A review of American online degree accreditation

Online degrees are now a part of America's mainstream education. The American approach to higher educational quality assurance causes some confusion in the distance learning and online degree world and is explained briefly here.

In the USA, both traditional and online degree universities are authorized at state level, however universities holding what is known as "Regional Accreditation" are given exemption from meeting the requirements of each state that they operate in. The US federal government Department of Education (DoEd) also recognizes those universities holding Regional Accreditation as being eligible for federal student financial assistance, as also are courses that meet listed professional accrediting bodies and those holding accreditation of the Distance Education Training Council (DETC).

Institutes that do not have such accreditation can exist legally by meeting the state requirements, and are known as "state licensed" or "state approved" universities. States also exempt institutes with a religious charter and offering theological degree programs as a constitutional right. American universities holding Regional Accreditation (RA) will normally only accept students or faculty from similarly accredited universities, or holding qualifications from US DoEd-recognized accrediting bodies. DETC-accredited qualifications can also be acceptable to RA universities, but you are advised to check program by program. Many, if not most, professional bodies and states will only allow licenses to practice a profession for those holding qualifications from such recognized accrediting bodies. This is due to the existence of un-recognized (by the US DoEd) accrediting bodies, which can in some cases give rise to misleading statements or even fraudulent activities.

In the American online degree environment, your choice could then be between (i) an institute or course with accreditation recognized by the US DoEd; (ii) a state-licensed or state-approved (as in California) university meeting state requirements but not holding recognized accreditation; or (iii) a university with a religious exemption from state licensing.

Selection of an American program must be made carefully by the prospective online degree student, depending on the use to which the earned qualification will be put. In general terms, an online degree from a university with recognized accreditation will be the wisest choice in terms of acceptability and transferability.

As an alternative, many online degree students find that state-licensed/approved programs can meet their objectives since costs are low in comparison, programs are highly accessible (usually with no residency requirements) and online degree courses tend to be vocationally-biased towards "online degree completion" for adults including credits for work experience. Indeed, the web site of a US commission on higher education shows that the chairman holds a postgraduate qualification from one of that state's licensed universities.

A totally different issue is the one of diploma mills. A diploma mill (or degree mill) is often defined as an illegal institution that grants bogus on-campus or online degrees in exchange for money, and without requiring the student to show proof of course mastery, or to do any substantive coursework or testing. Diploma mills should be reported to the appropriate authorities (such as a local government education agency or the FBI in the USA), and shut down promptly whenever they arise, if they are indeed breaking the law. They not only do great harm to the "graduates" and to society in general, but also give legitimate alternative and non-traditional education a bad name. With the advent of the Internet, online degree and general degree diploma mills have been appearing more frequently and you are advised to post questions to a newsgroup, or to otherwise check the validity of online degree courses that are being offered in this way.

An inferior online degree school operating just inside the law can also be a poor choice for a distance learning student or other online degree students, since although the institute may not be a diploma mill according to the above definition, the online degree awarded may not be held in high regard. American universities that are authorized to award degrees can also be found listed by the U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Directory of Post Secondary Institutions, Degree-granting Institutions.

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