Agencies that Accredit Online Schools
Accreditation is such a big thing in the online business, and the legitimacy of many institutes hinges on it. What are some of the agencies in the US that accredit online schools?
There are three different types of agencies that accredit online schools; regional accreditation, specialized accreditation and national accreditation. These three different types of accreditation agencies were created to provide online schools with the necessary recognition for future employers of potential employees that have completed an online school course.
Regional Accreditation for Online Schools
Firstly you have to be careful when checking out the agencies that say they accredit online schools. There are unfortunately online schools that claim they accredit your online school but the reality may be different always check the agency against the list provided by the United States Department of Education at: http://www.chea.org/pdf/CHEA USDE AllAccre.pdf. This site covers all those listed by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation too. Regional Accreditation agencies all cover a different part of the U.S. The most common agencies are:
- Western Association of Schools and Colleges (online schools and private online schools, Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges and Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities)
- Middle State Association of Colleges and Schools (online schools, Commission on Higher Education)
- Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (online schools, private online school and charter online schools Commissions on Colleges)
- New England Association of Schools and Colleges (online schools all kinds and Commission on Technical and Career Institutions and Commission on Institutions of Higher Education)
- North West Association of Colleges and Schools (online schools, private online schools and charter online schools.)
- North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (online schools for the Higher Learning Commission)
To contact these agencies and view further information go to http://www.elearners.com/resources/agencies.asp.
National Accreditation for Online Schools
There are fewer agencies than regional in the national section of accreditation for online schools;
- Distance Education and Training Council
- Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools
- Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges of Technology
Specialized Accreditation for Online Schools
This accreditation for online school course that are for the ADA, NLN, ABET, ABA and AMA. All of these are professional fields that are partly studied at an online school such as law, medicine, dentistry etc. It allows you to get your licenses to practice.
Conclusion
As you can see there are many different agencies that can accredit your online school, but to make sure that your school is accredited, you have to check. These are a handful of the legitimate accreditation agencies; it’s not an exhaustive list, so don’t panic if your online school isn’t listed here.
If you know of other reliable accreditation agencies, post a comment and let us know what they are.
