Although some schools choose not to seek accreditation and may still deliver effective courses, it is worth considering schools that are listed on the U.S. Government Department of Education Database of Accredited Postsecondary Programs and Institutions. These schools have been accredited by accrediting bodies deemed by the U.S. Secretary of State for Education as "reliable authorit(ies) as to the quality of postsecondary education." A link to the database is included at the foot of this article
Assessing which university is the best is not a straightforward task, as it depends upon what criteria are used. Some schools will excel in social sciences, education or the arts, while others deliver outstanding post-graduate business degrees and others, still, offer flexible financial options. Taking all of these things into consideration, you should also remember that online post-secondary degrees are a relatively recent phenomenon.
CollegeCrunch.org created a list of its 25 top online universities, saying that they were chosen for "offering the most thorough and marketable education." GetDegrees.com lists its 10 top accredited schools, and Onlineuniversitylowdown.com suggests a list 13 strong for 2010. Each website uses different criteria, and as a result each has different contenders. There are, however, four or five universities that appear consistently in most lists of top online schools. They are: Phoenix, DeVry, Kaplan, Capella and American Intercontinental. Links to the websites listing these results are in the References section at the foot of this article.