Many questions and concerns will arise as you begin to look into obtaining an online degree from the school of your choice. Is your online institution reputable and upstanding? Will potential employers value the online degree you receive? Will your credits transfer from one online college or university to another? These questions all boil down to the topic of accreditation, or the recognized legitimacy of a school.
What is accreditation?
It is simply the validation process by which colleges, universities, and online colleges are evaluated against established standards of education. You can think of accreditation as quality control for the educational system, a sort of FDA for universities and online universities to adhere to.
Online degrees earned from accredited schools are widely recognized and valued, when compared to those degrees earned from non-accredited school. This is important when selecting your college or online courses, as you do not want to invest your valuable time and money toward a degree that will not be recognized by the companies you wish to work for.
Online colleges typically achieve accreditation through a peer-review process, during which faculty from accredited learning institutions conduct evaluations of the non-accredited or of the accredited seeking renewal.
The specific standards used to conduct the evaluations for accreditation vary. In general, areas assessed for accreditation address the mission of the online university or college, the learning objectives and goals, available resources and resource allocation, student admission requirements, quality of educational offerings, faculty qualifications and standards, and available student support options.
In the United States, the accreditation of institutions of higher learning are not conducted by the government. Rather, reviews are conducted by what are known collectively as accreditation agencies. This creates a sense of peer review, rather than an obligatory generated list of “do’s and don’ts”.
The advantage to this is that criteria are always kept current, and free from the long processes often imposed by government control. There is the freedom to constantly adapt to new educational techniques, offering the most cutting-edge and advanced standards for online students.
In fact, in the United States, universities and online colleges voluntarily seek accreditation from nongovernmental sources. This proves to potential students that the online university is credible, and acts as a selling point to keep enrollment at adequate levels.
Being able to communicate to the student body and to potential students that it is a quality school, which translates to you having the ability to earn a respected and accepted degree that will launch you into a successful career and financial future.
So when you are immersed in the process of searching for the right online college or university for your unique needs, one of your first steps should be to find out if the academic institution is accredited. Knowing that the online educational source that you have chosen is legitimate will make you feel good about your investment, and excited about the higher level of living your continued education will provide.
