Is your program accredited?

Gary Jacobsen
Published: August 4, 2008

On July 31, a major newspaper that serves the Greater Washington area ran a story about an Internet-based “diploma mill” that operated out of Washington state. The organization, run by a 58-year-old
woman and two members of her family, grossed $6 million from 1999 to 2005. It has now been shut down by Washington state officials, though others are believed to still exist.

The diploma mill sold college degrees from St. Regis University, Ameritech University and James Monroe University. It also sold counterfeit diplomas from George Washington University, the University of
Maryland and Texas A&M University.

Young adults in Prince William County should be mindful of the problem of diploma mills as they prepare for college this fall. To protect themselves, they should deal only with institutions that have both
regional and professional accreditation in their chosen field of study.

Generally, students are safe if they attend a college or university that has been accredited by one of the six major regional accrediting associations. In Virginia, that means the Southern Association of
Colleges and Schools (http://www.sacs.org). The names of the other accrediting associations are available from the U. S. Department of Education or from the Council for Higher Education Accreditation
(http://www.chea.org).

But regional accreditation is only a first step. Students must then determine if the school they will be attending has professional accreditation as well. That means that the school has passed a rigorous
evaluation by professionals in the field. Some of the more common professional accrediting groups are:

Business. The accrediting organization for schools of business is the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (http://www.aacsb.edu). Fortunately, most of the major universities in Virginia meet
AACSB standards. However some universities in Prince William County and in the Greater Washington area do not. If you are unsure, go to the AACSB Web site and click on accreditation.

Nursing. The National League for Nursing Accreditation (http://www.nlnac.org) evaluates nursing programs throughout the United States. The organization “is nationally recognized by the U.S. Department of
Education as the accrediting agency for postsecondary and higher degree nursing programs.”

Public Administration. Only four colleges in Virginia have undergraduate public administration programs that have been approved by the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration
(http://www.naspaa.org): College of William & Mary, George Mason University, James Madison University and Virginia State University.

Liberal Arts. A recent addition to the list of accrediting organizations is the American Academy for Liberal Education (http://www.aale.org). St. John’s College in Annapolis and Southern Virginia University in
Buena Vista have been approved by AALE. Other major public universities throughout Virginia have excellent liberal arts programs that will soon be accredited by AALE.

Applied Science.  The Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (http://www.abet.org) is “the recognized accreditor for college and university programs in applied science, computing, engineering and
technology. . . [It] is a federation of 28 professional and technical societies representing these fields.”

Architecture. In our state, only three universities have been accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board (http://www.naab.org) to award Bachelor of Architecture degrees: Hampton University,
University of Virginia and the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.

Education. The National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (http://www.ncate.org) is the “professional accrediting organization for schools, colleges and departments of education in the United
States. It is a coalition of over 30 organizations representing teachers, teacher educators, policymakers, and the public.”

Online programs. All students should be aware that accrediting organizations tend to look with disfavor on educational programs that rely exclusively on Internet technology. Some of these online schools
have regional accreditation, but they cannot get professional accreditation because exams are open-book and unproctored. Further, students at such institutions often “share” the assignments and
workload. Students may discover, to their chagrin, that a diploma from such a school is essentially worthless.

Gary Jacobsen is a former professor of business education. Contact him at .