A Simple Guide To Higher Education In The United States Part 6: Understanding Accreditation 

Accreditation in the United States is a voluntary, nongovernmental process in which an institution agrees to be evaluated and/or have its programs evaluated by an accrediting agency against standards for measuring quality. The goal of accreditation is to ensure that the education provided by institutions of higher education meets acceptable levels of quality.    
Accrediting agencies are nongovernmental, private educational associations that carry out the function of accrediting institutions and programs to determine their quality.    
Institutions and programs that request an agency’s evaluation and meet its evaluation criteria are then accredited by that agency.    
Having a basic understanding of accreditation—what it is and what it means—will help you to make choices that will bring you closer to meeting your career goals.    

Recognized vs. Unrecognized Accrediting Agencies    
Accrediting agencies fall into two categories: recognized and unrecognized. It is important to understand the difference between the two categories.    

Recognized Accrediting Agencies    
The U.S. Department of Education does not accredit institutions; rather, it determines which accrediting agencies receive recognition by the Department. Accrediting agencies may voluntarily seek recognition from the Secretary of Education, but it is not a requirement that they do so. Recognition by the Department is limited to those agencies that accredit institutions that need the recognition in order to participate in federal programs, such as the Federal Student Financial Aid Program. While some recognized accrediting agencies may accredit foreign institutions, those accrediting activities are outside the authority and review of the Department. An accrediting agency that meets the Department’s criteria for recognition is believed to be a reliable authority on the quality of education or training provided by the institutions it accredits in the United    
States and its territories.    
Accrediting agencies recognized by the Department of Education can have a regional or national scope: regional agencies accredit degree-granting institutions within six geographic regions of the United States, and national agencies accredit institutions or programs all across the United States. Agencies that meet these criteria are placed on the Department’s List of Nationally Recognized Accrediting Agencies, available at http://www.ed.gov/admins/finaid/accred/accreditation_pg6.html#NationallyRecognized.    
    
The Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA), a private, nongovernmental agency, also recognizes organizations that accredit institutions and programs. CHEA recognizes many types of accrediting organizations, including some of the same accrediting agencies that the Department of Education recognizes. In order to be eligible for CHEA recognition, accrediting organizations must demonstrate that their mission and goals are consistent with those of CHEA and that a majority of the institutions and programs accredited by the organization award degrees. CHEA’s List of Participating and Recognized Organizations can be found at http://www.chea.org/directories/index.asp.    

Unrecognized Accrediting Agencies    
Just as there are recognized accrediting agencies, there are unrecognized accrediting agencies. Accreditation standards of unrecognized accrediting agencies have not been reviewed by the Department of Education or CHEA. There are a variety of reasons why an agency may be unrecognized. For example, the agency may be working toward recognition with the Department or CHEA, or it may not meet the criteria for recognition by either organization.    
Unrecognized accrediting agencies should be viewed with caution until their reputation can be determined. If an agency is unrecognized, this does not necessarily mean that they do not have high standards of quality. But it is important to know that many employers in the United States only recognize degrees earned from institutions accredited by an accrediting agency recognized by the Department or CHEA.    

For more information about recognized and unrecognized accrediting agencies, as well as fraud and abuse related to accreditation, visit the U.S. Network for Education Information Web site at http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/ us/edlite-accreditation.html.    

Accredited vs. Unaccredited Institutions    
It is not enough to know the meaning of recognized and unrecognized accrediting agencies; it is also important to know the difference between accredited and unaccredited institutions.    

Accredited Institutions    
Accredited institutions have agreed to be reviewed and/or have their programs reviewed to determine the quality of education and training being provided. If an institution is accredited by an agency recognized by the Department of Education or CHEA, its teachers, course work, facilities, equipment, and supplies are reviewed on a routine basis to ensure that students receive a high-quality education and get what they pay for.    
Attending an accredited institution is often a requirement for employment in the United    
States and can be helpful if you plan to transfer academic credits to another institution, such as graduate school.    
    
Any institution can claim to be accredited. It is important that you take the time to learn about the accrediting agency and its reputation. To find out if the institution you are interested in is accredited by an agency recognized by the Department, review the Department’s database of postsecondary institutions and programs at http:// www.ope.ed.gov/accreditation/.    

Unaccredited Institutions    
Unaccredited institutions are not reviewed against a set of standards in order to determine the quality of their education and training. This does not mean that an unaccredited institution is of poor quality, but earning a degree from an unaccredited institution may create problems for a student.    

Some employers, institutions, and licensing boards only recognize degrees earned from institutions accredited by an accrediting agency recognized by the Department. With that in mind, it is recommended that a student check with other institutions regarding their transfer-of-credit policy to determine whether they would accept the degree and/ or credits earned from any institution in which the student is considering enrolling.    
In some states, it can even be illegal to use a degree from an institution that is not accredited by an accrediting agency recognized by the Department unless approved by the state licensing agency.    
It is important to determine if a degree from an unaccredited institution will allow you to achieve your educational and career goals. To learn more about the issues and problems that may arise from pursuing an unaccredited degree, read https://www2.ed.gov/students/prep/college/diplomamills/diploma-mills.html

Fake Accrediting Agencies    
Fake accrediting agencies offer accreditation for a fee without doing an in-depth review of the school’s programs or teachers. Their accreditation has nothing to do with ensuring that students receive a high-quality education and is worthless and meaningless.    
Fake accrediting agencies may adopt names that are similar to other well-known accrediting agencies, sprinkle the names of legitimate institutions in their list of accredited members, and even use all the right-sounding words in their marketing materials to describe their accrediting standards and review process. These are just some of the ways fake accrediting agencies try to confuse students and make them believe they are legitimate.    
So, do not be misled by a name or a slick marketing technique; always do your homework on any institution you want to attend. Remember, it is not enough to know that an institution is accredited. You also need to find out as much as you can about the accrediting agency. Your efforts will be worth your time.    
    
U.S. and Foreign Diploma Mills    
A familiar definition of diploma mill is “an organization that awards degrees without requiring students to meet educational standards for those degrees.”    
Diploma mills are not accredited by a nationally recognized agency. You will not find the institution’s accrediting agency on the Department’s list of Nationally Recognized Accrediting Agencies or on CHEA’s List of Participating and Recognized Organizations.    

Instead, diploma mills often claim accreditation by a fake accrediting agency to attract more students to their degree programs and make themselves seem legitimate.    
Remember: In some states it can be illegal to use a degree from an institution that is not accredited by a nationally recognized accrediting agency unless approved by the state licensing agency.    
Not only are U.S. diploma mills a problem, but foreign diploma mills selling their degrees in the United States are a problem too. Some of these foreign diploma mills even claim to have approval from the education ministry of their country to offer degrees, when, in reality, they are operating without the knowledge of the country. Often these institutions use the name of the foreign education ministry in their marketing materials to make themselves seem legitimate. What the institution is trying to do is make students believe that its programs have been reviewed and meet some level of quality when, in fact, they do not.    

Before taking the offer to enroll in a foreign institution, find out as much as you can about the accreditor and the institutions it accredits, as well as the recognition process of the foreign education ministry. This information will give you a better picture of the institution and its reputation.

To review a list of agencies that license and regulate higher education in Canada and other countries, visit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_recognized_higher_education_accreditation_organizations.    

The .edu Extension in Internet Addresses    
Not all institutions in the United States that use the .edu extension as a part of their  Internet address are necessarily legitimate institutions. Before the Department of Commerce created more strict requirements, some questionable institutions were approved to use .edu in their address. New requirements allow only those institutions accredited by an agency recognized by the Department of Education to use it. However, institutions that were approved to use it before the new requirements were put into place can still use it, which means there could still be some illegitimate institutions with .edu in their address. Whether an institution uses the .edu extension or not, it is important to know as much as possible about the institution before enrolling.    
 

P.S.: Read up on Scholarship scams  http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/scholarship/index.shtml