What does it mean for an online college to be accredited?

[Jordan]

I'm try to decide about online college and I keep finding all sorts of information about a college must be accredited. What does this mean? how does it help me?

[Albert]

It means that the college is recognized by the accrediting agencies that also accredit traditional colleges, in the sense that it offers quality education that is at par with regular college. It also helps incase you want to transfer credits from one college to another, you can't do this if the college is not accredited. Also incase you'd want to apply for financial aid or other grants, this is only possible through an accredited college. Most employers also don't recognize degrees acquired from colleges that don't have legitimate accreditation.

You can get more information about why college accreditation is important to your education from: http://www.distance-learning-college-guide.com/

[henrygray]

Accreditation is a way to regulate higher education. It's a sort of license given to a college by the federal government. So if you enroll in an accredited college you can rest assured that the degree they are giving out is a genuine one and the quality of the education they impart is good. Accreditation also requires institutions to be reviewed periodically; this means that they maintain a particular level of performance and that they keep improving their education regularly to incorporate all the latest in the concerned field. Take California College San Diego for example; the college is accredited by the ACCSCT, which is a nationally recognized accrediting agency by the United States Department of Education. Their Associate in Respiratory Therapy degree program is accredited by the CAAHEP, which means when you take this course you can be assured of a good job as your degree will be acceptable everywhere.

[alismith]

If you want to do more research, I'd check out this great source for online colleges . I believe every college they list their is accredited so you wont even have to worry about that.