A large portion of potential students at colleges or universities, traditional as well as online, are not familiar with the concept "accreditation" in relation to institutions of higher education. State licensure allows a university, college or school to operate legally, however the standards a school must meet to achieve it are not so very high. When it comes to accreditation the criteria is far higher. This means that if you find a a school that emphasize licensure but hardly mention accreditation; be alert.



It is even more momentous to understand that many colleges and universities, especially online schools, claim accreditation from agencies which have not received accreditation from the United States Department of Education. While some of these unrecognized accrediting agencies may do an attempt to evaluate and even insist on some quality measure from the institutions they accredit, their approval is normally worthless in the world of profession as well as in the world of fully accredited education institutions. For instance, no decent school or college will hire a teacher or administrator without a degree from a legitimately accredited school.

Most higher education institutions will not award students transfer credit for coursework completed at institutions not accredited by a recognized accrediting agency. The reality is that most colleges, universities, businesses, government agencies as well as prospective employers of all kinds will regard a college or university as unaccredited if it is not accredited by an accrediting agency recognized by the United States Department of Education.

Even if your educational and career goals are such that accreditation is not a big deal for you now, attending a college or university that is not fully accredited could turn out to be a huge mistake for several reasons. Accredited schools are much more likely to offer you a high quality academic program staffed by qualified faculty. And if your situation or your goals change, a degree from an accredited institution will give you far more options. The best you can do is to visit the U.S. Department of Education website, get a complete list of recognized accrediting agencies, and select only a college, university or school accredited by one or more of them.

No school, whether traditional or online can promise you the moon, just because it has been accredited. What accreditation does however, is to virtually guarantee that you'll get top qualified instructors and high quality up to date curriculum with all the benefits this generates. In addition most employers will look at a degree from an institution with accreditation as a credential demonstrating motivation and quality education.