All your dreams can come to naught if you have enrolled for a program of a school that is not properly accredited or if it has accreditation from bodies that are themselves not accredited.

Imagine a situation where you have ended up paying thousands of dollars and spending hours on hard work to get a degree from a school that is not properly accredited. You did what you did despite all odds because you thought a college degree will get you that coveted job or promotion.

But if that degree is from a school that is not properly accredited, all you will probably find is a deafening silence. Nobody will be giving any importance to that hard-earned degree. All your efforts will have gone in vain.

If you had obtained the degree to apply for jobs, you will find yourself in an ‘apply, apply, no reply' situation. No jobs, no promotions! Simply because the degree you have is not recognized, it is not from an accredited school!

Okay! Let us assume you were not all that ambitious. All you wanted was an associate's so that you could get admission to an advanced start or advanced placement bachelor's degree program of a dream college of your choice. Perhaps, your girl friend is studying there.

But, if that associate's was from a non-accredited school, then that dream too will be shattered. Your girl friend's school, if it is a properly accredited one, will simply refuse to recognize your associate's degree. It will not allow any transfer of credits and it will say that if you really want a bachelor's degree from our school you will have to go through the full four years of our program – no advanced start for you.

That will mean that you have to join two years junior to your girl friend and that you will have to spend two more years in college even after your girl friend passes out with a bachelor's.

I hope you have got the picture now. Picking an accredited criminal justice program will definitely be the most important decision you ever make!