| Anyone who has been on the Internet for more than | | | | Accrediting agencies are usually private educational |
| a couple of months has heard and read a lot about | | | | institutions which have been recognized by the United |
| Online College Degrees. So, if you have already | | | | States Department of Education. |
| decided that an online college or university degree is | | | | The content of the courses must be consistent with |
| definitely the right degree for you, you still have one | | | | the academic quality, improvement and accountability |
| more thing you need to check on before signing up. | | | | expectations that the accrediting agency has |
| This one requirement, above all else, will be your | | | | established and they must also include an eligibility |
| most important consideration. You must insure that | | | | standard agreed upon by the degree-granting |
| any course that you enroll in has been accredited by | | | | institutions comprising the group. Performance of the |
| a recognized academic accrediting agency. Your | | | | courses can also be measured against national |
| courses must be Accredited Online College Degree | | | | performance or statewide performance benchmarks. |
| courses. If they are not accredited you could find | | | | In the United States the Accreditation providers are |
| yourself spending the next few years studying for a | | | | private institutions so it behooves you to insure that |
| worthless piece of paper. You will most certainly not | | | | the courses or school you plan to attend are |
| be awarded with worthwhile credit hours for work | | | | accredited by a well rated institution. Unless it is a |
| you have done and your graduation certificate will | | | | widely respected and acknowledged accreditation |
| have no value in today's marketplace. | | | | institution then it is best to look elsewhere. It is |
| What is accreditation and why would anyone need it? | | | | important to note that this information is available on |
| Accreditation is a systematic organization of course | | | | the Internet and can be readily found by a judicious |
| content, presentation, and testing that Universities, | | | | search on Google, Yahoo, and or MSN, among others. |
| Colleges and institutions of post-secondary and higher | | | | Hint: Do a search on "education accrediting agencies". |
| education embrace to guarantee the value of the | | | | Accreditation is extremely important. It gives you |
| content of their courses. Accreditation is an | | | | value for your educational efforts and it also provides |
| evaluation and certification of the content of an | | | | future employers a measure with which they can |
| institution's courses when, combined with other | | | | evaluate your degree. Getting a degree which is not |
| factors such as the efficiency and quality of the | | | | accredited is not going to benefit you in any way. It |
| courses, determines and acceptable educational | | | | may not be recognized by employers or even other |
| standard. This is usually done by extensive reviews | | | | educational institutes. Any credits earned through |
| of the educational courses and of the facilities an | | | | your coursework may be worthless, and you may |
| institution offers to its students. | | | | not be able to transfer them to another university or |
| Who does the accreditation? | | | | college. |
| The methods and procedures used in the | | | | Before you sign up for that degree course make |
| accreditation will vary from country to country. Many | | | | sure it has been properly certified as an accredited |
| countries have government bodies set up to provide | | | | online college degree. Anything less than that could be |
| accreditation. In the United States accreditation can | | | | a waste of your time should you plan on further |
| either be done on a national or a state level. | | | | study at a recognized institution. |