Life Experience Program

by Randy Lemken

Looking for a Life Experience Program? Understand Accreditation Thoroughly.

When you’re searching for a life experience based educational program to polish your resume or beef up your personal file for promotions, you need to be careful. While there are plenty of credible programs out there, there are also a number of scams, diploma mills, and fake universities that will gladly take your money in exchange for a worthless degree, diploma, or certification. One of the best ways to make sure your life experience program is worth what you pay for it is to understand and double check the accreditation they claim to have.

The Ins and Outs of Life Experience Program Accreditation

Because of the exposure of multiple diploma mill scams, nearly all life experience colleges and universities–scammers included–now boast “accreditation,” in an attempt to assure prospective students of the worth of their degrees and diplomas. Naturally, however, less than reputable groups have found ways to use this to their advantage. Not all accrediting associations are, themselves, reputable. An official sounding seal or name is not enough to make their services something you should base your choice on.

Life Experience Program Accreditation: Regional

The least controversial accreditation is that of regional accreditation associations recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. There are six of these bodies, and each has a specific geographical focus. They’re the gold standard of accreditation, listed below in alphabetical order.

  • Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools
  • New England Association of Schools and Colleges
  • North Central Association of Colleges and Schools
  • Northwest Association of Accredited Schools
  • Western Association of Schools and Colleges
  • Southern Association of Colleges and Schools

If a program is accredited by any one of these associations, it’s definitely legitimate–but be sure to double check that they actually have the right to claim the accreditation.

Life Experience Program Accreditation: Other

Just because a school isn’t accredited by one of the above, doesn’t mean it’s not reputable, but you’ll need to seriously research their background and claimed accreditations to make sure they’re above board.