For those who attended online college to obtain their degree, which was the best school to attend and get accreditation from?

Penn State has academic counselors that should be able to assist you with questions. Most large universities have online courses or community college that are feeders into the university at the third year mark. Have you tried to talk to anyone there?

The best online schools are brick and mortar schools that offer online programs. There are many, but I will use Arizona State as an example. ASU has a fine online program.

The reason why a brick and mortar school is better is that most are Regionally Accredited. Any legitimate school will either be Regionally or Nationally accredited. Despite the name, a Regional Accreditation is accepted almost universally while a National Accreditation is not. Here is a list of the major Regionally Accreditation commissions.

Middle States Commission on Higher Education, formerly part of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools - Postsecondary institutions in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands.

New England Association of Schools and Colleges - Educational institutions in the six New England states (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont).

North Central Association of Colleges and Schools[6] - Educational institutions in Arkansas, Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, Nebraska, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Wisconsin, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

Northwest Accreditation Commission for primary and secondary schools and Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU) for postsecondary institutions in Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Washington.

Southern Association of Colleges and Schools - Educational institutions in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia.

Western Association of Schools and Colleges - 4-year educational institutions in California, Hawaii, Guam, American Samoa, Micronesia, Palau, and Northern Marianas Islands, as well as schools for American children in Asia.

While many online schools offer great educational programs (I graduated from Columbia Southern), they are not usually regionally accredited and your options are limited with a school not regionally accredited.

Some employers are biased against not Regionally Accredited schools or online schools. Its a unfounded bias, but its still there. Also your options for continuing to a Masters or higher degrees are limited if you don't have a regional accreditation for your BS/BA degree as many schools may not accept a National Accreditation.

You are on the right path though. Ask a lot of questions and find out about accreditation before you spend your time and money. Good luck

I obtained Master's in counseling and am currently pursuing a doctorate a d I can tell you that most major universities offer and online program at the bachelor's level. However, most jobs in the field require Master's degree atinumum, and/or professional licensure. Might I recommend attending a university that offers dual degree programs to save a year. And again, some great fully accredited institution offer these types of programs. I recommend checking the CACREP website to search from programs.

I went to Post University. They are regionally accredited and your tuition assistance will cover your full tuition and books are provided by the school. Definitely a great school. It's an actual physical school that includes an online education instead of merely an only online school. You can attend your graduation when you complete your degree. Overall a great experience.

SPC Bassett,
To determine which school is best is not a simple question to answer. Some businesses do give the same amount of weight to a degree from an online University vice a brick and motor classroom, even if the schools have the exact same accreditation. Many, if not all states require that individuals obtain Certification from them in addition to their college degree for Counselors. You need to carefully consider the internship hours required by your state, the evaluate how the University you select will do for you in order to get an internship that meets your state's requirements.

What program are you using to pay for school? If it is the Post 9/11 GI Bill, then only select a school that participates in the Yellow Ribbon Program, and they match enough tuition with the VA to ensure that all Tuition and Fees will be 100% covered. As for Textbooks, the $1000 a year will more than likely not cover more than one semester. This is where applying for the Pell Grant via FAFSA can offset those costs if you qualify for it. (http://www.fafsa.ed.gov)

Ensure the school you selects meets all of the below:
✔ Student Veteran Group
✔ Yellow Ribbon See YR Rates
✔ Principles of Excellence
✔ Military Tuition Assistance (TA)
✔ VetSuccess on Campus
✔ 8 Keys to Veteran Success

The U.S. Department of Education announced on December 12, 2016 its decision to withdraw Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS)’ recognition as a federally recognized agency for several compliance failures, including its failure to provide appropriate consumer protection measures. Do research on this one.

http://www.benefits.va.gov/gibill/docs/factsheets/Choosing_a_School.pdf

I am retried from the military and from a University as a Military Admissions Recruiter and Counselor.

Good luck, if you have any questions, please feel free to ask

Also, university of Maryland University College is a safe bet. See previous post for more. Good luck!

Hi SPC Bassett,
First, with the degree you are looking at the degree needs to be from a regionally accredited school. Any mental health program must be from a regionally accrdited school for licensure. No state will accept a degree from a Nationally accredited program (if that is your long term intent).
Second, and this is just my opinion as a guidance counselor for the Army, most "for profit" schools do not have the best track record (in retension and graduation rates). Most for profits do not rank very well in thier academic standing in comparison to State Colleges and Universities.
If you are just starting out in school, I would seriously consider looking at the community college systems, Most are feeder schools to the state universoty systems in most states.
Make sure that you are using your Tuition Assistance funds through the GoArmyEd portal. If you have any questions I can be reached at the Restone Army Education Center. Our Number is [login to see] .
Jim

My two main recommendations for anyone asking this is to try out their local community college and to avoid Ashford univ and other degree mill institutions. After joining I transferred my credits from Univ of Houston to OU when I was stationed at Sill. Oklahoma has a decent selection of degrees you can obtain almost entirely online and I know institutions such as Univ of Arizona do too. US News has a report on universities that work with vets and provide online programs. http://www.usnews.com/education/online-education/bachelors/veteran-rankings

Ashford is really popular with service members but the program is a joke. I spent last summer working Cadet Summer Training and any time Ashford or Univ of Phoenix were brought up, people laughed. Do some research on any program you are thinking of attending. If there is controversy surrounding it, you might want to look elsewhere.

Alex,
I went to Kaplan University Online out of Fort Lauderdale, FL. They are a Military Friendly school and you will get credit for your service and training. Give them a try: http://www.kaplanuniversity.edu/

Those places that offer rapid degrees aren't that good. At most you'll be a certificate of something. They don't follow a per hour/per class/per semester rule, credits from those places will NOT transfer to a 2 year and higher college. These places follow the universal requirement of having certain classes have certain times/per semester. If you have the idea of getting a higher degree, most likely, those credits may not transfer. Yes, you can get those degrees faster. Recruiters for those 'schools' will NOT tell you the entire truth. Schools get funding based on the number of students enrolled in each semester.
Best to check their legal status and accreditation before you meet with anyone. Many places will lie about it and won't give your proof of it. After you graduate it's too late. The cost of going is way to high for those places. Being they are faster is no excuse for the price hike.