In California, CSU, Chico's Department of Journalism is the only accredited journalism program north of San Francisco. Web site . Accreditation is a system of voluntary self-assessment and external review of educational institutions and of professional programs offered by those institutions.
Accreditation provides an assurance of quality to students, parents, and the public.
In the accrediting process, the performance of educational units is measured against national standards. Accreditation is an assurance of quality in professional education in journalism and mass communications. Students in an accredited program can expect to find a challenging curriculum, appropriate resources and facilities, and a competent faculty. Accredited programs may offer scholarships, internships, competitive prizes, and other activities unavailable in non-accredited programs. Peers assess the quality of an institution or academic program and assist the faculty and staff in improvement.