Just because someone claims it is true, doesn’t make it so.
I know that sound obvious, but apparently when it comes to education and finding top colleges, it is a concept easily forgotten.
Accreditation is the (nongovernmental) peer process by which educational institutions assess and improve themselves to assure that they meet minimum standards. To help them with that, they hire an accreditation firm (or association).
To make sure the firm they hire is themselves of high quality, schools look to see if they have been recognized by the CHEA.
To qualify for Federal monies, the government requires that schools be accredited by firms that are recognized by CHEA. It’s a little like this:
US Department of Education
looks to
CHEA
who recognizes
Accreditation Associations
who accredit
Schools
There are some other uses for accreditation, but there is only one that I want to talk about: Being accredited confirms to parents, students, and employers that the institution meets minimum educational standards.
Why do I keep emphasizing minimum? Because that is all that accreditation does; it sets a minimum standard. Given that, there is simply no truth to the implied claim that a regionally accredited school is better than a nationally accredited one, or that a school is somehow one of the top colleges just because it holds one firm’s accreditation over another.
Nowhere does CHEA or US Dept. of ED say, or imply, that a school accredited by a regional association is better than one receiving the nod from a national one. Nor do they rank one accreditation company over another.
Top colleges are not exclusive to one accreditation company.
CIBU & Niels Brock (and granted we are not alone) is always trying to exceed the minimum. We do our best to be the best we can be: to provide our students with the knowledge and experiences necessary to actually do the job they are training themselves to do, and not just to read about it.
Students and parents should look at accredited schools to determine if the institution exceeds the minimum in a way that best suits their personal needs. The accrediting body has nothing to do with that, even if each accreditation firm sets slightly different standards.
There is no room in today’s face-paced, global world for an old boy’s network or marketing myths born of them. Students should look for an accredited school that best suits their needs, and community colleges should help them do that rather than play the favoritism game.
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