Differences Between Regional Accreditation and National Accreditation
The purpose of both national and regional accreditation agencies is to award or deny accreditation. However, there are some differences between these two types of accrediting organizations.
Regional Accreditation
As you can imagine, this type of accreditation focuses on geographic location. There are six organizations that focus on accrediting institutions in a specific area of the United States. The standards are usually very rigorous, and the evaluation process looks not only at the school as a whole, but also the standards of each of its programs. It is important to note that many regionally accredited schools do not transfer credits or degrees easily—and sometimes they do not transfer at all—from nationally accredited schools. In other words, if you attended a nationally accredited school for your first sixty credit hours and are trying to transfer to a regionally accredited institution, you may lose a large portion of those credits.
National Accreditation
National accreditation is performed on a much larger geographic scale. National accreditation organizations began forming for the purpose of evaluating colleges that offer the same types of programs. For example, institutions all over the United States that offer an education curriculum might be accredited by the Teacher Education Accreditation Council (TEAC). Another common type of national accreditation organization is faith-based. Schools that offer faith-based programs will seek accreditation by one or more of the faith-based accreditation agencies that evaluate such programs regardless of geographical location. National accreditation usually means that credits from a regionally accredited institution can be easily transferred. These types of universities are usually less expensive as well.
Both types of accreditation are provided by private institutions that review the schools with very strict guidelines. Regardless of what school you choose to attend, be cautious and make sure it has received a national or regional accreditation. Additionally, if you plan to transfer, ask the admissions office about the school’s policy for both regionally and nationally accredited credit transfers.
For a complete listing for both nationally and regionally accredited schools, visit the web sites for the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) or the United States Department of Education (USDE).
