What is all the talk about “accreditation”? What does this mean, and why should a student in an online college or university program care? Well, accreditation is a complex process involving a school, a recognized accreditation association or commission, and the voluntary examination of a college or university’s programs, standards, materials and policies.
Entering into the accreditation process means that a school is going to work to receive formal acknowledgement of their commitment to quality educational practices, develop an ongoing program of self and peer assessment, and continue to improve the quality of the school’s educational standards and earn public trust for those standards.
For example, with the rapid growth of online college and university degrees many “schools” have appeared overnight. Generally a great number of these institutions are what have come to be called “diploma mills”. This is because they are not accredited, and do not provide a quality education or background in the field or major studied. These schools will not be able to give a professional the kind of qualifications that an accredited school does.
Okay, so a school is assuring their students that the education they are getting through their online program is equal to attending a local or state, or even private, college. Is there any other reason it is necessary? Absolutely, most students enrolled in an online college or university are seeking a degree of some sort, and whether it is an Associate’s, Bachelor’s or Master’s degree, the student will have to pay for their tuition and enrollment expenses. Federally funded financial aid and loan programs will generally not provide any financial support for a student attending a non-accredited school.
If I can pay for school on my own does that mean I should consider a non-accredited school, institution, college or university? The answer is still going to be “no”. If a student wants to further their education in the future, such as seeking a Master’s degree, they cannot use any of the credits or transcript information they gained from their non-accredited school. Also, many employers will not provide tuition assistance or recognize the credentials for a non-accredited school.
When beginning to perform an online college search, and regardless of the educational goal, a student would be well advised to skip all of the schools offering degrees in a matter of weeks, and those without accreditation. Nine times out of ten these will all be one and the same because only a non-accredited school could present someone with a two or four year “degree” after only a few short weeks or months of classes.
An investment in an education does not just involve money and time; it involves the dedication and commitment of the student who is working to improve their personal or professional lives. This is the reason it is so important to eliminate any non-accredited schools from an online college search.