Perhaps the most important criteria for choosing an online high school or online academy is being an accredited institution. It should not be just any accreditation, either. The accreditation should include oversight and not just a license to do business.
Accreditation is the process of reviewing a school's program and policies to see if it meets the criteria of the accreditation agency. This is done to protect students, schools and employers from unscrupulous entities who establish fake schools or schools that care only for revenue and not providing quality education. If the school meets the minimum requirements, it will be granted the accreditation.
Proper accreditation is important to ensure the online academy's quality. With accreditation, other schools and employers will recognize your diploma and the course you have taken if you need to transfer. Opportunities to further your education may be lost if the school you attend is considered to be a fake or not properly accredited.
The question then remains, how will you know if the online school you are attending has the proper accreditation in place? Do your research, because some school will attempt to fake their accreditation. And accreditation from the wrong source is worse than no accreditation at all.
A fake accreditor may have misleading names that imply that it is a national or regional accreditor when it is not. It may also have a logo that looks like the logo of a legitimate accreditor. It could also be that its website has too little information and does not include names or contact information aside from a phone number and email address.
You can go to the Council of Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) website to verify the accrediting agency used by the school is legitimate. The CHEA database includes a list of US accrediting organizations that are recognized either by the CHEA or by the US Department of Education or both. This includes any of the six regional accreditors, Commission on International and Trans-Regional Accreditation and the Distance Education and Training Council (DETC).
You should also consider the difference between a national (DETC) and regional accreditation. While employers accept both types, many regionally accredited schools do not accept transfer credits from DETC accredited schools. This is not a problem if you are studying for personal enjoyment, but if you are planning to further your education at a later date, you will be better off attending an online academy with regional accreditation.
It is a waste of your time and money to attend an online school that does not have the proper accreditation in place. Your certificate of completion will also be worthless and could cost you your job if your employer found out. No matter if you attend online school for college or online high school, the proper accreditation will guarantee you are getting a quality education. - 29940
Accreditation is the process of reviewing a school's program and policies to see if it meets the criteria of the accreditation agency. This is done to protect students, schools and employers from unscrupulous entities who establish fake schools or schools that care only for revenue and not providing quality education. If the school meets the minimum requirements, it will be granted the accreditation.
Proper accreditation is important to ensure the online academy's quality. With accreditation, other schools and employers will recognize your diploma and the course you have taken if you need to transfer. Opportunities to further your education may be lost if the school you attend is considered to be a fake or not properly accredited.
The question then remains, how will you know if the online school you are attending has the proper accreditation in place? Do your research, because some school will attempt to fake their accreditation. And accreditation from the wrong source is worse than no accreditation at all.
A fake accreditor may have misleading names that imply that it is a national or regional accreditor when it is not. It may also have a logo that looks like the logo of a legitimate accreditor. It could also be that its website has too little information and does not include names or contact information aside from a phone number and email address.
You can go to the Council of Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) website to verify the accrediting agency used by the school is legitimate. The CHEA database includes a list of US accrediting organizations that are recognized either by the CHEA or by the US Department of Education or both. This includes any of the six regional accreditors, Commission on International and Trans-Regional Accreditation and the Distance Education and Training Council (DETC).
You should also consider the difference between a national (DETC) and regional accreditation. While employers accept both types, many regionally accredited schools do not accept transfer credits from DETC accredited schools. This is not a problem if you are studying for personal enjoyment, but if you are planning to further your education at a later date, you will be better off attending an online academy with regional accreditation.
It is a waste of your time and money to attend an online school that does not have the proper accreditation in place. Your certificate of completion will also be worthless and could cost you your job if your employer found out. No matter if you attend online school for college or online high school, the proper accreditation will guarantee you are getting a quality education. - 29940
About the Author:
If you are thinking about going to an online academy make sure it has the appropriate accreditation in position. Classes are available for online high school as well as middle school and some elementary school courses.
