What You Need to Know About College Accreditation

Do you mind if I ask you an important question?

Is your school of choice accredited?

If you're unsure, you're about to find out how to tell for sure...

But first, you need to know that in order for a school to be considered “accredited” there are certain academic standards that must be met and maintained on an ongoing basis. These standards are overseen and determined by official accrediting agencies directly accountable to the official Department of Education.

The reason this is important is, such accreditation speaks to the quality of education you as a student can expect to receive as well as if there are adequate workforce preparedness measures in place once you have graduated.

Accreditation also has the potential to influence what transfer credits are accepted by other educational institutions should you choose to continue your education elsewhere as well as whether a potential employer will view your credentials in a positive light.

If this is your first time, be assured that determining a school's accreditation is usually fairly simple.

To help illustrate how easy it is to find out the accreditation status of your schools of choice, here is a short video outlining the simple steps you can take with just a few clicks.

As you can see, the Department of Education has made it very convenient for prospective students to identify the accredited institutions along with the accreditation agencies they officially recognize.

The easiest way to verify whether the schools you're researching are accredited is to check with the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) or the Department of Education's website.

Another way to research whether your school(s) of choice are accredited is by using the Department of Education's “College Navigator” tool.

Identifying whether your school is accredited is the first crucial step to choosing a college that has your best interests in mind and will do everything they can to make sure you have a pleasant educational experience and promising career opportunities.

If you found this tip helpful in your search or have questions, please let us know and feel free to share with others! You may also download all 5 useful tips for finding an online college here.