The American higher education system is not government regulated. Many private and public institutions rely on private accreditation programs in order to retain students who will move onto viable careers. Individuals planning attendance at a collegiate institution should be aware of accreditation and the impact it will have on their college experience. Concluding a program without accreditation will not produce the same results as that of a credited program.
Collegiate institutions in American are separate from federal and local government supervision. However, they do have governing bodies that provide guidelines for their programs. These guidelines come in the form of accreditation and partnerships. These governing bodies are known accreditation agencies and they do answer to the United States Government. These agencies conduct periodic interviews with staff and students in accredited programs. Then they look over records, tour facilities and ultimately decide whether the program will remain accredited or not.
All of this supervision is for the good of the students. Without accreditation, an earned degree is most likely useless. Further education is next to impossible and many employers will not value unaccredited degree recipients. Thirdly, many financial aid options do not cover unaccredited programs. Not only will a student go through a mediocre program, they will not find a good job and pay for the entire experience out of pocket. Due to these monumental negatives, attending an unaccredited program is highly discouraged.
Finding the accreditation of a program should not be a difficult task. Higher education institutions understand the importance of accreditation. Therefore, they display such accolades accordingly. Using the search tool on any collegiate website should bring up several examples of accreditation. Doing so on Harvard’s website shows that they just underwent their ten-year evaluation in 2009. Most accredited programs under go a revaluation every ten years. A school that is unwilling to display this information is not trustworthy.
Applying to any collegiate program or institution is an in-depth process. Making sure all questions and questions dissipate will take some time and careful thought. Accreditation is one of those concerns. Investing in the future begins with a college degree. Receiving a degree not backed by accreditation will most likely hinder that student’s advancement professionally and in further education.
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