Accreditation and Online Universities

While online colleges have gained a great deal of authority and respect in higher education, you should still be aware of accreditation and how it affects you as a student. It is the most important information that needs to be verified before applying to a school. For clarity, accreditation is the process in which institutions and their programs undergo strict evaluation to determine whether or not they meet educational standards for measuring quality. Online and traditional colleges are accredited by nongovernmental entities and governmental accrediting agencies. These agencies have been approved by the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education, and recognized as reliable authorities concerning the quality of education or training at institutions of higher education. Once a school is accredited, it is subject to annual reviews of its teachers, coursework, facilities and equipment to verify that the school and its programs have upheld these standards.

Students should know that accreditation directly affects them in many ways. Accreditation means everything to a school’s academic reputation and eligibility for Federal student assistance. If you attend an unaccredited university, you may not be able to transfer credits from one institution to the next. It is up to the institution’s discretion if they want to recognize unaccredited college credits. Also, many employers do not accept degrees from unaccredited colleges. Each entity has their own reason for not accepting unaccredited online college educations. The best way to avoid running into this problem is to do thorough research on your school’s accreditation status, and attend a school that is accredited and continues to abide by the standards. You can check on your school or browse the list of 6,900 accredited online colleges and the USDE recognized accrediting agencies here. While we recommend that you attend an accredited university, we understand that some schools are too new to be accredited or do not want to be reviewed. In this case, it is up to you to research the school, contact a representative or pay a visit to the campus to find out accreditation information. In addition, all students should determine, prior to enrollment, whether or not their educational and professional goals will be met by attending a certain institution, such as transferrable credits and recognition of your degree by employers.

Attending an accredited university will protect you from educational scams, such as diploma mills. Diploma mills are businesses that profit by posing as legitimate colleges and selling academic degrees and diplomas without evaluating any academic work from its students. The businesses distribute degrees by a student’s life experiences, and they often claim accreditation by non-recognized and unapproved accrediting bodies representing seemingly reputable schools. There are many indicators that a school may be a diploma mill, such as degrees that can be earned unusually quickly, no admission requirements or verification of previous academic work, as well as vague descriptions of degree requirements. So, save yourself from earning a phony degree, by doing thorough research on potential schools and attending an accredited, trusted online college.