education. These reasons are valid, assuming the school itself has a foundation of integrity.
Some schools are philosophically opposed to government intervention. Some, especially those with religious missions, believe their allegiance is to a Higher Power, and not to a secular authority.
Some schools, especially in the nontraditional and distance learning space, offer models that, while legitimate, are too innovative for the plodding pace of the approved accreditation agencies.
For any of these schools, non-governmental accreditation is an appropriate choice. These are schools that embrace accreditation to confirm their legitimacy, but resist government intervention. They simply take their stand and hope to attract students who share their values.
It’s a winning combination for students with particular philosophies or interests.
Finally, illegitimate diploma mill schools crawl out of the woodwork at a startling pace. Especially in the Internet age, nearly anybody can set up a “university” online.
They have a ton of tricks to make themselves appear legit. One of the most common is to set up “accreditation agencies” that serve no purpose except to accredit themselves. These “agencies” are not valid accreditors as much as they are front organizations and possibly scams.
If you are considering a school that is accredited by a non-governmental agency, be careful to check out the agency. One quick way to discern an agency’s legitimacy is to ask to see its accreditation standards and to see a list of its member schools. If an agency cannot quickly provide a list of standards (even for a fee), or a list of schools (with at least ten members), then it is probably not legitimate.
If you’re digging this deep into schools and accreditation agencies, don’t be afraid to dive all the way in and do a little extra research. It may be the difference between getting a fabulous unique education and getting scammed.
Is the government involved in accrediting colleges and schools?
Not directly, at least not in the United States. The US federal government’s Department of Education approves accreditation agencies that wish to operate under its auspices. Contrary to widely held opinion, though, the federal government does not itself accredit individual schools.
Here’s why: Constitutional law in the United States holds that education is the responsibility of the individual states. Consequently, the individual state governments are very involved in higher education.
Every state holds the authority to determine the standards for granting a degree within its state boundaries. Therefore, every college or university operating within a state does so only with that state’s approval. Every degree legally granted in the United States is granted under state authority, not federal.
Trouble is, if you’ve checked into financial aid recently, you know that the feds are very involved with funding higher education. And where there’s federal money, there’s federal regulation. Don’t be surprised to see federal accreditation standards for colleges within a decade or so.
Outside the United States, government agencies often handle accreditation, such as it is. The concept of “accreditation” originated in the US and has largely not been a part of international education. However, under the UN’s oversight, many countries have begun to develop accreditation standards.
With the rise of Internet-based distance learning schools, many governments have seen the need to establish accreditation boards. These boards impose a standard of legitimacy on schools that seek to operate within their borders. This movement is an attempt to limit illegitimate operators of diploma mills.
Is accreditation necessary?
Accreditation is necessary only if it is necessary for you. If your purpose calls for an accredited degree—or, “regionally accredited”, or accredited by a particular agency—accreditation is of course necessary.
However, for many learners, the purpose for achieving the degree is a personal or professional goal that does not require accreditation. In those cases, you can make a decision about a school based on its merits and offerings, apart from accreditation.
The main issue is the integrity of the school. A school should present itself exactly as it is. If a school is unaccredited, it should say so, rather than trying to hide behind a phony accreditation agency. If it is accredited by a non-governmental agency, it should state its reason for choosing that agency. If a school has chosen an offshore location, it should explain clearly why it has chosen that domain.
Many schools have legitimate differences with accreditation agencies approved by the US Department of Education. If you are considering such a school, it should articulate those differences, and let you determine their validity.
In the big picture, it’s always up to you.