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Legitimate Learning

The most important thing you can do when checking out a college, university, or a distance learning program is to find out if it is accredited. Accreditation is a system used to verify the quality of a school or a specific program. Typically, accrediting agencies send teams of experts to a campus to determine whether the institution is meeting its stated mission and meeting a set of agreed-upon standards.

The accrediting organizations themselves are evaluated and recognized by a non-governmental organization called the Council on Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). If you want to transfer credits from one school to another, enroll in a graduate degree program, receive federal student financial aid, or have your degree recognized by an employer or the government, your education must come from an institution accredited by a recognized accreditation agency.

All schools and programs will be able to provide you with the name of the agency that accredits their institution. Make sure to write down the exact name of the accrediting agency they provide to you. You can find a directory of accrediting agencies recognized by www.CHEA.org/directories/index.cfm.

If you don't see the agency's name listed in CHEA's directory, you could be dealing with a "diploma mill." Diploma mills are organizations that sell or award degrees without an appropriate academic foundation. Often, they require little work -- and a lot of money -- to earn a degree that is not worth the paper on which it's written.

There are several ways to spot diploma mills:

  • They often use a name similar to a well-known college or university

  • The organization changes its address frequently

  • Written material may have spelling errors, sometimes even on the diplomas

  • They usually show little to no selectivity when admitting students

  • Degrees can be earned in far less time than usual

  • Degree requirements are few and often unspecific

  • Tuition and fees are often on a per-degree basis, or a student may be offered a special deal for two degrees

  • They often display a diploma in their advertising materials as an enticement - and to lend credibility
Accreditation can be tricky - even if you enroll in an accredited institution and/or program, you might run into problems transferring to another college if the accreditation differs. Ask an admissions officer about the institution's accreditation and whether or not courses you took from another institution will be eligible to be applied to a degree program at their school.

To find out if a school you are interested in attending has been evaluated by a recognized accrediting agency, contact the American Council on Education (ACE) at (202) 939-9382 between 9AM and 4:30PM EST.

Above all, educate yourself about accreditation. These resources will help you learn more:

  • The Pocket Guide to College Credits, a publication from the American Council on Education, includes information on accreditation.

  • External Degrees in the Information Age is a comprehensive guide to accreditation and lists more than 140 legitimately accredited external degree programs now in operation.

    See Best Sites and Books for ordering information.