There are some distinctive differences to DETC’s version of accreditation that truly sets it apart from regional bodies, that are not specialists in distance learning evaluation as DETC is:

• DETC accreditation is twice as frequent: DETC does a complete, fresh review every five years, not every 7 or 10 years as most regionals do.
• DETC does an in-depth program by program individual evaluation of curricula, before any students may be enrolled, using qualified professors and teachers primarily from regionally accredited universities. Regionals are not equipped to do individual content reviews of each program a college offers.
• DETC accreditation standards are specific to the distance education environment, and they go into far more depth on the unique aspects of learning at a distance by various modes than any general set of accrediting criteria. Subject matter experts, for example, measure a distance program against more than 100 different points of measurement, ranging from outcomes to reading level to depth of examinations to examination turn around time.
• DETC has far more extensive, specific and comprehensive and prescriptive standards for marketing practice, financial assessment, refund policies, and consumer protection rules than any regional agency.
• DETCs’ national minimum tuition refund policy is a model for others. And DETC has standards that address Internet marketing tactics and affirmative consumer disclosures.
• DETC has one of the most practical, time-tested outcomes assessment procedures for institutions to follow that is felt to be far more prescriptive and specific than the generalized outcomes processes of most regional bodies.
• DETC has specialized in perfecting standards and rules for distance study institutions for over a half century. DETC has conducted over 3,000 onsite accrediting visits to distance education institutions since 1955, making it the clear leader in distance learning accreditation from an experience perspective.
• DETC’s staff has, collectively, over a century of tenure with DETC, giving it one of the richest repositories of corporate memory about distance learning accreditation in the world today.

RECOGNITION

Recognition by the U.S. Department of Education qualifies DETC institutions and students for federal aid, such as military tuition assistance, government tuition reimbursement, Veterans Administration entitlement programs, and more. Many government agencies support their students attending DETC institutions, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, FEMA, and others.

Thousands of leading companies provide tutition assistance to students attending DETC institutions, including the largest employer in the USA - the Federal Government. Through the U.S. Department of Defense and the voluntary education tuition program, the federal government pays the tuition for tens of thousands of military members at DETC institutions. DETC institutions rank in the very top tier of all colleges and universities in the support given to military students. In addition, the Marine Corps Institute, the Air Force Institute for Advanced Distributed Learning and the Army Institute for Professional Development are each accredited by DETC and have been since 1975. Collectively, these three institutes enroll almost 1 million military members in DETC accredited distance programs.

For a partial list of sponsoring companies click here