A fake degree costs you twice. Once when you pay for it. Again when an employer or licensing board discovers it’s worthless.
The U.S. Government Accountability Office estimated in 2022 that over 1,000 unaccredited institutions actively sold degrees online. Some operate sophisticated websites with professional photography, fake faculty bios, and fabricated student testimonials. A few even assign coursework — creating the illusion of academic rigor while delivering credentials no employer or regulatory body recognizes.
Accreditation is the only reliable filter. Here’s how the system works, how to use it, and what the red flags look like.
What Accreditation Actually Means
Accreditation is a peer-review process. Independent agencies evaluate institutions against published standards covering curriculum quality, faculty qualifications, student support services, financial stability, and learning outcomes. Schools that meet these standards earn accredited status, typically renewed every 5-10 years through re-evaluation.
The U.S. Department of Education doesn’t accredit schools directly. Instead, it recognizes accrediting agencies — organizations authorized to grant accreditation. The Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) provides a second layer of recognition. Between them, the DoE and CHEA recognize approximately 80 accrediting agencies.
An institution accredited by an agency recognized by the DoE or CHEA meets minimum quality standards. An institution accredited by an unrecognized agency — or not accredited at all — may not.
Regional vs. National Accreditation
This distinction trips people up more than anything else in higher education.
Regional accreditation
Historically, seven regional accrediting agencies covered geographic territories (New England, Middle States, North Central, etc.). These are considered the gold standard. Most traditional universities, community colleges, and established online programs hold regional accreditation. Credits from regionally accredited institutions transfer to other regionally accredited schools. Graduate programs typically require bachelor’s degrees from regionally accredited institutions for admission.
In 2024, this system began consolidating. The Higher Learning Commission (HLC) and other regional agencies are moving toward a model that drops geographic boundaries. But the distinction between regional and national accreditation still matters for transfer credit and employer perception.
National accreditation
National accrediting agencies — like the Distance Education Accrediting Commission (DEAC) or the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS, whose recognition was revoked and partially restored) — typically accredit vocational schools, trade schools, and career-focused institutions. National accreditation is legitimate, but credits from nationally accredited schools often don’t transfer to regionally accredited institutions.
This creates a practical problem. If you earn 60 credits at a nationally accredited school, then try to transfer to a regionally accredited university to finish a bachelor’s degree, the university may reject all 60 credits. You’d start over.
Programmatic accreditation
Some programs carry additional accreditation from specialized agencies within their field. ABET accredits engineering programs. AACSB accredits business schools. CCNE accredits nursing programs. CACREP accredits counseling programs. These programmatic accreditations matter for licensing and professional recognition — sometimes more than institutional accreditation.
For example, most states require a nursing degree from a CCNE or ACEN-accredited program for RN licensure. A nursing degree from an institution that lacks programmatic accreditation — even if it holds regional accreditation — may not qualify graduates for licensure exams.
How to Verify Accreditation: Step by Step
Step 1: Check the DoE database
The U.S. Department of Education maintains the Database of Accredited Postsecondary Institutions and Programs at ope.ed.gov/dapip. Search by institution name, state, or accrediting agency. If the school appears, note which agency accredits it and whether the accreditation status is current.
Step 2: Cross-check with CHEA
CHEA’s database at chea.org/search-institutions provides similar verification with additional detail about programmatic accreditations. Some agencies are recognized by CHEA but not the DoE, and vice versa. A school recognized by either is generally considered legitimate.
Step 3: Verify the accrediting agency itself
Diploma mills sometimes create fake accrediting agencies to appear legitimate. The agency accrediting your school should appear on the DoE’s list of recognized agencies (ed.gov/accreditation) or CHEA’s list of recognized organizations. If the accrediting agency itself doesn’t appear on either list, the accreditation means nothing.
Step 4: Check state authorization
Online programs must be authorized to operate in each state where they enroll students. The State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (SARA) streamlines this for most states. NC-SARA’s website (nc-sara.org) lists participating institutions. Schools not in SARA need individual state authorizations — a legitimate school will list these on its website.
Step 5: Verify programmatic accreditation (for licensed professions)
If you’re studying for a licensed profession, check the relevant professional accreditor independently. Don’t rely on the school’s claims. Visit the accreditor’s website and search their directory of accredited programs directly.
Red Flags: How to Spot a Diploma Mill
Diploma mills have gotten sophisticated. The obvious scams — “buy a degree in 7 days!” — still exist, but the dangerous ones look legitimate on the surface. Watch for these patterns:
Degrees based on “life experience.” Legitimate prior learning assessment programs exist at accredited schools, but they supplement coursework — they don’t replace it. Any institution offering a full degree based primarily on a portfolio or resume is almost certainly a mill.
No verifiable faculty. Search instructor names on LinkedIn, Google Scholar, or university faculty directories. Real professors have publication records, conference presentations, or professional profiles. Diploma mills use fake names or list real people without their knowledge.
Pressure tactics. “Enroll today — this price expires at midnight.” Accredited institutions don’t use countdown timers or limited-time pricing on degree programs. Sales pressure signals a business focused on enrollment revenue, not education.
Accreditation from unrecognized agencies. The school’s website may prominently display accreditation logos. Check whether the accrediting body appears in DoE or CHEA databases. If it doesn’t, those logos are decoration.
Tuition that seems too low for a degree. A full bachelor’s degree for $3,000? A master’s for $2,500? Accredited programs have minimum costs — faculty salaries, infrastructure, accreditation fees — that make rock-bottom pricing impossible. Legitimate affordable programs exist (like WGU at roughly $7,500/year), but a four-year degree for the cost of a weekend getaway is a scam.
No published student outcomes. Accredited schools publish graduation rates, retention rates, and often employment data. The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) at nces.ed.gov/ipeds contains reported data for virtually all accredited institutions. If a school doesn’t appear in IPEDS, that’s a significant warning.
The Financial Aid Test
Here’s the fastest legitimacy check: does the school participate in federal student aid programs? Only institutions accredited by DoE-recognized agencies qualify for Title IV federal financial aid (Pell Grants, federal student loans, GI Bill benefits). If a school can’t process FAFSA applications, it either lacks recognized accreditation or has failed to maintain it. When evaluating the major online learning platforms, note that most platform-based certificates are not accredited in the academic sense.
This test isn’t perfect — some legitimate private institutions choose not to participate in federal aid programs. But it covers the vast majority of cases.
International Accreditation
For programs from non-U.S. institutions, accreditation works differently. The UK uses the Office for Students (OfS) register. Australia uses the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA). Each country has its own quality assurance framework.
If you’re considering a foreign online degree for use in the U.S., check whether the institution is listed in the World Higher Education Database (WHED), maintained by the International Association of Universities. Credential evaluation services — WES (World Education Services), ECE, or NACES member organizations — can assess how a foreign credential translates to U.S. equivalency.
Accreditation and Online Programs: Special Considerations
An institution’s accreditation covers all its programs — online and campus-based — unless the accrediting agency specifies otherwise. A regionally accredited university’s online MBA carries the same accreditation as its campus MBA. The diploma doesn’t distinguish delivery format.
However, newer online programs may be in “candidacy” status rather than full accreditation. Candidacy means the program is pursuing accreditation and has met preliminary requirements, but hasn’t completed the full review. Degrees earned during candidacy are usually recognized once accreditation is granted, but there’s risk if the program fails to achieve full accreditation.
Understanding accreditation helps you compare MOOCs and traditional online courses — since accreditation is one of the biggest structural differences between the two models.
If you’re changing careers after 40, verifying accreditation protects an investment that represents both money and years of effort. Don’t skip this step.
Accreditation matters just as much in specialized fields. Animal behavior certification programs, for instance, range from rigorously accredited university programs to unregulated certificate courses — and the career outcomes differ dramatically.
What to Do If You’ve Already Enrolled in an Unaccredited Program
Stop spending money immediately. Then assess the damage:
- If you’ve completed few credits: Walk away. Enroll in an accredited program. The lost tuition hurts, but it’s less than years more spent on a worthless credential.
- If you’ve completed significant coursework: Some accredited schools offer portfolio-based credit evaluation. You won’t transfer credits, but you may be able to demonstrate competency and test out of equivalent courses. Western Governors University (WGU), Excelsior University, and Thomas Edison State University specialize in this approach.
- If you’ve already “graduated”: Remove the degree from your resume if it’s from a known diploma mill. Employers who discover fraudulent credentials terminate employees — even years later. Consider earning a legitimate degree and treating the unaccredited one as a learning experience.
Report the institution to the FTC (ftc.gov/complaint) and your state attorney general’s office. These complaints help regulators track and shut down fraudulent operations.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is DEAC (Distance Education Accrediting Commission) accreditation legitimate?
Yes. DEAC is recognized by both the DoE and CHEA. It’s a national accreditor, not a regional one, which means credits from DEAC-accredited institutions may not transfer to regionally accredited schools. But the accreditation itself is legitimate, and DEAC-accredited programs qualify for federal financial aid.
How long does accreditation last?
Initial accreditation periods vary by agency but typically run 5-10 years. Schools undergo comprehensive re-evaluation for renewal. Between reviews, agencies may conduct interim reports or focused visits. Accreditation status can be revoked if an institution fails to maintain standards — this happened to ITT Technical Institute in 2016 and to Corinthian Colleges in 2015.
Can a school lose accreditation while I’m enrolled?
Yes, though it’s rare. Accrediting agencies typically place schools on probation or warning before revocation, which gives students time to transfer. The DoE requires accrediting agencies to provide “teach-out” plans — arrangements for students to complete their degrees at another institution if a school closes or loses accreditation.
Do employers check accreditation?
Most verify degrees through the National Student Clearinghouse, which only lists accredited institutions. HR departments at large companies and government agencies routinely check. Some industries — healthcare, education, engineering, finance — require degrees from specifically accredited programs for licensing. Background check companies flag unaccredited credentials. See our analysis of how employers view online degrees for the full picture.
Is Western Governors University (WGU) accredited?
Yes. WGU holds regional accreditation from the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU). Its nursing programs are accredited by CCNE and ACEN. Its teaching programs are accredited by CAEP. Its business programs hold ACBSP accreditation. WGU is one of the largest regionally accredited online universities in the country, with over 150,000 enrolled students.
