Nationally Accredited Online Colleges

If you are pursuing a degree online, it is important to understand the accreditation of the schools you are considering. Nationally accredited online colleges ensure the value of the degree you earn. Unfortunately, as incredibly efficient as the internet is, it also opens up major opportunity to be duped!

The internet is overflowing with unscrupulous opportunists that can burn unsuspecting students. This means that while you do everything on your end to legitimately earn your degree, the final result could very well end up with a degree that turns out to be useless in the job market.

The problem with simply checking to see if a school is accredited is that most often they come with high credentials from accrediting agencies. However, these agencies can be either outright fictional, or not recognized as a sufficient source to accredit.

Very unfortunately for the students that have earned these degrees, a non-accredited diploma has very little worth. Below is a brief list if some of the so-called accrediting agencies whose seal of approval has no real credibility.

Nationally Accredited Online Colleges

1) Nationally accredited online colleges – accreditation agencies to avoid:

Any of the agencies named below should be a firm warning against the school which advertises the said accreditation. These are just a handful of a long list of false accrediting sources. No matter what, the accreditation of your college choices must be researched and confirmed.

• Worldwide Higher Education Accreditation Society (WHEAS)
• National College Accreditation Council (NCAC)
• TransWorld Accrediting Commission International (TAC)
• National Board of Education (NBOE)
• Association for Online Academic Excellence
• Council for Distance Education
• American Council of Private Colleges and Universities
• Accreditation Council for Distance Education (ACTDE)
• American Accrediting Association of Theological Institutions

Do not let these official sounding agencies fool you. The above named agencies have no real accreditation power. Regardless of any work put into earning your degree, it is worth very little without the proper accreditation.

2) Top three accreditation agencies for nationally accredited online colleges:

On the flip side of the fake-out accreditation agencies, there are not only legitimate agencies, but also ones that are well-recognized above the others. The list below consists of the three most relevant and reputable national accrediting agencies out there.

• Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges (ACCSC)
• Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges & Schools (ACICS)
• Distance Education & Training Council (DETC)

While there are plenty of other real agencies whose seal of approval is valid, these three are the most common, and easily recognized. Any college that you are considering that holds the above mentioned accreditation is a safe bet for an online degree.

3) Nationally accredited online colleges vs regionally accredited online colleges:

There are many important things to understand about accreditation besides who is on the naughty and nice list! A very important thing to understand is the difference between National accreditation and Regional accreditation. There are distinct benefits to both types.

Regional accreditation is considered the highest value, however, often comes at a much higher price. The regional level of accreditation offers far more transferability. This means that credits earned with a regionally accredited agency are most often allowed transfer to other educational institutes. The cons include considerably more Liberal Arts coursework, higher admission standards, and a much higher price tag than a nationally accredited online college.

While regional accreditation has slightly more value in the eyes of educators, many employers are just as pleased with degrees earned through nationally accredited online colleges. One of the reasons why employers are appreciative of this type of degree is because of the major focus nationally accredited colleges put on career-minded lesson plans. The courses tend to be much more career focused on relevant to the work-place needs. The difference in cost is another great edge that national accreditation schools offer. The major cons include less credit transfer options, and many corporate sponsored tuition reimbursement plans exclude these schools.

Deciding on an online college requires much research, comparison and well-thought planning. Whether regionally accredited or nationally accredited online colleges are best depends on the needs of the student. If flexibility and price is a major issue, then national accreditation is most likely the best option. Regardless of choice, the most important thing to remember is to thoroughly research the school, and the agencies which they are accredited by.

For those who decide that saving money with a highly flexible schedule is the way to go, below is a list of some of the most well-known online colleges that are nationally accredited.

4) Top ten nationally accredited online colleges:

• Arizona State University: www.asu.edu
• Miami Dade College: www.mdc.edu
• University of Central Florida: www.ucf.edu
• Liberty University: www.liberty.edu
• Texas A & M University: www.tamu.edu
• Bryant & Stratton College: www.bryantstratton.edu
• Kaplan University: www.kaplan.edu
• Capella University: www.capella.edu
• DeVry University: www.devry.edu
• Walden University: www.waldenu.edu

These schools are only a handful of online nationally accredited colleges. There are loads of options and great schools to earn your degrees from. While there are a large number of things that will determine the best school for you, making sure the accreditation is legitimate is one of the first important steps.

Whatever your educational and career goals are, there is an online college that will meet your needs. This important decision will most likely affect the rest of your life. For this reason, careful selection is necessary.

If you have chosen to earn your online degree you have decided on a path that leads to a brighter future. You should be proud of the decision that you have made, and be well-aware that your hard work will be rewarded. You are the sole owner of the path which leads to your future. A great online college not only leads to a better destination, but also makes for quite a rewarding journey.