United States of America
Further information: Higher education accreditation in the United States and Diploma mills in the United StatesUnlike in some countries, the term "college" or "university" is not legally protected in the United States. The federal government does not accredit any institutions or programs, either inside or outside of the United States. Instead, it maintains a list of valid, reliable, independent accrediting agencies, including private organizations and, for vocational schools, state accrediting agencies. The agency maintains a complete list of accredited institutions and programs online.
Most states require degree-issuing higher education institutions to obtain a basic business license—the same simple paperwork required of any business, such as a day care center or a grocery store—and to register with the state or to have other formal authorization in order to enroll students or issue degrees; however, these legal authorizations are not the same as educational accreditation. Some U.S. state laws allow authorities to shut down illegal operations of unaccredited schools or diploma mills. In others, particularly, Idaho, Hawaii, Montana, and California, the state permits anyone to claim to operate a college and issue degrees with essentially no oversight. Additionally, in 21 jurisdictions, unaccredited religious degree-granting schools are exempted from government oversight.
Students studying at an unaccredited institution are never eligible for financial aid, including student loans, through any government agency. Although it is legal for the school itself or other private entities to offer financial assistance to students, this rarely occurs.
Some unaccredited institutions and programs provide significant, legitimate academic work. In others, the "college" is little more than a mailbox to which money is sent.
Any degrees issued may or may not be valid for obtaining professional licenses or employment. Generally speaking, within academic and government circles, such degrees are rejected, but within the business world, it may be acceptable for certain purposes. Using a diploma from an unrecognized institution to obtain employment or for any other purpose is illegal in some states. Criminal penalties may apply should such a degree be fraudulently presented in lieu of one from an accredited school.
Read more about this topic: Unaccredited Institutions Of Higher Education
Famous quotes containing the words united states, united, states and/or america:
“We can beat all Europe with United States soldiers. Give me a thousand Tennesseans, and I’ll whip any other thousand men on the globe!”
—Andrew Jackson (1767–1845)
“The United States themselves are essentially the greatest poem.”
—Walt Whitman (1819–1892)
“During the first World War women in the United States had a chance to try their capacities in wider fields of executive leadership in industry. Must we always wait for war to give us opportunity? And must the pendulum always swing back in the busy world of work and workers during times of peace?”
—Mary Barnett Gilson (1877–?)
“I sincerely hope that the incoming Congress will be alive, as it should be, to the importance of our foreign trade and of encouraging it in every way feasible. The possibility of increasing this trade in the Orient, in the Philippines, and in South America is known to everyone who has given the matter attention.”
—William Howard Taft (1857–1930)