College Without the Campus FAQ #34

FAQ #34: Accreditation 101

Q: What does accreditation mean?

A: Dictionary.com says accredit means “to certify (a school, college, or the like) as meeting all formal official requirements of academic excellence, curriculum, facilities, etc.”[1]

Accreditation is one way to gauge a college’s legitimacy. The accreditation process begins when an organization creates a list of requirements that schools must meet to be accredited. When schools apply to be accredited and pass the requirements, they can publicly announce that they are accredited by the organization. Students can use this information when comparing schools, and employers can reference a school’s accreditation to substantiate the education of a graduate.

This isn’t to say that all schools need accreditation. Some technical or religious schools opt to show their legitimacy through industry recognition or religious affiliation.

However, schools should be able to show in detail what a student will be learning and what recognition students will receive once they have completed a program. Taking a measure of precaution is important because fake accreditation does exist. False accreditors will “accredit” diploma mills, so it’s a good idea to verify both the school and the accrediting organization.  If you are concerned about a school’s accreditation, check for telltale signs.

For students who plan to attend more than one school and transfer credits, accreditation is critical to ensuring that one school recognizes the credits earned at another. Often, colleges will list their accreditation and transfer policies online. These resources can help students as they plan courses to take and transfer their credit.

For more information about accreditation, see Chapter 9: Accreditation in College Without the Campus.

[1] accreditation. Dictionary.com, Dictionary.com Unabridged, Random House, Inc. http://www.dictionary.com/browse/accredit.

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Hillary Harshman at OCEANetwork Conference 2017

What is College Without the Campus?

What do zombie fans, Marvel hero impersonators, and homeschoolers have in common?

They could all be found at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland on the same weekend! My latest Portland adventure took me to the OCEANetwork Christian Home Educators Conference. While this event was going on, there was also the Walker Stalker Con and the Heroes & Villains Fan Fest. The lobbies were filled with a medley of visitors!

At the conference, I vended my book and enjoyed time with my mom and sister who came along and gave me a hand. The thing I loved most was getting to talk with homeschool families about their college concerns. Over the two-day event, three questions about my book were most common:

“Is it a course?”

The most-asked question from people who walked up to my booth was, “Is this a course?” I explained that my booth name was the title of the book I wrote after graduating from college. Though College Without the Campus isn’t a course, it can be used to create a self-directed college course. In fact, the book’s outline follows the stages a student will work through during college and offers first-hand experiences and recommended resources.

“Is it online classes?”

Distance learning can easily be seen as online classes. But learning outside the classroom is far broader: it includes work experience, life skills, previous learning, and travel studies. Outside the classroom, learning takes many forms, both formal and informal. One of my goals in writing a book was to shed light on these alternate learning opportunities. This leads to the next step: how to show a college that what you know is college-level and worthy of credit.

“Is it credit-by-exam, like CLEP?”

For this question, my answer was a happy YES. I get excited to meet others who have heard of CLEP and may have even taken a CLEP exam themselves. CLEP tests are my favorite example of credit-by-exam because the subject matter is doable to learn, and students are often required to study the same material in high school, leading to a dual-credit opportunity. Other tests, such as DSST exams, are also available to earn upper level credits.

This is the essence of College Without the Campus: sharing information about credit-by-exam testing to help students save money and time. Taking the best elements of traditional college courses, online classes and credit-by-exam testing, the book moves readers from aspiration and desire to actualization and completion. And that’s something even zombies and Marvel heroes can get excited about!

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Successful Dropout Podcast and Interview

Thanks to a visit with a new friend at my recent book signing, I was asked to do an interview on the Successful Dropout podcast! The host is Kylon Gienger, a young entrepreneur who shares tools for young adults wanting to skip college and go straight to entrepreneurship. Kylon invited me on his show to bring a different perspective for the years right after high school graduation, especially for those listeners who plan to go to college.

Not only did I have a blast chatting with Kylon about some of the techniques that I share in my book to earn a $15,000 bachelor’s degree in two years, but I was also inspired by his story and the stories from the Successful Dropout community: a group of people who want to better their lives and the lives of those around them.

My favorite quote from the episode is Kylon talking about how to know when you’re on the right track—how to know that you’re living to your full potential. We were discussing how each of us had found the courage to choose and follow a non-traditional path after high school: Kylon dropping out of college and me deciding to study off campus. Kylon says,

“Some of the best experiences you’ll ever have in life are the things that you were once afraid to do. … If you’re feeling just a little bit of fear, you’re probably doing what you’re supposed to be doing.”

I’ve listened to three other interviews that Kylon has done, including the episode with his sister Chelann, and I learned something from all three. I hope today’s podcast will inspire you to grow, to find mentors who push you, and, as we talked about in the interview, to just not worry so much. 🙂

Successful Dropout: http://successfuldropout.com/

47: Earn your bachelor’s degree for $15,000 in only two years with Hillary Harshman

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FAQ #4: The difference between online classes and credit-by-exam tests

Q: Hillary, how is the way you took courses different than taking online classes?

A: The main difference between credit-by-exam testing and online courses is the lack of a professor to guide you in the credit-by-exam method. Credit-by-exam courses put the burden of learning upon the student. However, this doesn’t mean that the student is alone in learning: the student has the opportunity to select resources and advisors as needed. The structure of online courses parallels a traditional college course, including a specified textbook to learn from and interaction with a professor and other students.

Black mortarboard from College Without the Campus