Education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 5

Education - Essay Example The American government has put in place a body that sees to it that before a school is mandated to operate; whether as a private or public school, the school undergoes certain assessment process to ensure that it meets laid down criteria and standard. This assessment process is known as accreditation. Accreditation is important in ensuring that the freedom given to people to start schools is not abused and that parents and guardians get value for the money they spend in educating their wards. One area that the issuance of accreditation has become most popular and gained a lot of public attention is at the higher education level in the US. Higher Education System in US There are several types of higher education institutions in the United States. Some of these include: Research Universities, Doctorate-Granting Universities, Master's (Comprehensive) Universities and Colleges, Baccalaureate (Liberal Arts) Colleges, Associate of Arts Colleges, Professional Schools, Specialized Instituti ons, Postsecondary Vocational and Technical Schools. According to the U.S. Network for Education Information (USNEI), Washington (2001), â€Å"current data indicate that there are some 2,819 institutions offering a Bachelor's or higher degree; 2,657 institutions offering at least an associate's degree but less than a bachelor's degree; and 4,927 institutions offering shorter non-degree programmes of less than two years duration.† These schools offer educational credentials such as High School Diploma, Associate Degree, Certificate, Bachelor's Degree, Diploma, Education Specialist, First Professional Degree, Post-Bachelor's Diploma, Master's Degree, Certificate of Advanced Study and Doctorate. Thelin, J.R., Edwards, J.R & Moyen, E (2011) see the higher education system to be just more than a set of institutions that impart knowledge. To them, higher education in the United States is an established ‘knowledge industry’ that represents about 3 percent of the gross n ational product. To this effect, they claim that â€Å"virtually every governor and legislature across the nation evokes colleges and universities as critical to a state's economic and cultural development.† It is for the sake of this important role that higher education plays to the United States that it is important to ensure that products that are produced by higher education institutions are products worth the ‘market force’. Accreditation Agencies for Higher Education Accreditation of schools in the United States dates back to the 1800s. According to the Accrediting Council for Independent Schools and Colleges, ACICS (2011), â€Å"The first regional accrediting agencies formed in the 1880s with particular focus on educational standards and admissions procedures.† The agencies kept changing till in 1996, the Council for Higher Education Accreditation took over accreditation in the United States to oversee the works of accreditation agencies like ACICS and other public and private accreditation agencies. The Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) is generally responsible for accreditation of higher education