Penn State World Campus recognition

Aren't they accredited as one?

 

Yes and no.

In terms of institutional accreditation, yes: the whole Penn State University system is regionally accredited as a single institution by MSCHE.

In terms of professional accreditation, no: different Penn State colleges (or campuses) may have different forms of professional accreditation.

For example, some Penn State business programs are accredited by AACSB, and others are not. This point is stated explicitly at this Penn State Mont Alto webpage:

 

In summary, if you earn a degree from Penn State World Campus -- or from a B&M Penn State campus, for that matter -- there won't be any "Campus" name on the diploma. That's because Penn State is officially divided up into "Colleges" -- not "Campuses". Your diploma will list the "College", but not the "Campus".

The relationship between "Colleges" and "Campuses" is not straightforward. At the undergraduate level, for example, there are 18 Colleges and 20 Campuses. Penn State has posted a list showing the relationships between the "Colleges" and the "Campuses":

Twelve colleges offer degrees at the University Park campus:

Five colleges are associated with five other campuses:

And one college, the University College, is associated with 14 smaller campuses:

This list doesn't include colleges or schools that only operate at the graduate level, like the medical or law schools.

If you get an undergraduate degree from Penn State World Campus, it will be issued by one of the 18 Colleges listed above, which in turn will be associated with one of the 20 Campuses listed above. Different Penn State World Campus degrees will be awarded by different colleges, located at different campuses. Some World Campus degrees are issued by Colleges at the University Park campus, and others are not.

I can see how people might regard this as confusing.