Accreditation serves as an institutional identification and evaluation procedure to make sure that schools adhere to a set of academic criteria set by federal, state, and/or non-governmental organizations. If you’re going to go to college, whether it’s online or on campus, you should go to an approved institution.
Although there are more than 4,000 colleges and universities in the United States spread throughout its 50 states, not all of them are made equal.
Accreditation enables the impartial evaluation of educational initiatives in order to establish if they are of a consistent, high caliber.
If you want a public record of your education that will be widely recognized by employers, professional groups, and other schools and universities, online school is crucial.
Importance of Online College Accreditation
For programs offered proper certification, exam help online and assignment help are particularly crucial. While distant learning provides convenience and flexibility for online students, it may also enable shady or dubious schools look more respectable online.
Additionally, having the right certification can influence your academic perspective in a number of ways, including your capacity to access financial aid, transfer your credits, and find work.
Quality of Education
Receiving a quality education with sufficient institutional support services is reasonably guaranteed by the academic and professional standards upheld by certifying organizations.
Graduates from a school that is not properly accredited may not be prepared for the workforce or for graduate study.
Employer Perception
A school’s accreditation guarantees that it offers high-quality instruction. Employers could find it challenging to assess whether a candidate had a quality education without accreditation. As a result, many firms only accept degrees from colleges.
Financial Aid
For the majority of college students, financial aid is a major worry, and your eligibility for federal help may be directly impacted by your academic standing.
Federal money is only available to students attending institutions that have received accreditation from bodies recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) or the Department of Education (ED).
Credit Transferability
Another characteristic that sets recognized universities apart from unaccredited colleges is credit transferability. Most credits may transfer readily between certified colleges across the nation because to accreditation requirements.
Credit transferability is not guaranteed by universities that are not accredited. Your ability to enroll in a graduate program or transfer to another college may be impacted by this.
Types of Online School Accreditation
National Accreditation
National accreditation is the most typical kind, excluding regional accreditation. The three types of national accrediting agencies that are most prevalent
- Distance Education & Training Council (DETC)
- Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges (ACCSC)
- Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges & Schools (ACICS)
About 60 home study institutions that give degrees, exam help online, assignment help as well as other schools that offer career and vocational training are accredited by the DETC, which was established in 1926 and officially acknowledged by the U.S. Department of Education as an accreditor in 1955.
These specialized national organizations may accredit universities that provide theological training programs for the ministry.
Regional Accreditation
The regional accrediting boards are responsible for the most well-known type of university accreditation in the US. Having received regional accreditation, Harvard University is a reputable institution. Ohio University is accredited on a regional level. Regional accreditation exists for Stanford University, and so on.
If someone asks you if you’ve gone to a “university accredited” in the United States, they usually imply a regionally recognized institution.
A non-governmental, regional organization monitors and accredits degree-granting schools with their headquarters in each of the six geographical regions of the United States.
The six regional accreditation boards are:
- WASC — Western Association of Schools & Colleges
- NEASC — New England Association of Schools & Colleges
- NASC — Northwest Commission on Colleges & Universities
- MSA — Middle States Association of Colleges & Schools
- NCA — North Central Association of Colleges & Schools
- SACS — Southern Association of Colleges & Schools
Among these six agencies, there is no superior or inferior organization. Degrees and credits acquired at other regionally approved universities are equal to those earned at regionally accredited colleges.
For instance, if you get your bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland or another regionally recognised institution, you may use that degree to apply to graduate school at the University of Maryland or any other regionally accredited institution.
National Accreditation
National accreditation is the most prevalent sort of accreditation, and it is by far the most popular type overall.
There are primarily three sorts of national accrediting bodies.
- Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges (ACCSC)
- Distance Education & Training Council (DETC)
- Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges & Schools (ACICS)
Tips for Evaluating the Quality of an Educational Institution or Course of Study Online
The same organizations, such as institutional and programmatic ones, that assess on-campus programs typically accredit online programs. Institutional accreditation continues to be one of the most reliable indicators of a college’s reputation even if programming accreditation might vary greatly.
Students may find out a school’s accreditation status by conducting a fast search on the U.S. Department of Education’s accreditation database. Look for endorsement from one of the following organizations to ensure that you enroll in a prestigious university:
- The Middle States Commission on Higher Education
- The Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities
- The WASC Senior College and University Commission
- The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges
- The New England Commission of Higher Education
- The Higher Learning Commission