According to GetEducated.com’s Online MBA Rankings, the average cost of a regionally accredited online MBA is $25,869. When people ask if you have attended an “accredited university” in the United States, they commonly mean a regionally accredited university. Cost can be an important deciding factor. Each of these kinds of decisions can often be found in the regional accreditors’ public notices. State governments, foundations and other funders typically only make grants and scholarships to regionally accredited colleges and universities or to students and researchers affiliated with them. Nor was there any common standard for what a degree indicated. Regional accreditation doesn’t consider other activities, such as non-degree programs that don’t involve federal financial aid resources. So regional accreditors have processes for applying for “substantive changes.” These can include: That last case, of course, is becoming very common as the popularity of online education grows. I have a list of more than 20 possible colleges. According to the U.S. Department of Education, more than 85 percent of all colleges in the United States are regionally accredited. If you are transferring from one nationally accredited program to another, you credits would also likely transfer. When choosing which school to attend, it's important to find a college or university that is accredited. National accreditation is granted by agencies that accredit schools nationwide. The Commission can only accept course work and degrees completed at regionally accredited institutions. It is hard to predict the future, but do consider the odds that you may want to continue your education later when you decide which type of school to enroll in now. But when Gonzalez later attempted to transfer her coursework from Crown to Gonzaga, she was told by Gonzaga that it would not recognize credits earned from ACCSCT-accredited colleges. And does it really make any difference? Regionally accredited programs all qualify for corporate tuition reimbursement, while nationally accredited schooling may not always have tuition benefits from employers. One example of this in action is when SNHU designed and launched College for America, an online competency-based degree program that doesn’t use a traditional course schedule based on credit hours. The two types of institutional accrediting bodies are Regional and National. Or suppose they want to innovate by awarding associate degrees. Each stage involves extensive evaluation and reporting by internal working groups of faculty and other stakeholders that consider the standards above, as well as site visits by outside evaluators. This system of regional accreditation has several ripple effects: Ultimately, regional accreditation provides public assurance about the quality of institutions, and it provides a mechanism for the institutions to evaluate themselves and to improve. A non-accredited degree could end up being worth little or nothing if future employers do not recognize it. Certain degree programs also need programmatic accreditation specific to their content. What does regionally mean? What is it? A professional license in fields such as nursing or teaching usually requires a degree from a regionally accredited school. Information and translations of regionally in the most comprehensive dictionary definitions resource on the web. What is National Accreditation? Your education may have more cache and offer more flexibility for future academic attainment if you choose a regionally accredited program. Because of the specialized focus, the requirements to earn a certificate or degree from a nationally accredited school are not as standardized as a regionally accredited school. It is often at least worth it to put in an application for financial aid, which starts by filling out a FAFSA, and then see what other resources may help you pay for your education. Get in touch to discuss building a plan that works for you. Regionally accredited institutions are reluctant to accept transfer credits from nationally accredited institutions, mainly because the latter hasn’t met the stringent standards of faculty qualifications and library resources. Accreditation is a voluntary process that ensures a college, university, or degree program meets a universal standard for quality. Not all online schools are regionally accredited—though the vast majority are. This means that regionally accredited colleges may present higher admissions hurdles, including minimum test scores, a competitive high school GPA, and a current academic record. Gonzalez sued Crown in 2004, as did a number of other disgruntled students. For example, the standards may be more or less prescriptive at different agencies. Making sure as much of your current education will count towards future degrees is something to consider, and it may play a factor in your school choice. Don’t discount a more expensive school you like until you speak find out about possible financial aid. Which is Best, National Accreditation or Regional Accreditation? It might sound like national accreditation would be more prestigious, but actually, the opposite is true. Is there something special about regional accreditation that makes it so important? You may end up having to repeat courses. You can see the specific regional accreditation standards here: Fundamentally, regional accreditation considers if a college or university is mission focused and is organized to achieve that mission. Three years later, you decide you want to continue your education to get a bachelor’s degree at your local public university. Robert McGuire is a journalist and the owner of McGuire Editorial, a marketing firm specializing in higher education and education technology. Schools typically indicate if and how they are accredited on their websites. The courts have ordered that ACICS be temporarily reinstated pending the outcome of a review. One should also check to see if there are any specialized accreditations. Meaning of accredited. The school isn’t likely to be around in a few years to graduate any new students it is admitting. There are many different programmatic accreditation organizations for various different fields of study and professions, including veterinary programs, legal education, arts education, and specific occupational categories. There is also typically a public comment period. But the agency may also note concerns that require additional follow up or progress reports on a shorter timeline. There’s often a question regarding regional vs. national accreditation. What does a “regionally accredited” college mean? The same thing happened in higher ed when colleges and universities began to want a way to indicate institutional stability, good governance and a process for self-evaluation and improvement. It shouldn’t be confused with other systems of program-level accreditations that may look, for example, at the quality of a nursing program or a school of business. Regional accreditation is granted by six different agencies who oversee institutions within a particular region of the US. Or suppose independent campuses within a state system want to merge. They are accredited by the association that covers the area where their hom… Choosing an online college is an overwhelming task. Every college has access to one of these six regional accrediting agencies, so no college, no matter how remote it might be, is unable to be regionally accredited because of its location. 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