You hear a lot about accreditation when you’re looking for a school. This is an important feather for a school to have in its cap for many reasons. The best online universities and colleges have been accredited by the major regional agencies. The main reason is that it shows the school has passed the stringent guidelines of an accrediting agency or association. But just who does this accrediting and is there a central agency in charge of accreditation?
Is There a Central Agency?
According to the United States Department of Education, there is no central agency overseeing the accreditation of postsecondary schools. Each state or region is responsible for governing the accreditation process and quality standards. At this time there is also no one central database to find all of the accredited programs and schools in the US. But the Department of Education has listed over 6900 programs and schools on their website. You can use this list to see if the online school is among the ones listed. If not, check with the school itself since this list is not yet complete.
University of Tampa is accredited by SACS.
Regional Accreditation Associations
Regional accreditation is the one most colleges and universities seek. There are several regional and national accreditation associations. Here is a short list of some of them:
- Distance Education and Training Council, Accrediting Commission offers accreditation to distance and online education programs.
- Southern Association of Colleges and Schools accredits colleges and universities inAlabama,Florida,Georgia,Kentucky,Louisiana,Mississippi,North Carolina,South Carolina,Tennessee,Texas, andVirginiaand the distance learning and online programs offered by these schools.
- North Central Association of Colleges and Schools Improvement accredits colleges and universities in Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming along with their online and distance learning programs.
- Western Association of Schools and Colleges accredits colleges and universities inCalifornia,Hawaii, theUnited Statesterritories of Guam andAmerican Samoa, theRepublicofPalau, theFederated States of Micronesia, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Republic of theMarshall Islandsand their distance and online education programs.
American Bar Association in Washington, DC
Specialized Accreditation
Specialized programs and schools can apply for accreditation with specific agencies and associations. For example the Teacher Education Accreditation Council specializes in education, the National Association of Schools of Dance specializes in the arts, and the American Bar Association accredits law and paralegal programs. There are many more specialized agencies and associations. You can find an extensive list at the Department of Education website.
When you are considering a college, university or degree program ask about their accreditation. Ask what agency or association they received their accreditation from. This will help you know if the school or program you are considering has a quality education.
Tags: accreditation, distance learning, NACS, online accreditation, online college classes, online education, SACS, WASC