How to Determine if An Online College is Accredited

Do a Google search for college and universities offering online degrees and you’ll find schools you’ve heard of before and schools you’ve never heard of. But, just because you haven’t heard of a school before doesn’t mean it isn’t an accredited school. And just because a school’s name “sounds familiar”, it doesn’t mean that they are accredited. So, how do you know which schools are “real” and which are diploma mills?

Are you dealing with a “diploma mill”? (Tips from the Council for Higher Education Accreditation)

• Can you “buy a degree” from them?
• Do they claim to be accredited but you can’t find any evidence of that?
• Is their claim of accreditation from a questionable agency?
• Is the school licensed or authorize to operate by a state or federal authority?
  
• Are there little to no classes required either online or at the institution itself?
• Are there few assignments required to earn credits?
• Is the time required to earn a degree unusually short?
  
• Are degrees available based solely on experience or resume review?
• Are there only a few requirements for graduation?
• Does the school provide any information about its location or campus? Do they provide an actual address and not just a post office box?
  
• Does the school provide lists of its faculty and their qualifications?
  
• Does the school have a name “similar” to other well-known colleges and universities?
  
• Does the school make claims in its publications for which there is no evidence?
  

The U.S. Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation are two internet resources that you can use to find out if an online college is more than just a diploma mill.

U.S. Department of Education

The U.S. Secretary of Education recognizes those agencies determined to be reliable authorities as to the quality of education or training provided by the institutions of higher education and the higher education programs they accredit. Accreditation of an institution or program by a recognized accrediting agency provides a reasonable assurance of quality and acceptance by employers of diplomas and degrees. Search the DOE database.

Council for Higher Education Accreditation

As of January 2005, USDE publishes a database of Postsecondary Educational Institutions and Programs Accredited by Accrediting Agencies and State Approval Agencies Recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education. The database lists approximately 6,900 postsecondary institutions and programs, each of which is accredited by an accrediting organization recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education as a “reliable authority as to the quality of postsecondary education” within the meaning of the U.S. federal Higher Education Act of 1965. Click here for a list of the Accrediting Organizations recognized by the CHEA (pdf).

Comments

[Online Education Directory]

Finding an accredited college is crucial. I always tell prospective students that this is the #1 step.