College Accreditation
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KEY SOURCES OF INFORMATION ON ACCREDITATION

Authoritative information on college accreditation from the U.S. Department of Education

Identify or verify college accreditations at the U.S. Department of Education .

This is my opinion:

"Accreditation" is essentially a form of certification that an educational institution provides a legitimate and proper education.  "Regional accreditation" is a form of accreditation that is widely recognized as the best general form of accreditation.  Regional accreditation is provided by one of six private (non-government) accreditation agencies (links to them are provided below).  Each of regional accreditation agencies  specializes in institutions within a particular region.  Each of the regional accreditation agencies recognizes  and accepts the others, so the six accreditation agencies work together to form a national system. 

It is far better to go to a regionally accredited college.  Regionally accredited colleges may let you transfer credits from another regionally accredited colleges but are extremely unlikely to accept credits from a non-regionally accredited institution.  I have never heard of an employer that won't recognize an undergraduate degree (bachelor or associate) from regionally accredited institutions.  They might accept other kinds of degrees too...or maybe not.  Higher level and better paying jobs are likely to be more accessible if your degree is from a regionally accredited institution. 

Nevertheless it is a fact that there are other sources of legitimate accreditation, as stated and identified by the  US Department of Education.  If you even consider a college that does NOT have regional accreditation it should at least have accreditation from one of the sources recognized by the Department of Education.
 
Now, let me add this also, there has been criticism of regional accreditation agencies which says the they are conservative and therefore do not often facilitate innovation. They are also said to be bureaucratic and slow. Yet the regional accreditation agencies are making sure the institutions they accredit satisfy appropriate standards, so you can be sure you are getting a degree from a responsible and credible institution. 

 It is probably true that there are non-regionally accredited schools that can give you a great education, but the problem is that you may end up well-educated with a degree that may not be recognized ... so you may not be able to benefit the way you would expect. Never-the-less, I believe that valid institutions exist that do not have regional accreditation. Therefore, I cannot say NEVER consider such an institution. However if you value recognition as well as education ... if you value having the possibility being able to transfer your credits to another good institution if you need to ... if you are going to go to all the effort and expense of getting a valid education anyway ... my opinion is "go with the sure fire regional accreditation", accept no substitute.

The Famous Six Regional Accreditation Authorities

New England Association of Schools & Colleges accreditation of colleges, universities and other degree granting institutions of higher education in the New England region. Area: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. There are two institutions in Greece that are also affiliated.

North Central Association Commission on Institutions of Higher Education handles accreditation of colleges, universities and other degree granting institutions of higher education in the north central region. Area: Arkansas, Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, New Mexico, South Dakota, Wisconsin, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Higher Education accredits institutions of higher education in the Middle States region. Area: Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands, and Certain Overseas Locations.

Southern Association of Colleges and Schools the southern US and other locations. Area: Alabama , Florida , Georgia , Kentucky , Louisiana , Mississippi , North Carolina , South Carolina , Tennessee , Texas , Virginia , Extraterritorial (Includes Caribbean, Central and South America, and Mexico)

Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) covers the western United States, including California, Hawaii, Guam, American Samoa, Commonwealth of the Northern Marinas Islands, the Pacific Basin, Federated States of Micronesia, Republic of Palau, and East Asia, etc.

Northwest Association Of Schools And Colleges covers Utah, Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, and other geographic areas

National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education a Specialized organization that accredits undergrad and graduate programs for teachers.

National Engineers Examining Board

List of State Agencies

Western Interstate Commission on Higher Education an organization involved in the debate regarding distance education.

Census Bureau data on AVERAGE income for various levels of educational attainment. Based on this information, on average, graduate degrees do pay!!

Career choice help and a general college/university search utility from the College Board.

What kind of a degree do I need to be a ..... Look it up in the Occupational Outlooks Handbook (on the net, from the US government)

Sloan Consortium of distance educators.

FINANCIAL AID IN THE USA - Usually, you have to be at least a half-time student (6 semester hours per semester) in order to qualify for any financial aid. THE BEST PLACE to learn about financial aid is, usually, the institution to which you apply, because they (usually) know that your financial aid is their life blood. They get very good at finding money!! However, I have included these links for your information or use:
US Department of Education where you can file your federal financial aid forms and get information about federal financial aid programs.
Financial aid is usually available for regionally accredited institutions.  The students.gov website also provides key information on financial aid.

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