Online College Accreditation

It is still buyer beware (Caveat Emptor) in the higher education market and not yet a government protect us marketplace (Govermentus 2 Larges). Because the U.S does not have centralized control over colleges then any group that can get a recognized by a single state can call itself a college and offer classes.

The growth in higher education due to; higher high school graduation rates, online learning, and the recession has led to an explosion in the predatory quasi-colleges that are online and residential. Any student interested in online learning for the flexibility it offers due to the study anytime and anywhere nature of the internet should be aware and conduct a lot of research before spending thousands of dollars and many long hours earning a degree.

Traditionally, colleges have used regional accreditation as the gold standard of college transferability and as the measure to determine if a college can participate in the federal college loan system. However, sometimes nationally accredited colleges can have the same transferability and both are eligible for federal loans through FAFSA. It is the student’s responsibility and obligation to ask questions before enrolling.

If you have questions about a college’s accreditation here is some information to help you research colleges and particularly online colleges.

1. How to tell that your college is NOT regionally accredited:

There is no mention of Regional or National Accreditation. Here are the lists of Regional accrediting bodies and it MUST be listed if a college has earned it:



• Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Middle States Commission on Higher Education

• New England Association of Schools and Colleges Commission on Institutions of Higher Education

• New England Association of Schools and Colleges Commission on Technical and Career Institutions

• New England Association of Schools and Colleges Commission on Technical and Career Institutions

• North Central Association of Colleges and Schools The Higher Learning Commission

• Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities

• Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

• Western Association of Schools and Colleges Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges

• Western Association of Schools and Colleges Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities



2. The college’s webpage about accreditations lists a lot of accreditations but none from the above list. Regional accreditation isn’t the only accreditation there is also national accreditation which may or may not be transferable. Please do your research not only with the potential school but ask your local community college if they would take the credits in transfer. This will give you a baseline idea of the transferability to regionally accredited colleges.

3. Use this search engine from the Council for Higher Education Accreditation to find the college http://www.chea.org/search/actionInst.asp. Be sure to cross reference the address for example if you are researching Lincoln College Online and you find Lincoln College you see that the addresses DO NOT match because they are not the same colleges and only one of the two has regional accreditation.

4. The fourth red flag is that the college does not participate in the federal loan program. A good primary source to search for information regarding colleges can be found at http://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/. This website also provides the college’s phone number and website.
Currently in the higher education community there is a recognition that accreditations are in trouble. It is not illegal to have accreditations listed that aren’t transferable and or aren’t real. Please research any potential college you attend.