Accreditation is a process through which colleges and universities or programs that can grant college credit are examined and judged to make sure their efforts meet a certain standard of educational quality. In other words, accreditation legitimizes the education you get from accredited schools and programs. Schools that offer distance education can be accredited just like those that don't offer distance courses.
Importance of Accreditation
Accreditation of distance programs and schools assures you that the curriculum will give you the educational opportunity available at a traditional accredited school, even if the curriculum is delivered differently. Additionally, students at accredited distance-based schools can receive financial aid just as traditional students can. If you intend to switch schools or go to graduate school, you can only transfer credits to the new school from an accredited institution. Also, employers will not reimburse tuition paid to nonaccredited institutions.
Proper Accreditation
It's important to check out the accrediting authority a school claims. Some schools are making up accrediting agencies. In the United States, the U.S. Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation are authorities on accrediting agencies. Every year, the U.S. Secretary of Education, as required by law, publishes a list of accrediting agencies that are nationally recognized as authorities that can attest to the worthiness of an institution.
Accrediting Agencies
Six regional agencies are primarily recognized as legitimate accrediting authorities of entire institutions. Each covers schools within a set territory, and each respects the accreditation of schools awarded by all the other agencies. Thus, if one agency accredits, say, a Pennsylvanian school, all the other agencies accept the accreditation, and so, in turn, do other accredited schools. The six agencies are:
• Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools
• New England Association of Schools and Colleges
• North Central Association of Colleges and Schools
• Northwest Association of Schools and Colleges
• Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
• Western Association of Schools and Colleges.
Distance Education Accreditation
Besides the regional accrediting agencies, distance-based schools might have been accredited by the Distance Education and Training Council. This agency grants accreditation to those schools who grant degrees primarily through distance education. (Some schools with distance programs are mainly traditional, some are a mix and some teach primarily through distance-based programs.) To find out whether a school offering a distance degree is appropriately accredited, you can go to the U.S. Department of Education's website to find the list of accreditation authorities, then check the accreditation agency's website to make sure a school is listed.
International Accreditation
No U.S. government agency has direct authority over setting standards that postsecondary schools should follow--thus the need for accrediting agencies. This is not the case in other countries, which often have a ministry of education or other government agency overseeing curriculum and/or quality control. Additionally, legitimacy in a certain country doesn't mean that a school's degree will be recognized in all countries. Agencies that can be the starting point for researching the legitimacy of a distance-based, non-U.S. school include:
• Open and Distance Learning Association of Australia (ODLAA)
• Norwegian Association for Distance Education (NADE)
• European Distance Education Network (EDEN)
• The Commonwealth of Learning (COL)
• Canadian Association for Distance Education (CADE)
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