Since the US does not have a special cabinet or department that monitors postsecondary education, accreditation was created so students could learn more about the quality of education they would receive when attending certain colleges and universities.

Accreditation is awarded to postsecondary schools by various agencies, both regional and national, that have their own requirements schools must pass in order to consider themselves accredited. A short list of these agencies includes the following:

* Middle States Association of Colleges and Universities, Commission on Higher Education
* New England Association of Colleges and Universities, Commission Institutions on Higher Education
* New England Association of Colleges and Universities, Commission on Technical and Career Institutions
* Distance Learning and Training Council, Accrediting Commission

When looking for an online degree program, one way to judge the level of education you will receive is to look for agencies that have accredited the institution or the program and visit their websites to see which criteria they’ve used to determine the program’s worth or if the institution is accredited at all. An accredited online degree can help employers and others validate the education you’ve received.
How Does an Online Program Become Accredited?

» Read more: Why Does Attending An Accredited Online College Matter?

Get out your calendar. If you have time off from school around the holidays, you might want to schedule in scholarship applications. Experts recommend filing as many scholarship applications as possible as early as possible, and one missed deadline could be a missed opportunity. Here are some scholarship opportunities with December due dates for which you might be eligible:

Dec. 1: The Elks National Foundation Most Valuable Student Competition four-year scholarships of $1,000 to $15,000 for high school seniors. The American Association of Physics Teachers’ Barbara Lotze Scholarships for Future Teachers, with cash stipends of $2,000. Glamour’s 2011 Top 10 College Women contest, with $5,000 cash prizes for college and university juniors.

Dec. 2-10: The American Occupational Therapy Foundation offers its members financial needs and merit-based Edith Weingarten Scholarships of $1,000 (Dec. 2). The Colvin Scholarship Foundation and Certified Angus Beef offer $15,000 in scholarships to college and university juniors and seniors pursing beef industry-related studies, including food, meat or animal science, marketing, business, journalism or communications (Dec. 3). The American Psychology Association of Graduate Studies Committee on Ethnic Minority Affairs Grant Program offers grants of $1,000 to members enrolled in graduate programs (Dec. 4).

» Read more: Shopping For Scholarships During The Holiday Season