"Accredited college"??? What does this mean?

Question

What is an "ACCREDITED college?" Does that mean ONLY prestigous schools or just universities?

Answer 1

It means that the school meets the minimum standards to be called a college or university.

More important than the regional accreditation are discipline specific accreditations. To get a license in a many fields, you have to have a degree from a school that is accredited by that discipline's national organization. For example, to be a licensed speech pathologist, you have to have a master's degree from a program that is accredited by ASHA. Even if there is no license involved, you may need to graduate from a school with a specific accreditation. For example, if you want to pursue a tenure track faculty position in a business discipline at a university, you have to have a Ph.D. from a business school that is accredited by the AACSB.

Thus, degrees from those pretend online schools, such as the univ of phoenix, are worthless because may have their regional accreditations, but their programs don't have the required discipline accreditations.

Answer 2

"Accreditation is a process by which a facility's services and operations are examined by a third-party accrediting agency to determine if applicable standards are met. Should the facility meet the accrediting agency's standards, the facility receives accredited status from the accrediting agency.

In the United States, the term is most often used with reference to schools and hospitals. Accreditation of these institutions is performed by private nonprofit membership associations known as accreditors. The Council for Higher Education Accreditation oversees accrediting agencies and provides guidelines as well as resources and relevant data... Regionally accredited schools are predominantly academically oriented, non-profit institutions.[4][5] Nationally accredited schools are predominantly for-profit and offer vocational, career or technical programs.[4][5] Many regionally accredited schools will not accept nationally accredited schools' credits for transfer.[6][7][4][5]... In the United States, unaccredited degrees may not be acceptable for civil service or other employment; criminal penalties sometimes apply should such a degree be presented in lieu of one from an accredited school. The use of such degrees are restricted in Oregon, New Jersey, Indiana, Illinois, North Dakota, Nevada and Washington where improper usage can result in misdemeanor charges punishable by fines."

- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/School_accreditation

Answer 3

it means the school has certain standards that they have met by the government, and you are eligible to recieve grants to go there. It's not just prestigious schools, most colleges are accredited, unless they are purely religious based schools. Going to an accredited college is important because not only would your credits transfer if you decided to go elsewhere, but the degree you earned would actually be a "real" degree taken seriously by the world. Any degree you earn at a non-accredited school isn't worth the paper it's printed on because it won't be seen as being a "real" degree in the business world.

Answer 4

Neither. It means that the degrees awarded by the college or university, are recognized in the field. I could start a college in my back bedroom, call it the College of International Congress and award a PhD to students who completed whatever courses I gave them. But would anyone in the real world recognize that degree? Nope! So accredited means that, for example, the College of Physicians and Surgeons will recognize a degree granted in the field of medicine, if the college or univerrsity meets certain standards and curricula. It has nothing to do with prestige, but is all about course content, ability of the teachers, and recognized standards.

Answer 5

NO. Accredited simply means a school that has been licensed to award degrees in certain fields. It means you have earned that degree and taken the necessary coursework. If a school isn't accredited, they have not earned the right to award degrees - and the degrees they do award are worthless. No job or grad school will recognize it as a real degree - it's equivalent to a scam. Any decent school will be accredited, and don't waste your money if it's not (unless you're looking for a fake religious degree or something).

Answer 6

One thing to understand is that all accredations are not the same. Accredation agencies vary by field, location, and type of school. Some schools who claim to be accredited are accredited by bogus agencies, so you want to check with the U.S. Dept. of Education. Also accreditation can effect how your earned units transfer later on.

This link will take you to the U.S. Dept of Education.

http://www.ed.gov/students/landing.jhtml

Answer 7

It means it was accredited by an accrediting agency or state approval agency recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education as a “reliable authority as to the quality of postsecondary education” within the meaning of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA).

The goal of accreditation is to ensure that education provided by institutions of higher education meets acceptable levels of quality. 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.

Answer 8

It means that an organization has "approved" or "accredited" the college. Like ABET (American Board of Engineering and Technology).

For the most part, it means whatever your future employer wants it to mean. If they think it means nothing, then it means nothing. If they think it is proof of an acceptable education, then it is proof of an acceptable education.

Answer 9

It means a college that is recognized by government entity. For example, here in Canada we have the Ministry of Colleges and University and to have status as such, they must have approval or recognition from this entity. I hope this helps.

Answer 10

it means it will actually get you a good job and you are really learning something, watch out for those who just want your money and when it comes to work, hiring will not happen...
acreditation is in the dictionary....look it up
:)