subject: Online Universities Accredited: Check The Status [print this page] In the past, online education has faced scrutiny over the issue of unaccredited schools awarding degrees that are considered insignificant by some employers. But an increase of online universities accredited by U.S. Department of Education (U.S.D.E.) approved agencies has contributed to immense growth in online education. Online universities accredited both nationally and regionally have been recognized for providing students with an education equally as thorough and valuable as one from a ground school.
Accreditation status is essential to consider when a student is researching potential schools. Students attending unaccredited schools are often ineligible to receive federal financial aid. Loans from private lenders are available to these students, but private loans are often accompanied by higher interest rates and stricter repayment schedules. Also, transfer credits from an unaccredited school are generally not accepted by an accredited school. Students who earn their associate's degree from an unaccredited school will likely be denied acceptance to an accredited school to earn their bachelor's degree. And most importantly, employers prefer to hire graduates from accredited schools.
Regardless of the type of education a student pursues, it is important to verify accreditation status of a school prior to enrolling. The Office of Postsecondary Education within the U.S.D.E. has developed an online database useful in determining the accreditation status of a particular school or online universities accredited. Higher education institutions included in the database are either currently recognized by an approved accrediting agency, or they were in the past.
Accrediting agencies set education standards, which are recognized by the U.S.D.E., and also develop evaluation criteria used for awarding accreditation to a school. A common misconception is that the U.S.D.E. awards accreditation itself, but actually, the U.S.D.E. adopts accreditation status awarded by legitimate accrediting agencies. Accreditation is a voluntary status, meaning that a school must seek accreditation in order to receive it. And so sometimes, unaccredited schools that have failed to apply for accreditation status do actually provide students with an adequate education.
by: Emily Sismour
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