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What Are The Pros And Cons Of Having An Accredited Program

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Professional Accreditation – Pros and Cons

Pros
Most of the Pros of having an accredited program appear to be well known. Accreditation is a “feather in one’s cap” because it is a “conferring of an honours degree” in the field. Accreditation states that the program has been peer evaluated and found “worthy”. Accreditation allows the program to be more visible in an honorable manner to other professionals in the same field, to allied professionals, and also to the outside “hiring” world. Programs that are accredited attract highly qualified faculty and students than programs that are not accredited. Accredited programs typically conduct routine “housecleaning”, in the form of a “Self Study”, to ensure that the program maintains its quality. The Self Study forms the core of the documentation used by evaluators from the accredited body when conducting a site visit for the purposes of …show more content…

Departments that have accredited programs often do not have a budget line for costs related to becoming and staying accredited. The following is a list of “costs” and “constraints” on a department with an accredited program.

1) Fees for accreditation – The cost for application and re-application is immense … and usually this cost is not a budget line in a departmental budget
2) Site visit costs – The cost for a small committee (2 or 3) to visit the department for 2 or 3 days can be large. The accrediting body may or may not pay for these costs which include travel, lodging, and meals.
3) “Buy Out” Money or Course Relief - Some one (or two persons) must take responsibility for the initial departmental application for accreditation and, later, for the re-application for accreditation. Most departments do not have the money to offer a “buy-out” or course relief for the person(s) time. Estimates of 400 hours for the initial application are not unusual and half that for the

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