Hi, I'm from the U.S. I wanted to know if theres a list of US accredited foreign universities that grant degrees online? are there any free or low cost programs as well.. thanks
Hi Masha, The US does not accredit overseas universities, at least none that I'm aware of. Accreditation is left up to the individual countries and their respective accrediting agencies.
The CHEA site is a solid source for identifying recognized accrediting agencies. Click on the International Directory to check out non-U.S. accreditors.
Sure there are. More than a handful, IIRC. There's an old thread. I know there are a couple of DETC ones too. UNISA used to be (no more) and so did a couple of Australian schools. Update: only DETC Non-US one I could find was Deakin, Australia www.deakin.edu.au Here's the old thread I promised: http://www.degreeinfo.com/general-distance-learning-discussions/16994-ra-degrees-outside-us.html Johann
What field are you looking for? Are you looking for an undergrad degree or a graduate degree? What experience do you have? Do you have prior college credit? Any CLEP exams? Answering these questions will give us a better feel as to what your needs are. :wave:
Here's another well-known RA school outside US, (Canada) : Athabasca U. Major distance school! www.athabascau.ca (Middle States accredited, plus proper Canadian recognition) Johann
It is possible for non-US schools to obtain institutional accreditation from US regional or national accreditation agencies, as noted above. It just isn't very common. However, some professional accreditation agencies (like ABET for engineering or AACSB for business) accredit lots of non-US schools. There may be limitations on the federal financial aid available for a US student to attend foreign schools, even if the foreign schools have recognized US accreditation.
Indeed they do. And I can't imagine anyone having a problem with an ABET or AACSB degree -- ever. However, we have to remember: (1) ABET, ACCSB et al. are programmatic, not institutional accreditors. The foreign institutions rely on accreditation (or the equivalent) from their own country - plus the prestigious endorsement of certain programs by ABET, AACSB etc. (2) It's slightly different with some other accreditors of that nature - notably ACBSP. I think ACBSP is great -- and AFAIK, they would never accredit an unworthy degree program in a million years - BUT, they (a) Have their own idea of what "degree-granting authority in its own country" means, and (b) Sometimes do not accredit all business programs offered by a school. This quirk has shown up with some Swiss Cantonal schools. These schools have legal permission to operate but their degrees are not considered equivalent to Swiss Federation-approved degrees. Distance schools in Switzerland usually obtain this Cantonal permission becuase the requirements of opening a "mainstream" university in that country would be well-nigh impossible to fulfil - buildings, 100+ full-time professors etc. ACBSP have accredited business programs of some Cantonal schools (the better ones, I'd say) , but if you look closely, not ALL the biz programs are ACBSP accredited. You'll find MBA programs that are, and maybe a doctoral or bachelor's program that isn't. If you're contemplating such a school (and many do) -make sure the programmatic accreditation applies to the degree you're undertaking. Otherwise -- well, you've nothing American to rely on re: accreditation of any sort -- and very little else. Example of such a school: Online Business Education - Online Management PhD - Distance MBA Johann
