Check School Accreditation Before Signing up for Online Courses

Accreditation

With so many Online Degree e-mails entering your in-box you need to ensure that the online degree program you choose is reputable. But which one is right for you? If you want to earn a degree from home you need to know what you’re getting into before you lose time and money. It comes down to accreditation.

Accreditation is a status granted to an educational institution or program that meets or exceeds predetermined criteria of educational quality. Basically, it’s an academic stamp of approval. Of course it’s not as simple as just finding an online degree program that is simply accredited.

Accreditation can be broken down into two major areas: Institutional and Specialized accreditation.

Institutional Accreditation

Institutional accreditation looks at the college as a whole, to make sure the college meets certain standards. Institutional accreditation can also be broken down into two areas: National and Regional accreditation.

National Accreditation

National accreditation, recognized by the U.S. Department of Education (USDE), is required for institutions that seek eligibility for federal student financial aid. For employment purposes and credit transferability, you will want to ensure that the school where you plan to earn your online degree also has regional and/or specialized accreditation status.

Regional Accreditation

Also recognized by the USDE, however, accreditation by a regional body ensures your online degree will be recognized throughout the U.S. You will want to investigate to confirm if your school is accredited by one of the following six regional accrediting associations:

If you earn a degree from an online school that is accredited by one of these associations, you can be assured that it will be as valid as a degree from any campus-based school.

Specialized Accreditation

Specialized accreditation looks at a specific program and makes sure it meets certain industry standards. Most employers do not posses the time, money or manpower to look into the policies, ethics, and courses of every college. They rely on accreditation institutions to verify the overall academic quality of a college and whether or not the college holds up to that industry’s standards. If you are planning to use your online degree into furthering your education, or acquiring employment into a specific industry (education, medicine, or engineering for example), you will need to certify that the online degree is approved by that industry.

There is no set of universal standards for accrediting a college; therefore, it is important to make sure the college you choose is properly accredited. Who accredits the college is also very important.

“Schools will advertise that they’re accredited, which is what everyone’s looking for,” says Steven Shapiro, VP of Marketing and Communications at Jones International University (JIU, Englewood, Colorado).

But some colleges may claim to be accredited; yet they haven’t been properly reviewed. They may have just paid a yearly membership fee to receive accreditation status, or such as the ‘degree mills’, are accredited by organizations they create themselves. These are the colleges you want to avoid.

Verifying accreditation takes time, but in the long run it is worth every minute you put into it.