Why You Should Check the Accreditation of Online Colleges?
Nowadays, there are many online colleges that may seem quite attractive. Most options come with awesome education programs and price offers. But when it comes to enrolling in an Online College, most people overlook an important factor, its accreditation status.
A school’s accreditation information shows us how it meets certain standards. If you get an education from an accredited school, you will have more options for your opportunities. Some accreditation processes are recognized by almost all top companies and other schools. And, when you are looking for a job, these accreditation processes can make your applications more viable.
On the other hand, if you enroll and get a degree from a school without proper accreditation, your education may not be recognized by authorities when you want to continue your education in another school or apply a professional job that requires a particular educational background.
Accreditation Types of Online Colleges
There are different types of accreditation status that an online college may claim to have. You may see specialized accreditation and institutional accreditation processes. The difference between these accreditation processes is the level of coverage.
The specialized accreditation type is given for a certain part or department of a school. It can also be given for a particular curriculum or a program, which is why this type is also known as programmatic accreditation processes.
The other type, institutional accreditation is available when a school meets a set of criteria all around in its entirety. So, this accreditation type applies all the degrees available from an online college that is given it.
How To Check the Accreditation of Online Colleges?
These days, checking the accreditation of an online college is quite easy. In fact, you can do it online with a few clicks as well.
First, you should visit the website of the Department of Education. On the website, there is a special section where you can check a school’s accreditation status, including the accreditation history with the important dates.
While you can take a look at the list of accreditation agencies on this website, you can also use the search engine on it to find the information regarding the accreditation status of the online college you want to check.
Through this website, you can check the information that is given to you by the online college and their accreditation details. You can also access the details of the accreditation agency that provided this status by using the agency links within the details here.
Another way to check the accreditation status of the online college that you may enroll in is to visit the website of the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. Also known as CHEA in short, this council reviews both programmatic and institutional accreditation organizations. The search engine on this website works similarly to the previous one. As they may have different levels of recognition, checking an online college on both sites can help you better if you cannot find one of them.
Accreditation And Quality Level of Online Colleges?
Although an accreditation would help you know that an online school meets some criteria, hence has some particular qualities, it doesn’t mean that you will be satisfied with the education. You should read into the accreditation details and learn what were the criteria to get a better idea about its worth.
Also, unlike some people may believe, accreditation doesn’t always make an online college recognized by other schools and businesses. So, even though you checked a school’s accreditation, your education may still be ignored when it comes to making it counted towards credits in another school’s education. To be safer, you should also do some research to find other people who have done such things with a degree from that particular college. They may give you an idea about the advantages or problems you may encounter when you try to transfer credits or find jobs with a degree from the online college you consider.
