Accreditation of Online Degree Programs
What is accreditation?
Accreditation is a process where colleges and universities are reviewed by accreditation agencies or educators from accredited schools to determine whether they meet certain educational standards. To determine whether an institution is fit to be accredited, the following standards are usually evaluated: available support and career services, credentials and qualifications of professors and administrators, quality of libraries, and institutional goals.
Government agencies do not accredit colleges and universities in the United States. Accreditation is usually performed by private agencies at both the national and regional levels. Government agencies are responsible for determining whether these accreditation agencies are utilizing the appropriate and necessary criteria when conducting accreditation reviews.
Why you should care about accreditation
Earning a degree from an accredited university carries a lot of weight with it. On the other hand, credits earned at non-accredited colleges and universities often cannot be applied to programs at other schools, and many companies are more willing to interview and hire graduates from accredited schools. Taking time to learn about a school’s accreditation can also help students avoid enrolling in schools popularly known as diploma mills. These institutions are usually not accredited and do not adequately prepare graduates for their future careers.
The phrase accredited can often be deceptive, so be sure to carefully review the accreditation statues of schools you’re considering. Every college and university, regardless of whether it’s a traditional or online school, provides readily accessible details about its various accreditations. When first reviewing information about a school’s accreditations, check for the agencies that conducted the accreditations and make sure the school is clearly identified as accredited. Certain institutions lacking accreditations will deceptively give the impression that they’re accredited. Deceptive terms include, recognized, approved, or licensed. Whenever a school refuses to use the word accreditation, be leery of it.
Another way of determining whether schools are properly accredited is to examine the accrediting agencies’ qualifications and reputations. Many agencies may have formal or official sounding names, but, unfortunately, they were deceptively created by the school claiming to be accredited. Likewise, check to see whether the Department of Education, which is often responsible for determining whether accrediting agencies are adhering to high standards, has signed off on the agency that approved accreditation status for the school you’re considering attending.
How can you ensure the accrediting party is reputable?
Review the Department of Education’s website to see whether accrediting agencies are recognized by it: http://www2.ed.gov/admins/finaid/accred/accreditation_pg4.html.
You can also check the website for the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA): http://www.chea.org/search/ to see whether accrediting agencies are recognized by this organization. This organization is significant because it works with the government to ensure accrediting agencies are adhering to regional and national accreditation standards.
Note: A convenient way to determine whether a college or university is accredited is to access the CHEA’s online database. When you pull up the database, enter the state where a school is located, or its name, to quickly check accreditation status. Accreditation information about schools located around the world can also be found in this database.
What is the Carnegie Classification?
The Carnegie Classification is also a great resource for information about accredited schools and agencies recognized by the Department of Education. Information is derived from the Higher Education Directory. The Carnegie classification also provides information about specifically accredited educational programs. Schools not recognized by the Carnegie classification are usually not recognized by a respected accredited agency, located in a foreign country, or the school primarily offers community education courses. Avoid enrolling in a “diploma mill” unless it fits into your schooling or career goals.
Are distance learning schools accredited differently than "brick and mortar" education institutions?
Both traditional and distance learning schools must adhere to high standards to become accredited by national and regional accrediting agencies.
However, traditional schools are usually held to higher standards than online schools. While accrediting agencies may scrutinize the level of difficulty for specific courses offered at traditional schools, online schools are often judged by the quality of their student support services and whether technology utilized by these schools offers students the ability to receive effective instruction.
Is accreditation a "cut and dry" issue?
Even though a school is accredited, it’s not a guarantee that you will receive a first-class education. Schools become accredited when their facilities and offered courses meet high standards. However, in order to obtain a high quality education, students are still required to put considerable effort into their studies.
Another factor students must be aware of regarding accreditation is that accredited colleges and universities will often not accept transferred credits from other accredited schools.
Is not having accreditation always a bad thing?
Non-accredited schools are not illegal, and students can acquire high quality educations from these schools. Many schools offering quality educations have good reasons for not requesting an accreditation review. Likewise, accreditation agencies often will not evaluate the programs available at schools exclusively offering vocational or continuing education.
Attending an accredited school is important if it’s vital to achieving your education or career goals. It’s not advisable to obtain an online MBA from a non-accredited university. However, if you’re seeking to learn a skill, such as creating spreadsheets, there is no problem with enrolling in a vocational school. Therefore, first consider your educational and career goals before selecting a school. In some cases, it may not be necessary to attend an accredited institution.
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