We Need to Restore Credibility to Accreditation
Accreditation is typically the benchmark that signals a college’s value and reliability to peers and prospective students. Students look for accreditation to ensure they choose a reputable institution and have more information on affordability. Accreditation unlocks federal and sometimes state dollars to pay for that education through grants, scholarships, and student loans. For those working in industry who seek to go back to school, accreditation is extremely important in determining whether that employee will get reimbursed for their education.
Accreditation began in the late nineteenth century to create a path to college through a uniform set of college entrance standards overseen by seven regional accrediting bodies. The voluntary process of accreditation separated colleges and universities into those that upheld high academic standards versus those that did not. It wasn’t until WWII that the federal government really got involved with accreditation because of the federal GI Bill program for service members to ensure that taxpayer funds were used responsibly.
The government relied on the institutions to self-regulate, thereby ensuring quality programs. Yet, at the same time, there was a change in higher education from a classically based education to a focus on elective programs that represented new and untested fields (like psychology and sociology). So, while the federal government wanted federal dollars to be used responsibly, it had little involvement or oversight in the accreditation process or standards of member institutions.