Accreditation Is Key To Successful Online Education And Recognized Degree
Written by Natasha Bright   
Monday, 26 July 2010 08:13
Online degree and certificate programs have come a long way since Colby Nolan, an actual cat, earned an executive MBA. The option of student loans and grants have grown substantially in numbers and enrollment. There are also many grants, scholarships and loans these days to help pay for them.
by NatashaBright


Online degree and certificate programs have come a long way since Colby Nolan, an actual cat, earned an executive MBA. The option of grant have grown substantially in numbers and enrollment. There are also many grants, scholarships and loans these days to help pay for them.

Much of the reason has to do with accreditation, according to a 2001 report from the American Council on Education Center for Policy Analysis and EDUCAUSE. The federal government, which is considered the largest financial aid provider, apparently came to recognize the importance of online college grant as a result of a U.S. Department of Education pilot program years ago. These days, the government relies on an institution's accredited status as a sign that its programs are of a quality that merit money for student grants and loans, the Council on Education-EDUCAUSE report notes.

Online institutions can be accredited by national or regional agencies, but not all accrediting agencies are recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Agencies that are part of the nationally recognized Council of Regional Accrediting Commissions are. These agencies look at areas such as interactivity, trained faculty, student services and advertising as part of the accreditation process. In October, the U.S. Department of Education reportedly published updated guidelines that add requirements, such as verifying student identities and monitoring enrollment growth.

"Diploma" or "degree mills" that allow people to buy phony credentials have posed a problem and some, such as Wisconsin State Senator Fred Risser, say the problem is increasing. He drew up a law that would put more tools in place to prosecute operations and prevent the use of fraudulent academic credentials in Wisconsin, according to a news statement from his office. Many other states have taken similar action, the news release noted.

On the national level, Congressman Timothy H. Bishop of New York has proposed cracking down on diploma mills, a January report in The Chronicle of Higher Education noted. As early as 2005, the Federal Trade Commission released a guide that, among other things, recommended employers check credentials as a means of avoiding hiring job candidates with bogus degrees. The Department of Education offers a list of accredited schools and recognized agencies on its web site, making it easier for students and employers to refer to these institutions.

Even with accreditation procedures for online institutions in place, students as late as 2006 might have been hard-pressed to find government grants and loans for some online programs. The law until that time denied grants and loans to students attending institutions where more than half of all students and programs were online, according to a Chronicle of Higher Education report. The restrictions, part of what was known as a "50 Percent Rule", were created in 1972 as a means of curbing the rapid growth of fraudulent diploma mills and correspondence schools, a 2005 Inside Higher Education report noted.

Colby, a pet cat, was accepted into the online degree program after investigators filed an application claiming he had taken community college classes and worked as a baby sitter, reports show. The feline reportedly achieved a 3.5 grade point average, and earned a worthless degree. An attorney general's office sued the company that awarded it for fraud.

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Institutions with more than 5,000 students in the 2003-2004 academic year cited that as many as 79 percent of their students qualified for grants online. The Department of Education suggested expanding the program to include more courses online and recommended that the 50 percent rule be eliminated.