The most important thing you can do when checking out a college, university, or a distance learning program is to find out if it is accredited.
Accreditation is a system used to verify the quality of a school or a specific program.
Typically, accrediting agencies send teams of experts to a campus to determine whether the institution is meeting its stated mission and meeting a set of agreed-upon standards. If you want to transfer credits from one school to another, enroll in a graduate degree program, receive federal student financial aid, or have your degree recognized by an employer or the government, your education must come from an institution accredited by a recognized accreditation agency. All schools and programs will be able to provide you with the name of the agency that accredits their institution. Make sure to write down the exact name of the accrediting agency they provide to you. You can find a directory of accrediting agencies recognized by CHEA online .