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Is Accreditation Really a Big deal?

Accreditation can be pretty confusing, particularly as it applied to online colleges and universities. And, sometimes accreditation is confused with state licensure, which is not the same thing at all.

Licensure simply gives an institution the legal right to function (to offer online degrees and/or campus based programs). While there may be some standards required for educational licensure, they are generally pretty minimal. As a result, licensure should not be viewed as a guarantee of educational quality. In other words, be wary of schools, colleges or universities which talk about state licensure rather than accreditation.

It is even more important to realize that many colleges and universities, especially online colleges and universities (those with no traditional, campus-based degree programs), claim accreditation from agencies which are not recognized by the United States Department of Education. While some of these unrecognized accrediting agencies may make a legitimate attempt to evaluate and insist on some measure of quality from the colleges and universities they accredit, their stamp of approval is generally meaningless in the professional world and in the world of fully accredited (online and traditional) colleges and universities.

For example, no decent school or college will hire a teacher or administrator without a degree from a legitimately accredited college or university.

Accredited colleges and universities will almost never accept transfer credit for courses completed at unaccredited colleges or colleges. And, they do not differentiate between colleges with no accreditation at all and those with so-called accreditation offered by unrecognized agencies.

Depending on your individual situation and goals, you may not care much about accreditation. But, our advice is...whether you are taking courses in a traditional campus based program or through online education...you are generally far better off at a school, college or university accredited by a recognized accrediting agency. That being the case, before deciding to enroll in a college or university, find out which agency accredits it, and be sure that agency is listed on the U.S. Department of Education site.

Accreditation will not guarantee that you will be completely satisfied with a particular college or degree program. But, it does mean that some standards of quality are in place, that you may be able to transfer credits if you are so inclined, and that most employers will recognize the validity of your coursework and/or degree. In addition, appropriate coursework or an appropriate degree from an accredited institution of higher education can help qualify you for admission to other degree programs.

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Daniel Kane has been a high school and college. He authored and maintains one website on education online another on education online and colleges, and more than a half dozen additional education sites. Get your own completely unique content version of this article.

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