Online Masters Programs - All Are Not Created Equal

Online masters programs are an increasingly popular choice for adult professionals looking for a program that respects their important work and family obligations. Online Master’s programs are available from distance-learning universities and traditional universities alike. As in the entire field of higher education, not all online programs are created equal, some are quite prestigious and some have bad reputations.

One way to ensure that any particular online masters program, or degree in general, is of a high quality and solid repute, is to examine the accreditation of the school. Accreditation is a certification from a third party agency, which indicates that the school has met specific criteria. These vary for each agency and type of school, but all accrediting bodies attempt to determine if the school truly offers what is promised, a quality education. They will examine teacher/student ratios, degree level of instructors, experience of instructors, whether the faculty are regularly published, library resources, and graduation rates, among other aspects. Institutions are awarded accreditation through a series of academic reviews that investigate the quality of the school’s curricula, its mission, and its faculty’s qualifications. Schools must go through accrediting review every few years.There are two types of institutional accreditation, regional and national.

However, most traditional colleges are regionally accredited due to the historical accident of how accrediting bodies were formed, regional accreditation is far older than any of the national bodies. Thus regional accreditation is in fact more respected in most fields than national. Regionally accredited schools will readily accept coursework from other regionally accredited schools, but may reject nationally accredited coursework. Nationally accredited schools will usually accept work done at any regionally accredited college. Federal student funding and loans can be used at both regionally and nationally accredited schools.

Regional accreditation is performed by one of six private accreditation agencies in the United States.The six accreditation agencies are:

• Northwest Association of Schools and Colleges
• Middle State Association of Colleges and Schools
• Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
• North Central Association of Colleges and Schools
• New England Association of Schools and Colleges
• Western Association of Schools and Colleges

National accreditation is awarded to schools across the country based on the type of school in question, for example tech schools, online universities and career schools.

Some schools or programs carry “specialized accreditation.” This is a type of accreditation that is awarded to specific degree programs within a school. It is also sometimes called professional accreditation. Specialized accreditation is performed by an organization considered to have special expertise in a particular field. This type of accreditation is usually found on degree programs that are specific to a particular career, such as education, accounting or medicine.

Specialized accreditation may be the highest level of quality for a masters degree program, given a particular field. These accreditations are far less common than the standard, they are far more specific, and generally quite well-known to potential employers. In a sense, they indicate the creme de la creme for a particular field, of all the programs available. It’s important, however, to verify that the accreditation agency is reputable. There are different forms of specialized accreditation for different degrees, so it’s important to check the one that applies to your career choice. Finally, if you are studying at an international school, make sure that specialized accreditation is recognized at home.

Selecting the best online masters program can be a challenging task. Determining accreditation should be one of the first steps in any due diligence search of online colleges. And don’t simply accept that some agency or other has “certified” or “accredited” the school. Take a little time to ensure that the accrediting agency is reputable. Fortunately, all of this information is readily available online, making the search for the perfect online masters program just a little bit easier.