Accreditation

Accreditation is the check by which an official body examines an institution, such as a university or a college, and recognises that its teaching meets a set standard. A degree counts, for jobs, for further study and under government rules, only when an institution with this recognition awards it. So a new company that wants to offer a degree usually does not award the degree itself. It works with an existing, recognised university, and the university awards the degree.

Here is how it works in general. The institution applies to the body that recognises or accredits it. It submits evidence: its courses, its teachers' qualifications, its exams, its facilities and its students' results. Experts from the body review the evidence, and usually visit the campus. The body then grants recognition, often with a grade, for a fixed number of years. The institution must apply again when that period ends. Employers, other universities and government departments then accept the degrees it awards.

In India, two separate things are involved. The right to award a degree comes from law. Only a university set up by an Act of Parliament or of a state legislature, or an institution declared a deemed-to-be university, may award one. Most colleges are affiliated to such a university, which awards their students' degrees. Accreditation bodies, such as NAAC, then grade the quality of each institution. The University Grants Commission (UGC) also allows only universities that meet set quality criteria to award degrees fully online.

Take, for example, a tech-led college. A company designs and teaches the computer-science course, but a recognised university awards the degree, because the company may not.

Consider an online degree programme for working engineers. The university awards the degree and sets the exams, while a company builds the platform, markets the programme and shares the fees.

For instance, an accredited degree federation lets many small online schools join one accredited institution. Each school teaches its own courses, and its students receive degrees awarded through the federation. An online school faces the same question for children: its students need a certificate from a recognised school board.

How is accreditation different from a certification? A professional certification, such as one in cloud computing, is awarded by a company or an industry body after a person passes its exam. It shows that the person has one skill, and employers may value it. But it is not a degree, and no official education body has recognised the course behind it. Professional certification training prepares people for such exams. Accreditation is about the institution: it is the reason a degree from one place counts and a degree from another does not.