Making sure your school is accredited is an important step toward choosing a school to attend, either online or in person. Accreditation is crucial and does affect you--some companies and organizations check your degree during the hiring process and may not offer you a position if your school isn't accredited. Even if a school seems to be affordable and legitimate, follow these guidelines to verify that a school is accredited.
Instructions
Verify if a School is Accredited
1. Check with recognized authorities like the Council for Higher Education (CHEA). Abika.com, also, is a website that validates public education records. The U.S. Department of Education also maintains a database of schools that have been accredited (see links in Resources).
2. Check with the school's admissions office. Accredited schools will have proof of their accreditation in their admissions or main office. Write down the accrediting institutions and follow up to make sure the accreditation is legitimate. Many schools may be accredited by one or more institutions or organizations, depending on if they are online or have many campuses. It may also be best to check how long the school has been accredited and if there have been any complaints about its academic programs to any of the accrediting institutions.
3. Check with individual accrediting institutions. Many individual accrediting institutions are divided by geographical area--and they accredit schools that are in that area. Some regions include the Midwest, New England, North Central and Southern. These regional accreditation institutions are recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation, as mentioned above.
4. Check for different types of accreditation. Besides regional accreditation, some schools that teach online classes are accredited by the Distance Education Training Council. Make sure any accrediting organizations are recognized by CHEA and the U.S. Department of Education. The regional accreditation organizations are the main accreditation agencies.
5. Schools become accredited to show they are willing to provide a quality education to their students. Schools that are accredited have proven their dedication to being a legitimate or upstanding academic institution. If a school (either online or not) is not accredited, do not enroll in any classes. Schools that do not pursue accreditation often turn out to be degree mills, groups largely motivated by profit. They award degrees without any academic merit or accreditation.
Tags: accrediting institutions, Check with, Department Education, regional accreditation, school accredited