About Accredited Online Learning

What is Accreditation?

• In the accreditation process, the school must prove that the information it teaches students is correct and accurate. The teachers must have certain basic or minimum qualifications that demonstrate that they are able to instruct students in their subjects. The lessons must be current and free of factual or structural errors. The level of assessments given to the students must actually test the students' ability to comprehend and understand material.
  Thus, accreditation is like a third-party check on a school. It tells outsiders--such as other colleges or businesses who are looking at your degree--that the school you attended actually taught you something.
  
  

Why Accreditation is Important

• Some students wish to transfer credits earned at online institutions to other colleges to further their education. Most schools will accept transfer credits only from an accredited college and/or only consider a degree valid if it comes from an accredited college. Furthermore, many companies that require a college degree will verify to ensure that the degree was granted by an accredited institution. This helps businesses avoid hiring people who simply purchased a diploma from an online degree mill and may not have the proper training for the job, and it alerts colleges to students who completed a substandard academic program and may not be ready to meet the challenges of the next courses.
  According to World Education Services, most schools that are not accredited are just diploma mills. Diploma mills come in two forms--those that simply require students to pay money in exchange for a degree, and those that attempt to appear legitimate on the service by requiring some type of ambiguous academic assignment to be completed; for example, they will grant a degree if a student writes a "thesis" of indeterminate subject and length. Although diploma mills that merely offer a degree for purchase are easy to spot, those that have vague academic requirements can initially appear to be more legitimate. Accreditation is important to avoid wasting money on "schools" that won't further your education or skills.
  
  

Who is Responsible for Accreditation?

• The type of organization responsible for accreditation depends on the program. Certain fields have their own accrediting bodies--for example, nursing programs must be accredited by the National League for Nursing Accreditation, while law schools must be accredited by the American Bar Association. If you are interested in pursuing a degree in a specialized field, you will need to check what accrediting boards are responsible for accreditation in that field.
  The Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) provides a list of accrediting bodies for different programs and institutions. It is a national organization designed to ensure that online and traditional colleges are academically rigorous and meet certain minimum standards. The organization is voluntary but works with the government to help advocate for high standards in education and accreditation. More than 3,000 online and traditional colleges and universities are members of the Council For Higher Education Accreditation, and the CHEA recognizes a number of different accrediting bodies that are responsible for ensuring the standards for many different online and traditional programs. You can visit its website to find a list of accredited programs that oversee both online and traditional schools. The U.S. Department of Education also provides a list of accrediting bodies.
  Online schools that are accredited list their accreditation(s) on their website and in admissions information. The school will also specify the accrediting body. You will need to verify that the accrediting body is a reliable accrediting body by checking the CHEA list, the U.S. Department of Education list or another reliable list.
  
  

Accreditation and Financial Aid

• Many online schools offer financial aid programs to help with tuition. However, to obtain student loans or financial aid from the government, the school must be accredited. The government will not lend you money to attend a school that does not meet certain minimum standards. Therefore, in order to get low-interest or subsidized loans to pursue a degree, you will want to ensure that the school you are applying to has accreditation.
  
  

The Accreditation Process

• Each accrediting body sets its own standards for accrediting colleges. Online colleges and traditional schools are held to the same standards regarding rigorousness of curriculum, amount of credit hours required to earn a degree and difficulty of evaluations.
  In general, the school seeking to become accredited must prepare a great deal of information. The school must perform a study comparing the performance of its students against the standards set by the accrediting agency. After this survey is completed, the accrediting body sends an evaluator to determine whether the program meets minimum educational standards.
  The evaluator uses a number of methods to ensure that the school meets minimum standards, depending on the type of degree being granted by the school and the subjects being taught. If students earning the degree typically take a national or state exam upon earning their degree, the accrediting institution may compare the results of students from the school seeking accreditation with national results. The evaluator may also review course work, examinations and course standards to ensure that the evaluation of students is rigorous within the school setting.
  After it determines that the school meets the minimum standards, pre-accreditation is granted, and the school is then listed in databases of accredited programs. The school is continually monitored by the accrediting agency throughout a certain time period to ensure that it continues to meet minimum standards of education. The length of time a school is in pre-accreditation varies, depending on the type of degree granted and the program offered.
  After a school is granted accreditation, periodically the accrediting body re-evaluates the school and/or program to ensure that continued accreditation status is appropriate.