| How to find out for sure if the online college or school | | | | are thinking of attending is accredited. The majority of |
| you plan to attend is 100% legitimate. | | | | the well-known online colleges are appropriately |
| The Distance Education & Training Council is the | | | | accredited, although there are some exceptions. |
| foremost organization in the US that provides | | | | If you do plan to transfer and you have a particular |
| accreditation information for online distance education | | | | institution in mind, it is a good idea to check with them |
| colleges and institutions offering correspondence | | | | concerning the transfer credits that they accept. Some |
| courses. | | | | of the institutions of higher learning are very "picky". It is |
| It is a voluntary organization, meaning that a school's | | | | not uncommon for them to reject credits from a |
| leaders need not apply to be accredited through the | | | | community college, whether they are accredited or not. |
| organization. The number of online schools that have | | | | Accreditation also insures that you are receiving the |
| obtained legitimate accreditation through this | | | | quality of education that you are paying for. It shows |
| organization is limited. | | | | that your teachers are well-trained, that your written |
| If you are concerned about the accreditation status of | | | | materials are up to date and that previous students |
| the online school that you are thinking of attending, your | | | | have not responded negatively to questionnaires and |
| best resource is the US Department of Education. | | | | surveys. Without an accrediting process, you would |
| Their database allows you to simply type in the name | | | | have to do all of these quality checks yourself. |
| of the institution that you plan to attend, the city and | | | | The Distance Education and Training Council has a |
| state where the main facility is located and in | | | | good review process and the organization was |
| moments, the website will tell you whether or not the | | | | established many years ago. |
| school is accredited. | | | | Correspondence High Schools like Keystone and |
| There are many fine online schools that are not | | | | James Madison are accredited through their |
| accredited through the Distance Education and Training | | | | organization. This is helpful information for home-study |
| Council, but received their accreditation through other | | | | students and others that cannot attend a conventional |
| organizations. | | | | high school. Penn Foster is one of the colleges that are |
| For example, the University of Phoenix is a popular | | | | accredited through the organization, but of course, |
| online educator. They are not present on the Distance | | | | there are many others. |
| Education & Training Council database, but according | | | | Distance learning, particularly online, is become |
| to the United States Dept of Education database, they | | | | increasingly popular. Because of this, there are some |
| have accreditation. | | | | "fly-by-night" schools out there. Prior to paying your |
| An institution accreditation indicates whether or not the | | | | school fees, no matter how inexpensive it may be, you |
| qualification you obtain will be accepted by other | | | | should verify the school's accreditation status. |
| schools. Employers may not look at these credentials, | | | | They may be accredited by the Distance Education |
| although they may ask you what school you attended. | | | | and Training Council or another accrediting organization. |
| If however you want to transfer to another school at | | | | Just be sure that they are qualified to train you in your |
| some point, you need to be sure that the school you | | | | desired field. |