AOA Today - Does It Really Matter Who Accredits Your School?
As online education begins to catch on with the American public, new distance learning schools are proliferating, and they all seem to boast that they are "accredited." The question is, "Accredited by whom?" Not all forms of accreditation are equal. If you look into some accrediting organizations, you will find that they will send a nice-looking certificate of accreditation to just about anyone who pays them a fee. There are accreditation mills that support diploma mills.
Let me tell you a little about the organization that provides accreditation for Alpha Omega Academy. AdvanceED, the result of a merger in 2006 between SACS-CASI (Southern Association of Colleges and Schools), NCA-CASI (North Central Association), and NSSE (National Study of School Evaluation). As the world's largest education community, it represents approximately 27,000 schools and 15 million students. The two regional associations, SACS and NCA, are two of the six regional associations recognized by the U.S. Department of Education with responsibility for accrediting post-secondary colleges and schools. Together they provide accreditation to public schools and colleges in 30 states, as well as to trans-regional schools like AOA.
Accreditation by AdvancED, or more specifically the branch responsible for Iowa, NCA-CASI (North Central Association - Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement), does not come easily. It starts with the school doing a laborious self-study that can take months to complete, followed with a visit by a team of educational experts who spend several days at the school verifying that the school is doing everything that it says it does. Accreditation means that the school has a well-developed plan for continuous improvement, with progress monitored by the accrediting association and revisited every five years.
How does this make a difference for your student? There are two main ways.
The first, and most obvious to parents, is the recognition it provides your child. When your student graduates from a school accredited by AdvancED or NCA-CASI, this tells the world your child earned a diploma from a school that has a clearly defined mission (such as the academy's mission of "Changing Education for the Glory of God") and wants to be held to the highest standards of accountability. Such accreditation can help open doors for students, and I know of no higher form of accreditation than accreditation through AdvancED.
The second (and perhaps most important) way is the result of the school's commitment to pursuing a process of continuous improvement. This ongoing accreditation process creates within the school's staff and leadership a culture of constantly striving to do a better job of educating students. Parents are thus assured they are dealing with educators committed to giving their children the best that they can.
Does accreditation mean a perfect school? By no means! It does, however, mean that we are committed, with God's help, to being better.
Your comments and input are welcome.
David Bauman
Principal, Alpha Omega Academy
Accreditation by AdvancED, or more specifically the branch responsible for Iowa, NCA-CASI (North Central Association - Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement), does not come easily. It starts with the school doing a laborious self-study that can take months to complete, followed with a visit by a team of educational experts who spend several days at the school verifying that the school is doing everything that it says it does. Accreditation means that the school has a well-developed plan for continuous improvement, with progress monitored by the accrediting association and revisited every five years.
How does this make a difference for your student? There are two main ways.
The first, and most obvious to parents, is the recognition it provides your child. When your student graduates from a school accredited by AdvancED or NCA-CASI, this tells the world your child earned a diploma from a school that has a clearly defined mission (such as the academy's mission of "Changing Education for the Glory of God") and wants to be held to the highest standards of accountability. Such accreditation can help open doors for students, and I know of no higher form of accreditation than accreditation through AdvancED.
The second (and perhaps most important) way is the result of the school's commitment to pursuing a process of continuous improvement. This ongoing accreditation process creates within the school's staff and leadership a culture of constantly striving to do a better job of educating students. Parents are thus assured they are dealing with educators committed to giving their children the best that they can.
Does accreditation mean a perfect school? By no means! It does, however, mean that we are committed, with God's help, to being better.
Your comments and input are welcome.
David Bauman
Principal, Alpha Omega Academy
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