When accreditation tells us little about student outcomes and quality of education…why do we hold it in such high esteem?

Do people care about accreditation because of the quality of the education or because the degrees legitimacy will offer employment? When we look deeper into accreditation we see that student outcomes have a menial effect on receiving accreditation, while financial stability influences the lion’s share of the determination. Many schools with fundamental religious convictions are able to receive accreditation while forcing faculty to complete faith statements where they consent to “scientifically preposterous propositions”. This undermines the expected academic rigor one expects from such accreditation and opens the gate to a host of criticism as to what accreditation actually means.

In a discussion on the legitimacy of a peer certified degree relative to a traditional college degree we must ask ourselves what metrics are important to us. We must not denigrate the former on the basis that the traditional accreditation route necessarily offers superior intellectual rigor or academic purity.

The most important reason for attending college or arguing over accreditation rests with leveraging your degree for a better job. The question then boils down to what do we need to be able to get that job? Is the degree the central point or is it merely a door opener, maybe even a badge that grants someone the confidence to pursue your dream job. Clearly there are some fields in the physical sciences where your educational journey requires more structure; such as medicine, chemistry or mathematics. In fields like these time committed to the craft might not mean much without a particular sense of structure and support in your educational journey.

However the most in-demand fields these days rest in the realms of design, business and technology. In these fields your ability to work effectively relies in the ability complete certain types of projects alongside the adaptability to constantly adjust your style, direction and vernacular as industries and technology rapidly change. To find a job in these fields there are three things that give you the best chances; a professional network, a degree and a solid portfolio.

It’s all about who you know

In 2016 70% of people were hired at a company where they had a connection. Having an active network of friends and professional acquaintances is one of the best ways at landing an interview for your next opportunity. You have a 21–25x higher chance getting hired if you have a referral. 95% of people at top companies landed their jobs because of their connections. Any alternative needs to incentivize engagement between students and instructors, enabling them to share their work and knowledge and build connections they can utilize when they’ve sufficiently developed their knowledge.

Degree

When a degree doesn’t guarantee a great job, it makes sense to consider alternatives. The cost for a traditional degrees has risen over 570% over the past 30 years and they don’t offer much insight into an individuals educational journey. What they do offer is a uniform understanding of the amount of time a learner has committed to a particular field. A peer certified degree could easily provide the same insight and more. With a well developed digital platform you could track and showcase how many hours a student has spent in the field, how many projects they’ve completed and what skills they’ve most developed.

Portfolio

Project based learning allows users to apply the skills they’re learning to a tangible outcome. A peer certified learning platform that necessitates completing projects to finish classes will enable a student to build up a large portfolio of work by the time they’ve earned a degree. A large and robust portfolio is a surefire way to showcase your skills to a prospective employer and offers much more insight into your potential than any degree.

When we think critically about what traditional college offers it is easy to understand that we can build a platform that prepares us for working life much better than university while opening up more opportunities. Stay tuned and check out my project to learn more!

Prodeus: Peer Certification v. Accreditation was originally published in prodeus on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.