| Requirements for licensing and/or authorization for | | | | accreditation for the school. Students who are |
| educational institutions vary from state to state in | | | | enrolled or have completed degrees from schools |
| the United States. Most states require that a | | | | that are not accredited have wasted a lot of |
| learning institution be certified authorized and/or | | | | time, money, and effort on a degree that may |
| accredited in order to award accredited degrees | | | | be rejected by potential employers. Credits from |
| to students. There are some schools out there | | | | schools that are not accredited cannot be |
| that do not meet these requirements. In fact, | | | | transferred to other universities. |
| there are several levels of fraud found in some | | | | There are several state-based and regional |
| educational programs and "schools." They range | | | | accrediting bodies. Each is recognized by the U.S. |
| from using the student's work history as the | | | | Department of Education. |
| "learning" period that earned the degree to simply | | | | To find out whether the school is truly |
| selling diplomas. These "diploma mills" have been | | | | accredited, contact the appropriate State |
| around for decades. Online degrees programs like | | | | Department of Higher Education. Tribulations with |
| Degrees-R-Us promise a bachelor's, masters or | | | | non-accredited schools some of these violators |
| doctoral degree in about 10 days. (There is a | | | | have been awarding diplomas and degrees for |
| higher tuition fee if you want to graduate with | | | | decades. |
| honors!) Now, however, there are some states | | | | Courts that have shut them down have cited |
| (Oregon, Iowa, and South Dakota) that are | | | | problems like: |
| cracking down on schools within their borders that | | | | Too few qualified faculty members to maintain |
| grant degrees without any type of approval and | | | | the number of students or level of education Too |
| legitimate accreditation. There are also some | | | | much credit given for previous life and work |
| states (Wyoming, Montana, and Hawaii) that allow | | | | experience without properly determining the actual |
| unaccredited universities to do business as long as | | | | level of knowledge Not having course objectives |
| they have a physical | | | | Awarding PhDs to students who haven't |
| presence in the state. The problem is that when | | | | performed the type of research and analysis |
| a state does pass legislation that requires | | | | typically required of such a degree |
| accreditation, those schools simply change | | | | |
| addresses (when you don't have a campus, it's | | | | Basically, the problem relates to the schools |
| not that difficult to move). The question of | | | | having substandard requirements for earned |
| jurisdiction also comes into play. If the institution | | | | degrees. Some programs even allow students to |
| has an address in one state but sends out | | | | earn masters or doctoral degrees without having |
| degrees from another state, then which state is | | | | first earned a bachelors degree. The best bet is |
| responsible for it? | | | | to stick with a known, reputable university or |
| For this reason, the most important thing to | | | | college that is offering |
| check out before you begin any kind of distance | | | | life experience degree. That school's reputation |
| learning program is the accreditation the school | | | | will be at stake so it is more likely to have the |
| has, or claims to have. Simply having a statement | | | | same quality online as offline. Of course, there are |
| about being "licensed by the state" isn't an | | | | some good programs from universities that are |
| accreditation and may not mean anything at all. | | | | strictly online. According to an article by a former |
| There have been many violators that claim | | | | student at the University of Phoenix Online, many |
| accreditation from agencies that either don't exist, | | | | students feel as connected with other students |
| have been created by the school itself, or are | | | | as they would if they were on a campus |
| legitimate agencies but have no record of | | | | attending classes in the traditional way. |