Distance Education Accreditation - Who Cares?

Just Gimme Your Money

Distance Education Accreditation is a major concern for people who plan to take online courses. There are many unaccredited online schools otherwise called diploma mills, who are prepared to take your money and issue worthless degrees.

Some diploma mills may actually provide some level of training for their students but lie about their accreditation. Others simply take your money and issue you a bogus degree within a few days of enrollment.

Another trick of the trade used by diploma mills is to get "accreditation" from accreditation mills. These are unrecognized accrediting agencies with low standards and no recognition from the government nor mainstream academia.

Other schools try to give the appearance of legitimacy by including on their documents such phrases as "pursuing accreditation, "chartered", "licensed or registered". Never take these at face value without conducting a more detailed investigation.

Why Accreditation Is Important

Distance Education Accreditation is there to protect the student and employers from the diploma mills.

When you go to an accredited distance education college, you can be assured that the facilities are in place for you to receive a quality education. Furthermore upon graduation, your qualification will be taken seriously by employers.

Employers can be assured that you have received a quality education and that you have developed essential skills such as time management skills and the ability to work under pressure.

How To Check For Accreditation

A great way to check for distance education accreditation is to visit with the US. Department of Education database of college accreditation agencies which includes the six main regional accreditation agencies.

Another good place to check is the Council for Higher Education Accreditation, the CHEA. They also check the accreditation of international schools and of accrediting agencies themselves. You can easily conduct a search for accreditation by inputting the name of the school or state in which it is located.

For some courses, it is also important to make sure that is accredited by a professional body, like the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools for Business (AACSB) for business degrees or the American Bar Association for law degrees.

The AACSB for example, is the largest and most prestigious accrediting agency for business schools in the US and abroad. Some argue that it is not absolutely necessary to have AACSB accreditation. However, it is very highly respected by employers and it is advisable to have it.

You Are Ultimately Responsible

However, it may not always be necessary for a school to be accredited. If you're just looking to a basic maths course for instance, a simple evening class would suffice. Conversely, if you're looking to do an online masters degree, then accreditation would be necessary.

With tuition as costly as it is and your career at stake, the responsibility is on you to make sure that the school you attend is reputable. Don't take chances, use the resources mentioned here to make sure you won't be wasting your tuition fees.

*** Highly Recommended Resource***

The Diploma Police - a free service which allows you to check if an online university which is based in the US is accredited or not.

Help others avoid the diploma mills by sharing a story or tip about the kind of accreditation you look for, before enrolling at an online college.

Click below to see thoughtful contributions from other visitors about online college accreditation.

Regional Accreditation Isn't Enough   Not rated yet
A reputable online college should have both regional accreditation and professional accreditation. Having one without the other isn't enough.


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