Already a struggling college student enough, but what is this MSCHE that my college is presenting as a beneficial change? I looked into the organization, and from what my interpretation is, it seems as if this organization is a “education police” of sorts, cracking down on what material should be taught and why students should be constantly surveyed for acceptable material being retained.
Although the program isn’t supposed to go into full effect until 2026-2027, should I be concerned on what this organization will do? Also, if I shouldn’t be scared, then what is this programs goal?
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Others have said it’s about accreditation, but to make it more ELI5, it’s important to understand what purpose accreditation serves.
Let’s say you’re a business or a graduate school looking to hire or admit a recent college grad. You probably get most of your applicants from local colleges that you’ve come to know well over the years, but you may also get a lot of applications from folks from across the country. There are so many colleges out there that it’s impossible for you to be familiar with each one. When you get an applicant who graduated with a BS in biology from a small college in a faraway state, how do you know whether that particular college program would have adequately prepared them for your job or PhD program? What if it’s just some low-quality diploma mill that just churns students out and doesn’t actually require them to master the basic concepts of biology in order to pass with good grades?
That’s what accreditation is for. If the college and its programs are accredited by a reputable body, then you have a pretty good understanding of what that student’s coursework in biology would have included, and you know that their examinations met a standard of rigor that you can rely on. So you don’t have to do a ton of research on every college of every applicant to your program, you just need to make sure it’s accredited by someone you trust.
If your college is already a good school, you shouldn’t have any concern. Their programs probably already mostly meet the standards of the accreditors unless they’re doing something pretty weird or just have really low standards. There might be some changes they need to make to their curriculum, textbooks, or exams, but it shouldn’t be a major thing. If your college is trying to get accredited, that’s a sign that they think they are of a sufficient quality to pass the bar. It should be good for your employment prospects afterwards, or more honestly it in all likelihood will make zero noticeable change in your life.
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