March 2000 Website of the Week ODL QC Related sites Lists of some of the other major accrediting agencies in the USA are in links pages of this site. Of these, the main body is CHEA , which is as good a place to start as any. Founded in 1926, and based in Washington, its accredited institutions are almost all drawn from the US, plus a handful from Europe. The site is build within a frame, making navigation easy, but with all the disadvantages which have made frames unfashionable of late.
Many pages consist of little more than large amounts of text dumped into the frame.
The site includes a full list of DETC-accredited institutions, with online links provided, and an index of all the courses they offer, organised in the same way as ODL QC's own index. There are useful lists of links to distance learning resources and institutions, mostly within the US, information about DETC itself, its meetings, publications, and a member's own area. My only disappointment with the site was that, as a resource for professionals, it could be improved. DETC's own Standards are not on line, and much of the advice is in the form of FAQs - fine as far as they go, but more a publicity device than a reference resource. Indeed, the whole site has more of the feel of a publicity brochure than a lived-in part of DETC's own activity.