Accreditation is the ultimate source of consumer protection for prospective students. It is often a prerequisite for governmental funding. Graduation from an accredited program is almost always stipulated by state law and is an eligibility requirement for licensure and/or certification examinations. In short, accreditation of a school or program is a student’s most important source of independent validation that the program has at least enough educational value to be “approved” by a credible (expertise-based), independent (free of outside influence), reliable (consistently applied standards) organization that has the U.S. Department of Education’s approval.
More information about the importance of accreditation can be found at: