Feb 17, 2017 06:50 AM EST By Emily Marks, UniversityHerald Reporter

Students who are looking to enroll at an online degree program should know about accreditation. This is an important factor that employers look for when applying for a job, especially with online diplomas and certificates.

Accreditation is an important process in making sure that a school and degree program is able to meet specific standards of quality, U.S. News reported. It is usually conducted by outside authority.

It also has many benefits. Plus, enrolling in an accredited online degree program proves the legitimacy of one's diploma or certificate. The publication shared 10 facts that prospective students should know before enrolling at an online degree program.

1. Students who are planning to go for online education should confirm if the institution and its program have specialized and institutional accreditation. The former is for specific degrees, departments or schools while the latter is applied to an entire university or college.

2. The accreditation status should be published online. It should be easy to confirm the legitimacy of an online degree program in the institution's website. Students can also check the Department of Education's official website.

3. It is also good to know that not all programs are accredited. There are a lot of online degree scams out there. One example is when Devschool online coding bootcamp instructor and founder Jim O'Kelly suddenly disappeared, taking with him $100,000 of the students' tuition money.

4. Online degree programs developed by established schools can usually be trusted. These programs are also expected to have both specialized and institutional accreditation.

5. Knowing an online degree program's accreditation is important for employers. Several hiring managers will want to verify if a candidate's online college has accreditation.

6. Regional accreditation can make it easier to transfer credits from one school to another. This is an important factor for students who already had some education.

7. A lot of for-profit online degree programs are accredited. They usually have national, rather than regional, accreditation.

8. Online students can receive financial aid. To be eligible for the program, the school would need institutional accreditation.

9. Accreditation is a continuous process. Agencies will keep on monitoring programs and institutions to check on quality.

10. An accreditor may be stricter in making sure that a program meets the needs of its students. Online degree programs are held to the same set of standards as on-campus programs.

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