Accreditation and Certificates?

What’s the difference between a certificate from another school or "Academy" and our certificate?

Our Chinese Language Program

Our program is accredited and evaluated by an actual University in China. We are accredited through the University of International Relations-Center for International Education. They issue our program certificates. This is an established university with a history of 60 years, an institution accredited and sponsored through the Ministry of Education. The university has been used by the Chinese government to train diplomats and civil servants for over 50 years. They have relationships with international accrediting bodies and are recognized as a legitimate state-run University in China. Your completion certificate will be issued by the University of International Relations.

Other schools and academies.

They may or may not have accreditation, although most will try to pass off their program as accredited. There's a difference between them having a license to operate a school in China, and having a legitimate affiliation with a University that backs their completion certificates. One can get a license to operate a school in China when operating a kindergarten and then claim to be “accredited directly by China Ministry of Education.” This is technically true because the Ministry of education is the one issuing a license. However, a license to run a school in China does not establish academic authority nor put them on par with university accreditation from an established university in China.

Even companies that operate their own academies/schools sometimes will send students to legitimate universities (a “middleman” service). This does not mean that their own academy or school is necessarily accredited. If you are in doubt, specifically ask them.

For illustration purposes:

Suppose we want to start a private school in Massachusetts. We can do so and call it an adult education center or a consulting center or maybe even a school. Suppose we acquire all the necessary documents and certifications from the state Bureau of Education and any other bureaus. We can claim to be licensed or accredited or whatever the specific term may be. But if Harvard or other prestigious university has a joint program with us and signs off on our certificates and diplomas, which would be more academically legitimate in the eyes of most people? (and most US educational institutions?). Of course, the situation in which an established university recognizes our academic achievement would be regarded better.

Likewise, if we are a matching service or middleman that sends students to universities:

We may have an affiliation with the University as we are part of their recruitment process or because we are authorized to accept applications for them. This does not mean necessarily that if we decide to start our own "academy" or “school” that we would then have the proper accreditation or the university's accreditation for the school we operate.

Let the buyer beware.