National and Regional Accreditation
About Distance Learning writer Jamie Littlefield did an article today regarding the accreditation of postsecondary education and the difference between nationally and regionally accredited schools.
The type of accreditation your college has determines whether your units transfer or not to other colleges, as well as if you can be accepted into graduate programs at other universities. The Distance Education Training Council, or DETC, is considered the national accreditor and has been providing accreditation services since 1955. Other schools recognized by the DETC interact as their own network.
Regional accreditors are split into six different groups based upon location and act as their own separate networks. They have different guidelines than DETC and schools accredited by them possibly might not accept transfer from DETC-accredited schools, or schools accredited by a different region.
Both the national and regional accreditation agencies have been recognized by the Council for Higher Education (CHEA) and the United States Department of Education (USDE); this means that all accredited schools offer reputable, quality online degrees that are accepted in the workforce with equal creditability to a traditional campus degree. The only thing that you must consider as a prospective college student is the eligibility for transfering units to other colleges and apply to other colleges’ graduate programs, based on the accreditation backing your school.
Read Jamie Littlefield’s entire article for more: Regional vs. National Accreditation.
[...] choosing the wrong school. Educating yourself on national and regional accreditation can help you avoid going to a degree mill that will not provide the rewarding education you [...]
Is there a college in GA where you can attend online & receive the Hope Scholarship?
Jane– Here is a webpage dedicated to the Hope Scholarship program in Georgia. Hope this helps!