Do you want to study at home? Or you are working and you want to study more? Online college is the best option for you if you want to study conveniently in your own house. If you are also working but you want to study more, then you can also consider online college. But are online colleges accredited? Regardless of the various advantages of schooling online, people don’t just want to pick up any institution for the fun of it, therefore it is important to know if the colleges in question are accredited or not.
There are numerous online colleges out there because a lot of people now prefer online college to offline college because of the pros of online colleges. Many so-called online colleges are scamming people. If you don’t want to be a victim then read carefully.
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Before choosing any online college, there’s an important factor you should consider. One of the most important factors you should consider if you are looking for an online college in which you want to study is accreditation. It’s a form of quality assurance. Any institution that is accredited shows that they offer quality services and that its programs are of vetted properly or acknowledged as being of good standards and best practice.
What is Accreditation and What does it mean to be Accredited?
Accreditation is the process of officially recognizing an institution after scrutinizing its programs for quality standards. If an institution is accredited, that means it is legitimate and recognized by the public. Students are advised not to attend schools that are unaccredited because of the various demerits that may follow them. You won’t go wrong to say that an unaccredited institution is running an illegal education program. The concept of accreditation is as simple as that.
Types of Accreditation
The type of accreditation a college has is really important to you because it might determine your success rate after graduating. So it is important for you to check the type of accreditation a college has before applying for an admission.
There are three types of accreditations, which include national, regional, and specialized accreditation.
1. National accreditation – This is profit-oriented and deals with careers, vocational, and technical training programs. An example of this is the Nigeria National Accreditation System (NiNAS).
2. Regional accreditation – This is more recognized than national accreditation.
3. Specialized accreditation – This is the accreditations of a particular profession. For example, specialized accreditation to medical schools, nursing schools, law schools, culinary schools, etc.
To read a detailed article about types of accreditation, kindly visit this article written by Peterson.com on the
Colleges and Universities’ Accreditation Credentials. You will find it very helpful.
Why a School should be Accredited
Your future success at a college or university depends critically on the type of accreditation the institution holds. The educational institution’s accreditation establishes its reputation in the eyes of other educational institutions, certifying bodies, and potential employers.
There are many reasons why a school should be accredited but the main reasons are just three. These are:
1. Legitimacy
2. Academic quality
3. Recognition by other institutions
You don’t want to go to an illegitimate college, do you? Are you after quality education and not just a certificate? And you don’t want to have a certificate that’s not recognized by other institutions? Then you should go to an accredited college.
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Why You should check a School’s Accreditation before applying for a Course
You don’t want to spend your precious time schooling and then graduating only to find out that the certificate issued by your institution is not recognized by the public, do you? Or a situation whereby your employer could not recognize your certificate? If not then you must check for the accreditation of a college before applying for admission.
Are Online Colleges Accredited?
Yes, they are. Many online colleges are accredited. One thing you should only have in mind is that not every online college is accredited, as some even offer fake programs or illegally claim to be what they are not. Some are accredited while many are not.
There are many online colleges out there but only some are accredited. So to be on the safer side, you may have to do thorough research to know whether or not a college is accredited or not.
How can You check whether your School is Accredited or not?
Thanks to the internet, you don’t have to stress yourself doing research. You can just check it online and get your answers already. Just follow these three steps to check if your school is accredited or not.
1. Check the school’s website
A lot of schools put it on their websites that they are accredited because they know lots of people prefer an accredited school. Many people know the importance that’s why they prefer it.
But some schools that are scamming people might also lie about it.
Don’t be surprised. That’s how the world is.
It’s because of such schools that there are many steps to check whether a school is accredited or not.
2. Verify the school’s claim
If it’s written on the school’s website that it’s accredited, you may still need to verify it, to avoid being scammed. You can do so by going to the Council for Higher Education Accreditation’s website which is www.chea.org and checking whether the school is accredited or not.
3. Visit other websites
Thank goodness for the internet. You don’t have to spend some money on transporting yourself to a company or an institution for the confirmation of the accreditation of a school. With your smartphone or PC, you can get to learn about a lot of things. There are other websites that you can visit online that would tell you whether a college is accredited or not. Just search for it on Google and you will find your answer.
CONCLUSION
And now that you know that some online colleges are accredited, what else should you take away from this piece? Knowing the impact of accreditation is very essential. In the past, we have had cases where people blame themselves for enrolling in some college programs on the internet. Remember it is easier to get scammed by people you cannot recognize.
Bear in mind that if any, then the fact that you don’t want to waste your time and money schooling is why you should take accreditation a very important factor that determines whether you would attend an institution or not.