And he didn`t question accreditation when he decided to spend more than $500 to graduate from high school. Scott of Cincinnati, Ohio, completed his courses by mail in 2004. To support consumers of educational institutions, several national and international bodies publish lists of recognised accreditation bodies and accredited educational institutions, as well as lists of other accreditation bodies known to lack the required legal authority or recognition, and higher education providers known not to have accreditation. [7] The U.S. organization CHEA maintains an international directory of ministries of education and other recognized quality assurance bodies for higher education worldwide. The 2007 version of this directory lists 467 recognized organizations in 175 countries. [8] However, accreditation is only valuable if the American educational community as a whole accepts the organization issuing the accreditation. Often, a school that depends on accreditation from an unrecognized accrediting body is not considered legitimate in the university community. [5] U.S. institutions generally require institutional accreditation to receive federal funding. [1] In addition, students attending colleges accredited by organizations not recognized by USDE or CHEA are not eligible for U.S.

government financial assistance. [1] Similarly, employers or graduate programs cannot trust graduates of an unaccredited institution or program to be adequately prepared. [6] Requirements and rules for higher education accreditation vary from country to country. In most countries, the quality assurance function of higher education institutions is carried out by a Ministry of Education. [1] In the United States, however, educational accreditation is primarily carried out by private nonprofit member associations,[2] whose legitimacy is confirmed by recognition by the United States Department of Education (USDE), the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA), or both. [3] USDE and CHEA recognize many, but not all, independent accreditation bodies. Accreditors apply for USDE or CHEA recognition for a variety of reasons; For example, USDE recognition is required for accreditations whose institutions or programs seek to be eligible for government student assistance. The recognition of CHEA confers academic legitimacy on accrediting bodies and helps to consolidate the place of these bodies, their institutions and their programmes in the national higher education community.

[4] The National Association for the Legal Support of Alternative Schools accredits private alternative schools from kindergarten to grade 12 ONLY, and the U.S. Department of Education does not recognize accrediting bodies for the accreditation of private or public K-12 elementary and secondary schools. The Florida Department of Education does not accredit, regulate, license, or authorize private schools. In addition, the Florida Department of Education does not officially recognize any of the various agencies that accredit private schools. The acceptance of diplomas from private schools is subject to the requirements of the educational institution or the host employer. For these reasons, in addition to determining the accredited status of a school or program, students must take additional steps to determine prior to enrollment whether their educational or employment goals will be achieved by enrolling in Southeastern High School. Such measures should include requests to educational institutions or potential employers. «After careful consideration, the Continental Academy Board of Directors has decided that it is not in the best interest of Continental Academy to maintain its accreditation with AdvancED/SACS/CASI,» Continental officials said in a statement to FCIR. «Aside from the lack of institutional support and structural confusion that the Continental Academy has received from SACS, a harsh reality of maintaining SACS accreditation is that a school or school district must have a significant amount of financial resources for continuous school improvement.» In April 2009, the Commission for International and Trans-Regional Accreditation, a now-defunct umbrella organization founded in 1994 by six regional accreditation groups, including SACS, issued a letter addressing concerns about Continental`s accreditation status.

After SACS` Continental Academy accreditation was revoked, Continental`s owners tried to get SACS to accredit a new school, Elgart said. «We have hundreds of schools that lose their accreditation every year,» Elgart said. «The process displaces some schools because they can`t meet the standards and criteria.» «They didn`t want to meet the requirements that would ensure they would meet accreditation standards,» Oliver said, without elaborating. Rodriguez and Shedd are two of 59 students from across the country who have filed complaints against Continental Academy with the Florida Attorney General`s Office, Better Business Bureau and Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services since 2006. They claim that Continental Academy made false claims about accreditation. Schools applying for accreditation from a reputable accrediting body must pass an exam to ensure they meet educational standards. Accreditation adds value to individual degrees as their teachers, courses, facilities, equipment, and materials are regularly reviewed to ensure students receive a quality education. Also included are some organizations that do not offer education accreditation, but have been wrongly identified as accrediting bodies by organizations claiming to have been accredited by them.

A notable example of the latter type is UNESCO, which does not have the power to recognize or accredit higher education institutions or agencies. [7] However, since the diploma mills claimed false accreditation from UNESCO, UNESCO itself has issued warnings about educational organizations claiming recognition or affiliation with UNESCO. [7] [11] U.S. Department of Education Information on Accreditation: www2.ed.gov/print/admins/finaid/accred/accreditation.html (accessed July 13, 2022, from U.S. Department of Education, U.S. Accreditation) Continental Academy, which is registered with the state Department of Education, like all private schools in Florida, has received accreditation from SACS, one of the most respected organizations, July 26, 2006. But in 2009, Continental Academy withdrew its accreditation, according to Jennifer Oliver, a spokeswoman for AdvancED. NALSAS was originally developed to help interested individuals/organizations find/evaluate/create viable alternatives to traditional school approaches — including home study. Subsequently, NALSAS established a bona fide member accreditation process for the National Coalition of Alternative Community Schools, which requires a site visit by a qualified representative of NCACS members and homeschooling educational programs.

However, due to the dissolution of the NCACS (effective 31.03.14), interested alternative schools can still apply for NALSAS accreditation by following the accreditation process explained here: ACCREDITATION PROCESS. Many, but not all, of the entities listed below are considered fraudulent accreditation factories established to help diploma mills attract students and whose «accreditation» has no legal or academic value. Some diploma factories have also played a role in the creation of these accreditation bodies. These diploma and degree factories can further confuse matters by claiming to take into account professional background, professional training or prior learning, and may even require the submission of a purported thesis or thesis to give an additional semblance of legitimacy. [9] Some other institutions listed are religious accreditation bodies, whose accreditation may have doctrinal significance, but has no recognized academic value. [10] Note: The United States The Department of Education does not have the authority to accredit private or public primary or secondary schools, nor does it recognize accreditation bodies for the accreditation of private or public primary and secondary schools. However, the U.S. Department of Education recognizes accrediting bodies for accreditation of higher (post-secondary) educational institutions. If an accreditation body recognized by the Ministry of Advanced Education also accredits elementary and secondary schools, the ministry`s recognition applies ONLY to the accreditation of post-secondary institutions by the Agency. In 2004, the Chronicle of Higher Education described for-profit high schools and colleges without accreditation as «diploma mills» and reported that these operations have become a billion-dollar industry. Ed Nagel, president and CEO of NALSAS, defended Continental and his organization`s accreditation of the school. A K-12 school, N.A.L.S.A.S.

Accreditation must first submit an application for accreditation with a $500.00 filing fee to N.A.L.S.A.S., 18520 N.W. 67th Ave., #188, Miami, FL 33015. (NOTE: Registration fees are non-refundable). Please click on this link to apply for accreditation: (NALSAS-Application-2018.pdf). Jeffrey Lopez is the principal of Southeastern High School, a virtual school founded in 2007, according to the latest annual survey submitted to the Department of Education. Like Continental Academy, Southeastern has received its accreditation from NALSAS and is a member of NCACS. This procedure applies to new applicants who have never received NALSAS accreditation.