The Information Age workplace has grown larger and more globally prominent over the past 30 years and places a great demand on those entering this workforce to be highly skilled and educated. Higher education was once viewed as the domain of scholars, theorists and high-profile career seekers, like doctors, lawyers and engineers. However, it is now an expectation that people applying for positions in almost every industry and career field will bring to that position the skills imbued in them by their tertiary education programs. Marry this frequent expectation to attain credentials and skills-based learning beyond high school with the rise in for-profit higher education institutions and “online diploma mills”, and one encounters a US higher education system which requires not only careful navigation, but informed decision-making in terms of where to earn one’s credentials, as well.
Enter online information resources such as the Web site under review herein: The Database of Accredited Postsecondary Institutions and Programs, a product of the US Department of Education’s (USDOE) Office of Postsecondary Education. This Web site organizes and presents freely available data compiled by various USDOE units overseeing post-secondary institutions and makes this information accessible to those looking for accredited higher education programs and institutions within the USA. Although the USDOE does not accredit post-secondary institutions or tertiary education programs itself (as stated on the first page of the Web site), the US Secretary of Education does have a legal obligation to make available a list of “nationally recognized accrediting agencies that the Secretary determines to be reliable authorities as to the quality of education or training provided by institutions of higher education and the higher education programs they accredit”. This Web site does just that to the benefit of its users.
For many employers, hiring employees with credentials from accredited higher education programs and institutions is one of the only ways they can ensure these employees have the skills necessary to perform required tasks. The Database of Accredited Postsecondary Institutions and Programs makes available accreditation data regarding specific institutions, campuses and sites of postsecondary education, as well as for internships, residencies and post-secondary education programs within the USA, so that those entering higher education can make informed decisions about their academic programs and beyond.
As explained on the first page of the Web site, “[T]he goal of accreditation is to ensure that education provided by institutions of higher education meets acceptable levels of quality”. “Quality” can be a very challenging word to define. However, within the confines of higher education, accreditation is bestowed by an accrediting body which assesses an academic program or institution’s adherence to the body’s standards of quality. Often, this is done by requiring that the program or institution under review has met certain benchmarks indicating alignment with the accrediting body’s standards of quality, and many of these standards align with the standards and skills required by specific career fields outside of higher education. Additionally, most accrediting bodies require that higher education programs and institutions engage in reliable means of assessing learners at multiple points during their academic journeys, to ensure that the learning outcomes espoused as “markers of quality” by accredited programs and institutions are actually being achieved by students within (US Department of Education, 2015). As explained in the USDOE section discussing accreditation in the USA, a lack of federal regulatory presence overseeing higher education institutions has allowed “American educational institutions [to] vary widely in the character and quality of their programs”, and accreditation provides “a means of conducting nongovernmental, peer evaluation of educational institutions and programs”.
Because the cost of US higher education has risen steadily over the past decade, and becomes increasingly more expensive each year (Sanchez, 2014), consequently, so too has the need for federal grant funds and loans for those attending higher education risen. Counterintuitively, there has been a marked decrease in state funding to higher education institutions over that same decade (Woodhouse, 2015). Therefore, it is now more crucial than ever for future learners to be informed of what type of education their money is buying, and those entering higher education should have all the tools possible at their disposal to make these determinations. The Web site under review is one of those tools.
The Database of Accredited Postsecondary Institutions and Programs is neither a comprehensive higher education search resource like College Navigator (National Center for Education Statistics, 2015), nor is it perhaps as robust as search platforms like College Scorecard (United States Department of Education, 2015). It provides only a simple service: Data on the accreditation status of US higher education institutions, programs, internships and residencies. As explained previously, attending accredited versus non-accredited institutions often makes all the difference when someone enters the global workforce. Additionally, unlike some college information Web sites which require you to “pay” in personal information before revealing any content (National Association for College Admission Counseling, 2015), this Web site provides information freely and at the behest of the Secretary of US Education. Knowing which institutions, programs, etc., are accredited and which are not can be inherently valuable to future learners and those who fund their educational journeys, as well.
This reviewer found the simplicity of the site a little droll, and the “data dump” one retrieves from the option to download data for all accredited entities a little overwhelming. However, the site is clear in its purpose and organization, is easy to navigate and is a critical resource for those exploring all of their options in regard to US higher education attainment. Additionally, the helpful Glossary and FAQ pages direct users to other USDOE information resources, which provide even more avenues for higher education research. This reviewer greatly appreciates the utility of this site, and recommends using it in tandem with other higher education information sites, like College Navigator, when conducting research into higher education as a whole.
