Decisions, decisions, decisions. For most people, selecting a college or university is not an easy task. Small or large? Public or private? Traditional classroom or online?
Not all questions about college selection may jump out at you right away. Perhaps the choice between a regionally accredited or a nationally accredited school didn’t come to mind, but it may be one of the most important questions to consider.
Accreditation is an important assessment of institutional quality, namely, quality assurance and quality improvement.
Accreditation is both a process and a status that assures higher education institutions and programs meet a set of standards developed by peers. So when a college or university says they are accredited, it means they have been recognized with a seal of approval. Accreditation in the United States is more than 100 years old and, today, serves a regulatory role in higher education.
Though the word ‘regional’ may be misleading, it refers to the area where the accrediting organization operates. For example, the Middle States Commission on Higher Education oversees New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Washington D.C., Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. At the time of its inception, the country lacked a centralized educational system and regional associations formed to fulfill the role, growing along with the nation’s population.
Most regionally accredited institutions are predominantly degree-oriented, nonprofit or state-owned and have more regulations in place for educational quality and academic standards across regions.
National accreditation is a much newer concept. Many people confuse the term ‘national,’ thinking it is better or more far-reaching than regional accreditation. But that is not where the difference lies.
Nationally accredited schools are generally profit oriented or religion affiliated and offer vocational or technical programs. They award both certificates and degrees. Requirements are not as standardized as regional accreditation because of the specialized nonacademic focus.
So why should you even care if an institution has regional accreditation or national accreditation? The answer depends on your educational goals.
If you want to pursue a career that requires an academic degree, then you may want to attend a regionally accredited school. On the other hand, if you are more interested in a vocational or technical program, a nationally accredited institution may be the better fit. But whatever you decide to do, keep a few things in mind: