<p>Hi, what's the downside of going to a college that is not accredited for its computer science program but yet the college itself is regionally accredited?</p>
<p>This seems to be a Frequently Asked Question, most recently [url=<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/engineering-majors/511315-how-important-abet-accreditation-cs.html?%5Dasked%5B/url">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/engineering-majors/511315-how-important-abet-accreditation-cs.html?]asked[/url</a>] a few weeks ago.</p>
<p>Short answer: professional (ABET) accreditation can be important in engineering, but is not important in computer science. Many well known schools have never pursued ABET accreditation in computer science.</p>
<p>So?</p>
<p>Is there any difference then? Or is it just labeled "Computer science accredited by ABET" and has no effect on anything at all?</p>
<p>The professional practice of engineering (like that of medicine or law) is subject to state regulation. Every state has licensing laws and regulations pertaining to engineers, and these rules treat ABET degrees as superior to non-ABET degrees. Most engineering BS programs are therefore ABET accredited. </p>
<p>Computer science, on the other hand, is completely unregulated: there are no laws or rules pertaining to computer scientists. In effect, ABET accreditation is voluntary for CS programs; it has no legal significance.</p>