The term accredited simply implies that something is authentic and this authenticity is based on reviews made by independent agencies that test the quality of the service or product being accredited. In fact, it is almost compulsory to get accreditation if you want your degree to be recognized and accepted by the people that matter including those who are part of educational bodies, professional organizations as well as by prospective employers.
Beware Of Fraudulent Accreditations
When it concerns an accredited distance learning program, there can be differences in the way that the program is accredited and to ensure that a particular distance learning program is in fact accredited to suit your educational needs, you should have it checked by agencies that are especially recognized for being able to provide suitable assessment of your course of study.
To be sure, you must always be wary of any accredited distance learning program that is accredited by agencies that have not been recognized as being capable of giving accreditation. You can be sure that such programs are actually the handiwork of fraudulent organizations.
At present there is no centralized authority in the U.S. to give accreditation to such programs and thus you will have to get your program verified from a reputable agency. In fact, to obtain accreditation from the proper source you need to look for educational institutions that have been included in the list of accredited institutions that is published annually by the U.S. Department of Education.
In any case, certain kinds of accredited distance learning programs need to be recognized by special agencies. For example, when you wish to pursue teaching as a profession you would need to ensure that the accredited distance learning program you have chosen has been accredited by an agency such as the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education.
When it concerns verifying an accredited distance learning program, there are just two types of accreditation to look out for, known as specialized and institutional accreditation. The latter being applicable to entire institutions while the former implies giving accreditation to certain distinctive programs that in turn will have to meet certain standards for each given industry.
Also, it is safer to take your distance learning course from an accredited distance learning school because when employers check your application they are sure to be more impressed when they see that you have obtained an accredited degree from a reputable institute of higher education.
There is also regional accreditation to consider, pertaining to accredited distance learning programs, that is recognized by many colleges, universities and the U.S. Department of Education. The main advantage of choosing to take an accredited distance learning program is that it becomes simpler to transfer college credits since the required standards in both theory and practice will have been met.
