Accreditation

“The academic systems around the world have fused together into a integrated system of education. With a unified curriculum this system of study presents its own challenges of regulation and supervision”

Regulation and the traditional education
Traditional education was always scrutinized and regulated by conventional administrative authorities. Ever since the expansion intellectual interaction between different cultures and countries, the need to have a unified academic system has existed. For traditional education, standards were established and imposed on the curriculum to make it equal and efficient everywhere. These curriculums and standards have always been under the watchful eye of educators, experts, officials and collectively committees and boards regulate these standards. But that was the story of the systems past and the present changing face of education demands a different regulation.

Regulating the digital classroom
The remarkable growth of online education in the past few years has given rise to a numerous new schools as well as existing universities offering online programs. The process of choosing the right school has become increasingly complex since and unlike traditional bricks-and-mortar schooling, geography is no longer a restraining factor.

But with so many new programs sprouting these days, how can a prospective student know which ones are legitimate and not a waste of money? When an online institute is offering valuable education at one place then why isn’t being recognized at a different place? How can this lack of faith and legitimacy be standardized?

Accreditation is the answer
Accreditation is principally the process of approval for a school or university. Many online universities and specialized schools go through accreditation process with the aim of proving their legitimacy to students, employers, and the general public. Accreditation is also a classification used to determine if institutions of higher education meet adequate levels of educational quality.

Why is Accreditation important?
Accreditation asserts the school in meeting high-quality standards, employing a continuous improvement procedure, and engaging in quality assurance throughout internal and external review.

Academic accreditation covers an entire institution and specialized accreditation can be awarded to an individual department or school within a university. Accreditation is a noble way of separating the legitimate institutions from spurious institutions. A degree from an accredited school is important because it is recognized and helps student with their career greatly.

Types of Accreditation
Accreditation has three main types that cover regional, national and specialized accreditation.

Regional Accreditation:
Regional accreditation is in general the optimal type of accreditation available for an institute in its own domain or country of origin. In U.S.A there are 6 regional accreditation bodies that review and grant accreditation in particular geographic areas.

Institutional Accreditation:
Institutional accreditation specifies that an entire institution has met the established standards of educational quality. Institutional accreditation suggests that each of an institution’s schools, majors and degree programs contribute to the achievement of the institution’s general academic objectives.

Specialized Accreditation:
Specialized accreditation applies to a specific program offered by a school. This accreditation does not cover the entire school but only the degree program or school that has been accredited.

How do schools earn accreditation?
To earn accreditation, institutions must follow the accreditation process depending on the accrediting body. Institutions must:

• Meet the established Standards.
  • The standards require the school to have clear vision, a mission and purpose; have effective and receptive leadership; have a well-structured curriculum and results.

•  Engage continuous improvement process
  • Accredited institutions are committed to excellence and perform consistent and continuous self-improvement, establish plans and make efforts to improve students learning and school efficiency.

What are the benefits of accreditation?

• Clear and instinctive processes for school improvement that are grounded in best practices from the academic and business fields.
• An opportunity to gain valuable contribution, corroboration, and support from peers.
• Access to a rich and wide array of resources worldwide with tools meant for enhancement of improvement efforts.
• Demonstrates your dedication to supporting the development of your students.
• Most employers prefer to hire people who have gained their education from an accredited institute.
• Transferability of credits to students from school to school.
• Accreditation is not just a standard but works as protection as well. Accreditation is a safeguard for students.

How to improve current accreditation?
The answer to this question is relatively simple. Accreditation institutes don’t just provide accreditation status for life but the approval standards of accreditation keep progressing and institutes are evaluated on the consistently changing standards.

These positive changes in accreditation requirements and standards ensure that the students are receiving the best education with constant development in their curriculum, material and programs. These developments happening simultaneously around the world promote and encourage best practices in education.

This article described Accreditation and how it sets the standards for Educational institutes.

The overall purpose of this blog is to provide information about education, its changing trends and latest developments around the world. We wish to make this a global platform to not only discuss but work together towards betterment of global education.

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