Students and Prospective Students 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. Parents Parents want to know their children will have an educational experience of high quality that will help prepare them for a career. To these advisers, who can influence students' choices of college or career, accreditation provides a sound basis for recommendation. College and University Administrators Accreditation provides external validation to university administrators that a program on their campus is recognized by national academic and professional organizations.
Many administrators believe that accreditation confers prestige, which helps in fund-raising.
Accredited Programs Measuring the educational merit and relevance of the program typically brings improvements. Moreover, accreditation enhances the stature and reputation of a program. Media and Mass Communication Professionals Practitioners seeking to hire entry-level or more experienced candidates know that accredited programs prepare students with a solid professional education and a firm grounding in the liberal arts and sciences. Accredited status is an important criterion in the evaluation by government agencies of proposals to fund scholarships and research. The Public To a public concerned about the performance of the media, accreditation offers an assurance that those entering journalism and mass communications are appropriately educated.