The Basics of Accreditation
Accreditation is one of the most important factors that goes into choosing an online university degree program. While most people know that accreditation has to do with the quality of a school, many don’t fully understand the process and its importance. Here are the basics of accreditation that you need to know in order to choose a reputable online degree program.
What is It?
Accreditation is a process by which colleges, universities, and degree programs are evaluated for quality. Accreditation agencies are the groups which evaluate the schools; they may be a nonprofit educational organization or a professional group associated with a certain career. There are two types of accreditation, institutional and programmatic, each with different implications for picking out a degree program. (ed.gov)
Institutional accreditation is important for any school you pick; do not choose one without it! In institutional accreditation, one of six regional accrediting bodies examines an entire school to see if its curriculum and teaching meet a high standard of quality. If your college is accredited by one of them, you can be sure that it is a quality school. (ca.gov)
Programmatic accreditation is important for students pursuing degrees in certain professions or fields. For example, business schools have their own important accrediting bodies, as do nursing programs. To see if programmatic accreditation is important for your field, check out the Bureau of Labor Statistics web page for that profession. (ca.gov)
Avoiding Online Education Scams
Choosing only properly accredited schools and programs is a huge step towards avoiding diploma mills, fake online schools that exist just to take your money. Giving your money to one of these “institutions” will only be a waste of your time. Here are some other things to look out for in order to avoid them: (ed.gov)
- Their only address is a P.O box or suite number
- They list an overly impressive number of "accreditations" (check the nationally recognized list of accreditation agencies to see if the accreditations a school claims are legitimate)
- They offer course credit for “life experience”’
- Degrees can be earned in a very short amount of time