Just because an online college describes itself as Christian, doesn’t mean it’s not a wolf in sheep’s clothing waiting to defraud you. If you want your degree to be respected in the workplace, it is imperative that you find a college that not only provides the type of Christian education you are searching for, but is also accredited by a national or regional accrediting organization.

Most reputable online Christian colleges list information about their accreditation on their websites, but you should still double check with reputable sources to ensure that the accreditation is current and legitimate. Remember: not all accrediting agencies are recognized by the U.S. government. If the online Christian college is not accredited, or is not accredited by a recognized accrediting organization, then let the buyer beware.

The first step is to check accreditation of the online institution itself (this is called institutional accreditation). Then you can look more closely to see if the school’s individual academic programs are accredited (this is called specialized or programmic accreditation).

U.S. Department of Education

The governmental source to turn to is the U.S Department of Education, which manages a database of accredited postsecondary institutions. You can easily search this database by entering the name of an online Christian college into the search box and seeing if it turns up. If you find your college listed, click on your school’s name to see what types of specialized accreditation that school holds. For example, you can learn here whether or not your school’s nursing or education programs are specifically accredited and for how long.

You can even scope out the department’s list of legitimate accrediting agencies to see if the agency listed on your online Christian college’s website is recognized.

Council for Higher Education Accreditation

Since the U.S. Department of Education recommends that you bolster your investigation of a college by looking at other sources, another good place to look is the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) website. They also maintain a database of recognized institutions and programs that you can easily search for your school.

One particularly useful feature on the CHEA website is their list of recognized accrediting organizations.

The Importance of Accreditation

Accreditation ensures that the online Christian college you have selected is operating legally and offering a quality education to their students. It is also important to remember that accredited schools will not allow you to transfer credits from colleges that are not accredited, so take care to choose an online Christian college that is accredited if you plan on advancing your higher education in the future.