The Importance of Accreditation
According to the website for the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools, accreditation is a “voluntary activity initiated by the institution” that “emphasizes quality assurance and a commitment to continuous quality enhancement.” Accreditation can be important to an institution because it plays a factor in the following:
- Determining whether the school meets minimum quality standards
- Providing potential students with important information about a school
- Assisting in the determination of credit transfers between schools
- Showing prospective employers the value of the education received at the school
- Evaluating eligibility for tuition reimbursement programs offered by employers
- Enabling graduates to sit for certification examinations
- Creating goals for self-improvement of the institution
- Providing self-assessment for the oversight functions required by the state
- Offering a basis for determining federal student assistance
Shasta College Needs Education Plan to Save Accreditation
The lack of a central education plan is the crux that resulted in an accreditation warning for Shasta College. The accreditation commission has placed the school on probation, citing four items that must be addressed to keep their accreditation intact, according to a report at Redding.com. Probation signifies an intermediate warning level, which comes prior to the “show cause” warning that was issued to other colleges.
Accreditation may have been taken for granted in years past, but California community colleges are especially now on red alert to maintain their status as a leading institution of education.