5 BENEFITS OF ENROLLING WITH REGIONALLY ACCREDITED ONLINE UNIVERSITIES

Before applying to any college or university, on campus or online, the first thing you need to do is verify the accreditation of the institution. The United States Department of Education states that the primary goal of Accreditation is to ensure a certain standard of higher education. In layman terms, accreditation guarantees that education received at accredited universities meet the standards set by the government.

An online college degree may have different levels of accreditation; regional, national or specialized. Now, it may seem confusing to choose one over the other. You may be wondering which accreditation is the best for you. Before answering all questions related to this confusion you need to understand the difference between the different levels of accreditation.

Regional accreditation is the standard set by one of the accreditation agencies of the United States, distinguished by geographical area. Regional accreditation is the gold standard for college accreditations which means that it is accepted by most employers and educational institutions. Moreover, most regionally accredited universities will accept transfer credits only from other regionally accredited institutions. Generally, most regionally accredited college are not for profit, owned by the state and education oriented.

National accreditation refers to accreditation that is not confined to a particular geographical region. The purpose of national accreditation is not academic focused, hence the requirements for enrolling in such an institution is not as standardized as regionally accredited institutions. Mostly profit concerns and religion-oriented colleges and universities are nationally accredited.

Specialized accreditation is needed when universities offer a specialized programs focusing on a certain subject that needs professional accreditation from specialized agencies authorized by the government. For example, accountancy programs in the U.S.A have to be accredited by the Association of Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB).

Depending upon your choice of degree, the accreditation level of the online university you should enroll in may differ. However, for most degrees regionally accredited online universities are the best choice because:

1. THE GOLD STANDARD OF COLLEGE ACCREDITATION

Regional accreditation, as stated earlier, is the gold standard of accreditation for colleges in the United States. To be accepted for any program in any college, it is essential that you have credits from a regionally accredited college. Furthermore, employers generally seek graduates from regionally accredited colleges.

2. WIDELY RECOGNIZED

An online degree from a regionally accredited college is recognized by most institutions. For transferring credits, most higher education institutions require that you have a certificate from a regionally accredited institution. Additionally, students attempting to transfer from a nationally accredited college or institution to a regional one may have to face a number of difficulties.

3. ELIGIBLE FOR CORPORATE TUITION REIMBURSEMENT

An online degree from a regionally accredited college makes you eligible for corporate tuition reimbursement. So, you can earn while you learn and not have to worry about paying tuition fees. And if the degree you are enrolling for is work-related and may prove beneficial to the organization, then your employer may, in some rare cases, be even willing to pay 100% of your tuition. However, most companies contribute up to $2,000 for every calendar year.

4. INSTRUCTED LED COURSES

Unlike nationally accredited institutions which may require students to take self-study courses without any assistance from instructors, in the regionally accredited online colleges, courses are mostly conducted under the guidance of instructors. This ascertains the quality of education received by the students and constant communication with the instructor leads to better understanding.

5. ACADEMIC REPUTATION

Regionally accredited online universities have a better academic reputation when compared to nationally accredited institutions. The quality of education provided at regionally accredited colleges meets the standards set by the Department of Education. Hence, from an academic perspective, regionally accredited online universities are a better choice.

Now that you are well informed about accreditation, and everything related to it choose your online university wisely.