In Support of Accreditation in Geography

Accreditation is an important word in higher education today and, the concept and process are of critical importance in many professions. Only graduates from accredited law schools are allowed to sit for bar examinations in most states. No one would think of creating a medical college that did not first obtain approval by the American Medical Association. Colleges and universities are almost all approved by regional accrediting bodies (my own institution is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, for example) and within a university, accreditation may be sought at the college or school level, departmental level or for individual programs. As a university administrator I have had an opportunity to be involved with quite a few accrediting actions, and it is apparent to me that the number of accrediting organizations is increasing. I think this is a healthy process and, because higher education is being held increasingly accountable to those who support it, accreditation is an expected activity for almost everyone. As I look at programs within higher education, I see that there is accreditation in the field of chemistry-American Chemical Society, in psychology-American Psychological Association, in nursingNational League for Nursing, in business-American Association for Colleges and Schools of Business, in recreationNational Recreation and Parks Association, in music-National Association of Schools of Music, in journalism-Accreditation Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications, in art-National Association of Schools of Art and Design and in a growing number of other academic disciplines. Geography, unfortunately, is not on that list, and it should be. As the chairman of the Committee on Professional and Career Development of the Southeastern Division of the Association of American Geographers, I have had an opportunity to think about and to discuss the matter of accreditation for geography and have reached the conclusion that geography as a discipline should move toward national accreditation. There are many reasons why I have accepted that conclusion; some are scholarly, some professional, and some merely practical. Included in the reasons why I think geography should move toward accreditation are the following