High School Online

Online schools are the one of the more convenient ways to get an education. There are plenty of offerings in online schools which can rival those afforded by even the stringiest ‘real’ universities. However, as is always the case with almost everything, there will be posers who would run fly-by-night, fake online schools which are more interested in your wallet than your certificate. The best way to know for sure if your online school is legit is to look for accreditation, as provided by the right agencies.

Accreditation is the procedure which a school is subjected to, wherein its programs and regulations are evaluated to determine if it sufficiently complies with the criteria established by an external monitoring agency. As long as the school fulfills the agency’s minimum criteria, it qualifies for accreditation. Accreditation is enforced and maintained for the benefit of the students, schools, and the employers. It makes sure that a school is providing quality education to its students, as well as meeting the set standards for such.

Each accreditation type is different from the others, and there are those which come from the wrong sources. The more credible ones come from those agencies which are recognized by the U.S. Department of Education, or the Council for Higher Education Accreditation, as these two government bodies maintain an updated list of all legitimate accreditors. Most online schools obtain accreditation through Distance Education Training Council, but it is at present not as widely recognized as regional accreditation, as numerous regionally-accredited schools don’t approve of credit transfers from those schools with DETC accreditation.

On the flip and darker side of the coin, there are schools which offer diplomas which are too good to be true at the outset, practically selling degrees which require minimal or no effort from its students. These fly-by-night schools are unaccredited, or worse, accredited with dubious accreditation agencies. Using any degree provided by these diploma mills can severely damage your employment status and career, as numerous employees have been terminated from service after including a diploma mill-produced credential in their resumes. There are also states which prosecute the use of such diplomas. Take note, however, that just because a school does not have accreditation, this means that it is a diploma mill. It may actually be undergoing the process for accreditation, or may have chosen not to apply for it. Using a diploma granted by such a school can be difficult nonetheless.

Be sure that you find out if the school you’re applying for is accredited beforehand, so that you will be able to avoid potential consequences of making such a mistake as enrolling in one without accreditation. If you have inadvertently earned a degree from an unaccredited school, chances are your credential will be difficult to use, at best. What’s worse, your employment opportunities are not broadened in any way with such a credential, as few employers would take your diploma seriously. Also, if you are looking to transfer to an accredited school with credits gained from an accredited one, your chances for achieving this is practically next to none.

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