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ACCREDITATION
What is
Accreditation?
“Accreditation” is a review of the quality of higher education
institutions and their programs. In the United States,
accreditation is a major way that students, families, government
officials, and the press know that an institution or program
provides a quality education.
Accreditation
provides assurance to the public, in particular to prospective
students that an institution has been found to meet the agency’s
requirements and criteria and that there are reasonable grounds
for believing that it will continue to meet them.
Who are
the accreditors?
In the U.S.,
the accreditors are private, nongovernmental organizations
created for the specific purpose of reviewing higher education
institutions and programs for quality. In most other countries,
accreditation (or quality assurance) is carried out by government
organizations
To find a
recognized U.S.
accrediting organization or a quality assurance organization in
another country, visit the
CHEA International Database.
This database contains information about quality assurance and
accreditation organizations from 48 countries, including the
U.S. Information about contacting each organization is included
Why is accreditation important?
Accreditation is important to various constituent groups because
it represents an institution's commitment to quality education.
Being accredited warrants that an institution meets the quality
criteria set by the accreditation agencies. Business and industry
leaders are interested in quality universities and consider
accreditation status an important factor when hiring.
Accreditation in United States
The goal of
accreditation is to ensure that education provided by
institutions of higher education meets acceptable levels of
quality. Accreditation in the United States involves
non-governmental entities as well as governmental agencies.
Accrediting agencies, which are private educational associations
of regional or national scope, develop evaluation criteria and
conduct peer evaluations to assess whether or not those criteria
are met. Institutions and/or programs that request an
agency's
evaluation and that meet an agency's criteria are then
"accredited” by that agency.
The U.S.
Department of Education does not accredit educational
institutions and/or programs. However, the Secretary of Education
is required by law to publish a list of nationally recognized
accrediting agencies that the Secretary determines to be reliable
authorities as to the quality of education or training provided
by the institutions of higher education and the higher education
programs they accredit.
While
National Accreditation is common for traditional U.S.
institutions of higher learning, utilizing standard teaching
methods, we note that every country has its own standards and
independent accrediting organizations.
Accreditation
is a voluntary process and does not guarantee a worthy education.
Rather, it means an institution has submitted its courses,
programs, budget, and educational objectives for review. Our
Distance Learning Programs are unique, non-traditional and not
accredited by the U.S. Department of Education.
Although our individualized Distance Learning Degree Programs are
distinct from traditional educational institutions, we are
convinced of their value and acceptance worldwide.
Non-traditional programs are important because they recognize
knowledge gained outside the classroom and incorporate a broader
more comprehensive view of the learning experience. It is
precisely this recognition and view that challenges the
established Academic Community. |
