First, you need to know what accreditation is, it’s defined as:
A quality assurance process under which a facilities or institution's services and operations are examined by a third-party accrediting agency to determine if applicable standards are met.
There are two main types of online educational accreditation, Regional Accreditation and National accreditation.
Regional Accreditation
is a term used in the United States to refer to the process by which one of several accrediting bodies, each serving
one of six defined geographic areas of the country, serving schools, colleges, and universities.
Here are six recognized regionally accrediting bodies for online schools, as listed by the Department of Education.
Regional Accrediting Bodies
Middle States Association of Colleges and Universities
Accredits schools in Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Central America, Europe, and the Middle East
New England Association of Colleges and Universities - Accredits schools in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont, Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East
North Central Association of Colleges and Schools Accredits schools in Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Navajo Nation, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming
.
Northwest Association of Accredited Schools- Accredits schools in Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Washington
Western Association of Colleges and Schools- Educational institutions accredits schools in California, Hawaii, Guam, American Samoa, Palau, Micronesia, Northern Marianas, Marshall Islands, and other Australasian locations.
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Accredits schools in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and Latin America.
National Accreditation
There are 52 recognized national accrediting bodies. The national accreditors get their name from their common policy of accrediting schools nationwide or even worldwide. Requirements for accreditation vary from each national accreditor according to the specialty. In general terms, the national accreditors accredit post-secondary programs that are vocational, technical and career in nature. Some of these programs offer degrees and some only certificates.
Five of these bodies are listed by the Department of Education as general in nature and national in scope.
National Accrediting Bodies
Distance Education and Training Council (DETC)
Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS)
Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges of Technology (ACCSCT)
Accrediting Council for Continuing Education and Training (ACCET)
