If you want to study in US universities then it is imperative that you know about the system of accreditation in US universities. You must know who accredits the universities. You must also know that the programme which you want to join is accredited for or not and where should you look for such details. Why is accreditation so important? It is accreditation which ensures the high quality of the institution. It ensures that the school provides high quality education and services.
The Basics
Accreditation in the US is quite different as compared to the accreditation in India. The important factor is that the process of accreditation is non-governmental in the US. The educational institutions themselves volunteer to undergo the process. The process involves checks on the quality of education and services provided,. This ensures that high quality services are available and being provided by the university. This in turn also earns good repute for the tested university.
What Are You Supposed to Know
Private bodies provide accreditation status in the US. These private bodies or accrediting bodies are recognized by the United States Department of Education (USDE) and Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). USDE is a governmental organization and federal law governs it. It ensures that the aid of the government goes to the students who are studying in the institutions with minimum services. It has set a criterion having ten judging points. Based on these points the institutions are judged.
CHEA is a non-governmental and private organization. It is also a non-profit organization. It has a board of governors which has 20 members. Its sole purpose is to enhance and strengthen the academic courses and polices.
Accreditation Process and Accreditors
It is a process in which the recruiting policy, faculty, admission process, course syllabi etc of a school or university are checked. The process involves self study, peer review, visiting the site and action. Accreditors are of different types. Few are as follows:-
1. Regional accreditors
2. Faith-related accreditors
3. private career accreditors
4. Programmatic accreditors
Students from overseas can know about the universities which are accredited by going on the website www.chea.com and get to know more about the process.
I am still not sure I understand what accreditation is?? Is it like the boards we have in India (CBSE, ICSE, etc.). I guess it helps in determining which schools are better but schools with good faculty and facilities will automatically attract stronger candidates. Therefore I'm not sure how many people will actually look at accreditation to determine the quality of the school. Harvard University is the best college in the world not because of any accreditation. Same is true for IIT and IIM...
