Accreditation in Distance Education
Katrina Dixon

Spring 2012

Choosing the appropriate school for Higher Education is a major decision that all students must face. The world of accreditation is slowly changing, generally in the direction of dealing more with outcomes: how schools teach or train their students and how well the students perform (Bear, Nixon 2006, 37) Making sure that the school has the courses they desire, flexibility and if it is affordable to them are all issues that must be looked at but the most important aspect of the decision is finding out about the school’s accreditation. Accreditation is a validation process by which institutions of higher education are evaluated against established standards to ensure a high level of educational quality. Knowing the accreditation status of the school that you have chosen for your Higher Education is very important because the school’s accreditation can determine how usable a degree is once it is obtained. This paper will discuss accreditation in depth and what it means to distance education. Researching an institution accreditation can be tedious but it is necessary to have this knowledge. Asking college officials and current students is one way to gather information but a prospective student should also look for other signs that the institution is credible. One of the best indicators for quality of an institution is recognition from nationally recognized professional organizations. There are certain types of awards that are specific to distance learning programs. One award places the focus on academic integrity and the overall curriculum, graduation rate and/or contributions to the field. The awards are sponsored leading professional organizations that have connections to that particular subject. Another telltale sign is the faculty and the impact they have made to online education. Most of the research for online education is done within that University or colleges education department but it is typically used train faculty from other departments and institutions around the world. The faculty’s initiative and support for online education will display the school’s overall attitude toward distance education. One final indicator would if the university or college has obtained a membership to a consortium or any type of group of like minded institutions. Having this membership does not guarantee quality of the school or that they are accredited but unlikely will an unaccredited institution seek to gain membership into such. As a member of a consortium universities and colleges will have access to training, research in the field and will practices that ensure cutting edge quality. Accreditation is necessary for higher education but it is also the most misunderstood and complex issue. Before choosing the correct school it is important to understand exactly what accreditation is, why it is important, the different types of accreditation, and the validity of a schools accreditation. Accreditation is truly an American concept, at least with the definition that we use foe accreditation. In countries such as Australia and England, the schools do not have to an acceptance for their degree. The United States is the only country that will question if an obtained degree is from an accredited institution. This is not a requirement in most other countries because their accreditation is not conducted by the government. Our process is a little different as it is a voluntary process that is implemented by private accrediting agencies. This process is not easily controlled so there are all types of accreditating agencies; good ones, bad ones, recognized and unrecognized agencies, legitimate and phony ones. The Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) is the primary national voice for voluntary accreditation and quality assurance to the U.S. Congress and the U.S. Department of Education. According to the CHEA Institute for Research and Study of Accreditations and Quality Assurance, recognized accrediting commissions, associations and agencies routinely review the following seven key areas of institutional activity when they examine the quality of distance learning programs (Rovai, Ponton, and Baker 2008, p.62).
• Institutional resources: Does the institution sustain adequate financing to offer quality distance learning?
• Curriculum and instruction: Does the institution have appropriate curricula and design of instruction to offer quality distance learning?
• Faculty Support: Are faculty members competent to engage in offering distance learning, and do they have adequate resources, facilites, and equipment?
• Student Support: Do students have needed counseling, advising, equipment, facilities and instructional materials to pursue distance learning?
• Institutional organizational structure: Is the institution suitably structured to offer quality distance learning?
• Institutional mission: Does offering distance learning make sense in this institution?
• Student learning outcomes: Does the institution routinely evaluate the quality of distance learning based on evidence of student achievement? (CHEA, 2002, P.7)

It is important to understand that with accreditation that a school is accredited or fully accredited (interchangeable), there is no such thing as a partial accreditation. There are different types of accreditation. The actual school can have the accreditation and also programs within the school can achieve accreditation status. It is possible for an accredited school to have accredited programs. The first type of accreditation is institutional accreditation. This means that the school as a whole works to meet its overall mission. A school can achieve national or regional accreditation, with regional accreditation being the higher level of accreditation. There are six regional accrediting agencies (See Appendix A) in the United States that serve institutions within their respective regions. Another type of accreditation is called specialized or programmatic accreditation. This type of accreditation is specific to a program within a school that has already achieved accreditation status. One example of this researched, would be the education program at Eastern Illinois University. It is accredited through the specialist level by the Commission on Institutions of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools and by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education for the preparation of elementary and secondary teachers and school service personnel. What this means is that the actual university has met all of the general academic quality standards, in addition to meeting the standards that are specific to the education of future teachers. For the majority specialized accreditors only associate the accreditation status to programs within a regionally accredited institution. The CHEA does not have specific criteria that they set for accreditors for which to base their evaluations. They give the accreditors flexibility to pick and choose based on the needs of that individual institution. Each jurisdiction has the freedom to individually judge each institution on the appropriate kinds of programs looking for accreditation (Davie, L.E, 1998, P 57). For example there are only a few institutions in the California and Hawaii region that has achieved regional accreditation. This is because the Western Association does not look favorably on distance learning programs so it has been hard for them to achieve that status. On the contrast, distance programs in the Midwest have a much better chance to receive regional accreditation. The North Central Association, which is now the Higher Learning Commission that serves this region, are more flexible with interpreting the standards and guidelines that distance learning programs are required to have. The Higher Learning Commission was the first to review for distance learning programs. The Council on Higher Education currently oversees the six national accreditors, and nearly 50 specialized and professional accreditors. Recognition by the CHEA basically says that the university or college has met the standards that the CHEA has set forth. An accrediting agency ensures that standards of practice are in place and awards a college, university or other institution the right to issue college degrees and diplomas. Reputable colleges, universities and other institutions of learning will hold themselves up to the scrutiny of an accrediting agency, thereby ensuring that certain academic standards are met. Accrediting agencies, themselves, are held to strict standards and are reviewed by educational organizations such as the Council for Higher Education and Accreditation (CHEA) and the United States Department of Education (USDE) to ensure quality of practice and standards.
Accrediting agencies are private bodies that award accreditation based on several criteria, some of which include:
• Excellence of programs
• Quality of faculty
• Standards of admissions and recruitment
• Availability of student services
Accreditation for distance education is somewhat more complex than with traditional colleges and universities. Agencies conducted a more thorough investigation for accreditation for distance education programs. Ensuing that the quality of the program meets certain academic standards is on of the key elements agencies are searching for. Agencies are looking to make sure that the presence of evaluation mechanisms to ensure that programs and courses offered at a distance have the same requirements and meet the same learning outcomes as traditional universities and colleges. Quality of the program and the faculty are also heavily monitored. Quality assurance for distance education programs and courses, to include quality of faculty used to teach at a distance and their equivalence with on campus faculty who teach in traditional programs. Before accreditation is given for distance education programs, agencies check to make sure there is adequate support for student services. This includes financial aid, academic advisement, placement, counseling, tutoring, and technical help. They also make sure that there appropriate and adequate learning resources that are available to all students. The agencies main goal is to determine that there is consistency of distance education initiatives with the mission and vision of the university or college.

Several red flags have been associated with distance education problems that are problematic for accreditation status (Bear and Nixon, 2006). Some of these red flags are as follows:
• Faculty members engaging in the development of distance education courses, while simultaneously carrying a full-time teaching
• Outdated course materials
• A student evaluation (of teachers) is poor.
• The majority of student’s involvement and participation in online discussions lacks substance and shows little evidence of reflection or critical thinking.
• Large numbers of students enrolled in online courses with insufficient faculty. This is problem because it does not provide effective faculty-student interaction.

Government officials have always had concerns about how much of an impact distance learning will have on students. The have issues about the accountability of state and federal funds delivered in a distance learning environment. These makes agencies unsettled about how to deal with substantive differences between for-profit and not-for profit institutions (Olcott, 1996, p.110). Obtaining accreditation is the school’s responsibility and the first step is for the school to apply to an appropriate accrediting agency. Once the application is received the agency will conduct a preliminary investigation. This investigation is to determine if the school is operating under legal terms and is being run legitimately. At the conclusion of this investigation, if the school passes, they will be provided with a correspondent or provisional status. This status does not give indication that the school will be given accreditation it just means that the agency will be moving forward with the long process of accreditation. It typically takes several months or several years for the process to conclude. The next step in the process is visitations to the school. The agency will make regular visits to the school during the process, in order to observe the school in action. The school is aware of the visits and they must prepare for these visits. The observer will want the school to provide information relating to its legal and academic structure, curriculum, financial status, educational philosophy. The school will remain in the status of provisional status during the couple years of observation. Once the agency concludes their visits, they will make the determination of whether or not the school is able to continue with the process. A successful determination will advance their status to “candidate for accreditation” This status basically means that the school is more than likely worthy of accreditation , but still needs further observation and investigations before the accreditation is received. The continuances of the investigation will more than likely last from one year to six years (or more). The majority of schools that reach candidacy status will more than likely receive their accreditation. Once the school receives accreditation, the agency will continue to visit the school (about every 5-10 years), for assurance that the school is still worthy to maintain accreditation. The school is responsible for reporting any changes, such as new programs, financial status changes or any new positive and negative developments. Once the accreditor becomes aware that there are changes an investigation ensues. The accreditor will give the school an adequate amount of time to correct any deficiencies that threatens their accreditation. During this time given the school will be placed on a warning, then probation and if the deficiencies are not corrected than the school is capable of losing their accreditation. Typically accreditation can be revoked for a multitude of reasons, such as:
• Lack of adequate financial reserves
• Quality of instruction
• Qualifications (lack of) of faculty
• Lost of factors used in initial accreditation.
Prospective students have a difficult time determining if the school they are seeking a degree from is really accredited. This is due to the fact that the term accredited is used very loosely and that there are several universities and colleges that use terminology that gives the perception that they have achieved accreditation when in fact they have not. Some university catalogs may say that they are “pursuing accreditation”. That only indicates that they are looking into having there institution accredited but have not pursued any agencies about moving forward. This can also be confused with institutions that are “candidates for accreditation”. A school that has charter does not guarantee that they are accredited. Some schools need that necessary document in order to grant degrees for completed programs. A university or college catalog that states that a university is license or registered does not guarantee that they are accredited. The terms only indicate that the institution has a business license that was granted by the state city or even county. The school’s license only states than can operate in the location of the institution it gives no legality of the school or the usefulness to its degrees. Some institutions will tell prospective students that they are “nationally recognized”; in hopes of giving them a sense of security that there institution is nationally accredited. The term recognized can have meaning different meanings from them having an official state recognition to being listed in an educational directory. Students have the final choice in deciding on the institution in which they will pursue their degree. They have the option of choosing between an institution that has been accredited and one that has not. Knowing the difference is crucial but also knowing the results of obtaining a degree from an unaccredited institution is equally as important. There are many colleges and universities that have not achieved accreditation status. Some of these institutions are run by fraudulent characters who sell worthless degrees to anyone who signs up and others are completely well funded and organized by experienced educators with great reputations. An example of this would be students who are obtaining nursing degrees. There are hospital systems that will hire RN’s that have obtained a degree from an unaccredited school of nursing, but the actual nursing program is what needs to be accredited by the NLN or the CCNE. The unaccredited school may seem more appealing because they are usually cheaper with more flexibility and quick methods to achieving a degree in a less amount of time than it normally would. The appeal may not be so great when students discover the difficulties they may encounter when planning to go back to school with an unaccredited degree. Many schools will not consider a BSN or MSN from an unaccredited school. The Veterans Administration, Department of Defense, federal prisons will not hire new RN graduates with an unaccredited degree. An unaccredited LPN degree is not as relevant, only when trying to use that degree to obtain an RN degree. Acceptance of an unaccredited degree is not commonplace in the academic or government world. In the business world, the acceptance is a little higher because most business does not make a practice to specify that accredited degree is required. Human Resource Departments are somewhat naïve to the fact there are universities and colleges that are not accredited or to the fact there are agencies that are not actual accrediting agencies (Bear and Nixon, 2006 p. 95). Individuals who have achieved success with an unaccredited degree are individuals who did not really “need” the degree. Some people feel that they need a degree to validate their existence so they pursue a degree in any field just for the purpose of saying they have a degree. Some different job occupations do not require a higher education degree, such as therapists and real estate agents but the appeal to clients and patients is much greater with having the degree. Achieving a Master’s degree at unaccredited school is great for them because they are not actually using the degree for anything. The issues arise when someone who has already achieved an accredited Bachelor’s degree and then pursue a Master’s degree at an unaccredited institution. The individual has already proven that they can handle university level work so they will be placed under scrutiny and suspicion for trying to obtain a higher education degree at an unaccredited institution. There are instances where degrees with recognized accreditation are not accepted. These are not very common but it can occur. As stated earlier there national accreditations and there are regional accreditations. Students need to complete thorough research when picking a respective school, because in case you have to transfer to another university or college you will want them to accept all of the work you have already put forth towards your degree. There are many benefits to achieving an accredited degree. It is satisfying and rewarding to know that the institution you received your degree from has achieved quality standards. Having an accredited degree gives graduates the ability to market themselves to prospective employers who looks for applicants with those degrees. Those graduates may look more appealing to recruiters than the applicants who have an unaccredited degree. Some prospective students should also realize the impact that their Bachelor’s degree will have on their acceptance to graduate school. It will definitely increase the likelihood of acceptance. Credits earned at a non-accredited institution or program will not transfer to an accredited institution or program. The registrar’s office at the institution is the best source of information on this topic. Another good reason to choose an accredited institution over an unaccredited school is that students may have a difficult time obtaining financial aid. Students attending unaccredited institutions may be ineligible for student assistance such as federal/state aid and tuition reimbursement programs. Financial aid is not available to unaccredited institutions. Without financial aid students will have to pay the full cost and receive a lower quality distance learning education.

Choosing to further education is a complex decision that involves research to the institution and adjustment to the student’s current lifestyle. Obtaining a degree is an investment that is not cheap and many people pay off that investment their entire careers so it is worthwhile to make sure that the institution you pursue a degree from is worth the effort and money. Participating in a distance learning program has been accredited only ensures that the institution has met quality standards. Distance education is constantly evolving and so are the many practices, guidelines and standards so as a prospective student it is important to know every option available and the difference between them. Institutions of higher education will continue to evaluate the effectiveness of their distance education programs to improve and to provide evidence for program accreditation.

References:

Olcott, D. (1996). Destination 2000: Strategies for Managing Successful Distance Education Programs. The Journal of Distance Education, 11(2), 103-115.

Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2012). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education. (5th ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Rovai, A., Ponton, M.K., Baker, J. (2008). Distance Learning in Higher Education: A Progmatic Approach to Planning, Design, Instruction, Evaluation and Accreditation. New York: Teachers College Press.

Bear, M., Nixon, T., (2006). Bear’s Guide to Earning Degrees by Distance Learning. (16th ed). Toronto: Ten Speed Press

Davie, L.E. (1998). Facilitating Adult learning Through Computer-Mediated Distance Education. Journal of Distance Education, 3(2), 55-69.

Accrediting and Assuring Quality in Distance Learning-CHEA. http://www.chea.org

Distance Education and Training Council-The Global Leader in Distance Learning Accreditation. http://www.detc.org

Accreditation: Guide to Online Education-eLearners.com. http://www.elearners.com

Appendix A

Regional Institutional Accrediting Agencies

Regional Institutional Accrediting Agencies

North Central Association:
Schools eligible for accreditation from North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement must be located in Arkansas, Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, West Virginia, Wisconsin, or Wyoming.
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools:
The Southern Association accredits schools in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas.
Western Association of Schools and Colleges:
The Western Association of Schools and Colleges accredits institutions in California and Hawaii, Guam, American Samoa, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of Palau, the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands, and other areas near the Pacific.
The New England Association of Schools and Colleges:
The New England Association of Schools and Colleges accredits schools in the following states: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont
Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities:
The Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities accredits colleges located in Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Washington.
Middle States Association of Schools and Colleges:
The Middle States Association of Schools and Colleges accredits programs in Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands

Appendix B

Type of Accreditations

• Institutional Accreditation: This is a type of accreditation that looks at a school or university as a whole, rather than the specific programs within the institution. The two different types of institutional accreditation include regional and national. These are explained in more detail below.
• Regional Accreditation: Regional Accreditation is the most prestigious and widely accepted form of accreditation in the United States. There are a total of six regional accrediting associations throughout the United States that govern the six regions of the country. These associations use a broad scope to accredit entire colleges or universities. Regional Accreditation also usually targets schools that offer a more general, well-rounded education, such as a liberal arts school, rather than a career training school.
• National Accreditation: Like Regional Accreditation, national accreditation gives the quality stamp of approval for entire educational institutions, rather than the individual programs in the school. National Accreditors focus on more specialized programs, such as vocational schools. Though National Accreditation is not at the same caliber as Regional Accreditation, there are still very strict guidelines that schools must meet in order to receive National Accreditation. There are also a number of subcategories within National Accreditation, which include Specialized, Faith-Based and Private Career Accreditation. Refer to the list of accreditations below to find out more about these more specific categories.
• Specialized Accreditation: Specialized Accreditation is also referred to as Programmatic and Professional Accreditation. It focuses on making sure specific programs are meeting National standards in their scope and quality of education. There are hundreds of Specialized Accreditation bodies reigning over different types of programs, which gear students toward a vocational goal, rather than giving them a broad education. Specialized Accreditors usually cover programs that train professionals in very narrow fields, such as radiology technology and ESL teaching. Accrediting organizations that fit into this category approve of programs that you could call "single purpose." The Council for Interior Design Accreditation and The National Association of Schools of Theater are two examples of the very specific targets of Specialized Accrediting associations. Students should note that even if Specialized Accreditation is required for a licensing or certificate program, accreditation guarantees the staff is qualified to train in that field.
• Faith-Based Accreditation: Faith-Based Accreditation is a group of National Accreditation associations that specialize in religiously affiliated colleges and universities. Faith-based Accrediting agencies usually govern over an entire institution, rather than a specific program.
• Private-Career Accreditation: These accrediting associations focus on private schools that offer specialized vocational training.