Accreditation is important when choosing an online school because it ensures that students are receiving a quality education that will hold value in the workplace and provide new opportunities. While non-accredited programs may work for some students, there are a variety of reasons for which choosing an accredited online university is usually a better option:
- Quality: What student doesn’t want a guarantee that his or her school meets quality standards? That’s just what accreditation offers. Schools aren’t awarded accreditation unless they meet certain criteria and if a school falls below these criteria, accreditation can be revoked. This is perhaps one of the most important reasons student should seek out accredited school and one that all students should be concerned with when selecting a school.
- Job hunting: Degrees from schools that are not accredited are unlikely to be much of a help when trying to find work post-graduation. Most employers will be reluctant to accept credentials from a school that hasn’t met these educational standards, worrying that the degree could be from a diploma mill or that the educational experience offered by the school wasn’t of a good quality. That could mean a lot of time and money wasted for students.
- Financial Aid: Unless you’re financing your entire education out of pocket, you’re going to need some financial aid and getting that aid may be a bit difficult if you’re not enrolled in an accredited school. In order to be eligible for financial aid from the government, you need to be enrolled in an accredited program that’s recognized by the US Department of Education.
- Transfer credits: Those who may want to transfer to another school down the line with have a hard time doing so if their original school was not accredited. While transfer credits are never guaranteed, taking courses at a non-accredited school can make it much harder, if not impossible to get credit at another institution for the time and money you’ve already put into your education.
- State licensure: Students who are planning to go into a field like law, teaching or nursing that requires a state license to practice will need to pay special attention to accreditation. Many of the exams required to get state licensure will mandate that students have completed a degree program from an accredited college or university. If your school is not accredited, you may not be eligible for licensure.
Choosing an accredited school from the start offers a variety of benefits and helps to ensure that students won’t waste precious time and money on a degree that will hold little value in the real world and in getting into the career a student has worked so hard to pursue.