In addition to popular accredited online schools like The University of Phoenix, Capella University and Everest University, many major brick and mortar schools also offer online classes and programs. One of the most notable is eCornell. The Ivy League school's online branch is a wholly own subsidiary of the famous school.

It is important to find out if the online college you are considering is properly accredited. Major brick and mortar schools are usually accredited. This means that they have the right to hand out degrees to those who complete their coursework. Researching online schools can be carried out in the same way one would look into a traditional school. You can check the Online Education Databases to see how the nation's top online schools stack up against one another in terms of academics. The web site also has numerous resources for students at online universities who aren't quite sure how to go about studying.

The Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) accredits smaller, liberal arts colleges. The internet divisions of Cornell and Villanova Universities are accredited by the MSCHE.

The Art Institute Online, Everest Institute and the ITT Technical Institute are accredited by The Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools. This is one of the oldest accreditation organizations. Another old, and perhaps more popular, organization is The Higher Learning Commission. Argosy University and Capella University are two large online schools accredited by the HLC.

Your choice for online school should be accredited by one of the organizations mentioned in this article. Other regional accreditation organizations include the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS-COC), which is where the online version of the University of Florida is accredited.

A final organization is the Distance Education and Training Council (DETC). This is a non-profit organization dedicated to accrediting colleges and universities that are specifically for online and distance learning.