You may not think so, but education is an industry. As in any industry, there are organizations that are established and recognized, and those that are not. The main indicator of the quality of a school, or the validity of the programs and degrees it offers, is whether or not the school is accredited. The article below details accreditation in the US and in Canada, and how you can tell whether a school is or is not accredited.

According to the Department of State, in the US, accreditation is voluntary, so an institution can choose whether it wishes to be regionally or nationally accredited – or not accredited at all. (In some states, I could put a box on a street corner, call it a university, and hand out degrees.) Students at institutions that do not hold some form of recognized regional or national accreditation are likely to encounter problems in obtaining scholarships, transferring credits, having their credentials recognized by employers, etc.

The Secretary of Education is legally required to publish a list of nationally recognized accrediting agencies that the Secretary has determined to be able to evaluate and accredit schools and training programs. The Council for Higher Education (CHEA) oversees legitimate accrediting agencies. They have a database of almost 6,500 institutions, which are accredited by the CHEA or recognized by the Department of Education.

The six recognized agencies are regional bodies, which constitute the most widely recognized form of accreditation: Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools (MSA), New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC), North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA), Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS), Northwest Association of Schools and Colleges (NAAS), and Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC). For national accreditation, see the Accredited Institutions of Postsecondary Education.

What's the difference between regional and national accreditation? According