Regional Accreditation VS National Accreditation

Regional Accreditation VS National Accreditation - knowing the difference and what it means for you.

^{_{Its all a war for your MONEY!}}

Regionally accrediting bodies are typically:

New England Association of Schools and Colleges

Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools

Commission on Higher Education

Southern Association of Colleges and Schools

North Central Association of Colleges

Schools Western Association of Schools and Colleges

Northwest Association of Schools and of Colleges and Universities

Nationally accrediting bodies are typically:

American Council on Education (ACE)

The American Association of Collegiate Registrars Admissions Officers (AACRAO)

Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA)

As stated above, it is simply a price war. Nationally accredited schools are evaluated every 5 years, while regionally accredited schools, once every 10 years. Does that mean one is better than the other? Nope.

Bottom line, when your busy your busy. So, Nationally accredited schools would be ideal for you since you can do it completely from home, at your own pace and for a lot less money!!

Regional accreditation is equally as great, but costs A LOT more.

DETC = Distance Education Training Council. They are recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and they are the typical accrediting body for Nationally accredited schools.

Lets say you enroll and complet an Associates Degree from a Nationally Accredited school.

Then, you decide you want to get a Bachelors Degree and you go to your local State University and try to enroll. Or even try to enroll in an online regionally accredited school. Typically, they will start enrolling you, and then tell you how the school has a higher requirement for this class and that class and this other one too, etc, etc. The concepts and learning are the same...they just want you to retake the classes at their school so they can make a ton of money off of you, but they will claim it is for other reasons.

Some will tell you that if you complete your Bachelors at a Nationally Accredited School that the credits are not transferable to a Regionally accredited school...and they are usually right in saying that... HOWEVER, there are other Nationally Accredited schools that offer a masters degree as well AND 70% of Regionally Accredited schools will accept Nationally accredited credits. :)

If you are worried about your degree from a Nationally Accredited school not being sufficient for an employer, simply refer them to the U.S. Department of Education's website. DETC, CHEA, etc, are listed as being recognized by the U.S. Department of Education!

You can pay $1200. a semester at a Nationally Accredited school. You can pay $1200. per CLASS at a regionally accredited school (online).

Just remember, do your research first! Take time to check on the schools accreditation, and think ahead... if you want to become a nurse, a nursing program might not accept national accreditation so look for one that does. If you cant find one, then go to a regionally accredited school and vise versa.

Wiki says:

"The real issue here has less to do with the academic quality of the sending institution, and more to do with anti-competitive business practices of the receiving institution.

Competition is heating up in higher education, and there are forces at work to control the inroads being made by "upstart" operators. Congress, the Department of Education, and the Department of Justice have been looking into this anti-competitive practice by higher education, and we suspect we will see significant activity in the coming months on this matter. "

Whatever you choose, do not be discouraged. Work hard, finish your degree and go after the job you want no matter who or what gets in your way.

BELOW you will find a list of link for accrediting bodies, the US Department of Educations website so you can verify if the school(s) you are interested in are accredited, and a link to apply for Federal Financial Aid.