Questions Regarding Degree Post-Institution Closure et al.

I came across this article which suggests twenty-five percent of colleges and universities closing within twenty years. Were one to earn a degree from an institution that closes, whether nationally or regionally accredited, what becomes of the student and his degree? Or, what of a student who earns a degree from an institution that loses its accreditation? Conversely, does earning a degree from a unaccredited institution, say a newer school, that earns accreditation a few years later, affect those earlier students?

 

Your degree is still valid if it came from a valid school that has since closed. It is harder to verify but it's still valid. The same is true of schools that lose their accreditation; as long as the school was accredited at the time, your degree is still valid.

Earning an unaccredited degree is a bit more complicated. IIRC, if you graduated while the degree was in the accreditation process but the school didn't become accredited for 1-2 years then your degree is automatically accredited as well. If you graduate and the school starts the accreditation process a few years down the line then that has no bearing on your degree. However, an employer would be unlikely to look into when a now-accredited school became accredited and you can use that to your advantage so long as you don't outright lie about the accreditation. On the other hand, schools would look into that kind of thing. So if you got an unaccredited Bachelor's degree and then applied for a Master's degree at a school that requires an accredited undergrad degree (and not all of them do) then you're out of luck.