Accreditation is a process whereby institutions seeking to offer online degrees or programs submit themselves for evaluation based on set standards to ensure a good level of education quality. It is an external peer-review process that examines the fundamental features of an institution’s operation that are relevant to providing higher education. Simply put, it is a “seal of good housekeeping”, either from the government, state education boards or from accrediting agencies recognized by the government that the institution has passed the established guidelines or criteria for providing higher education that is of good value to students. In the U.S. it is not the Department of Education that grants accreditation but there are accrediting agencies that do so.

Most online colleges submit themselves for accreditation but it is not a hard and fast rule. Traditional colleges and universities who have branched out to online education generally seek this from accrediting agencies as it also helps to reinforce their credibility and their reputation as learning providers with good quality and in good standing. Online learning institutions with accreditation should openly provide information about this to prospective students so that they will have an idea about the value of the course or the program they will be taking and if they will be accepted by employers. There are companies who do not recognize online degrees from non-accredited online colleges and in instances like this, accreditation plays an important part.

Accreditation is a norm, but is not an absolute necessity for institutions of higher education. If an online college is not accredited, it does not mean that it is already inferior or that it doesn’t have the sufficient infrastructure for a good online education. This can also be viewed in the same manner that an accredited college does not automatically guarantee a high quality of education or immediate employment upon completing your online degree. Accredited online colleges, or those who claim to have accreditation, should pass the same degree of scrutiny from prospective students as those without it. With the proliferation of online learning institutions, students must safeguard themselves against “fly-by-night” operations and “diploma mills” that operate in disreputable ways. For online students in the U.S. an easy way to check if an online college is accredited would be to refer to the website of the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) where they maintain a database of all accredited learning providers in the U.S. They also have an international database for online universities located outside the U.S.

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