In 1955 there was a nine-member Accrediting Commission created to oversee practices. Later that year, the US Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation recognized DETC as a national accrediting agency. In 1994 the National Home Study Council changed its name to the Distance Education and Training Council.
According to the DETC website (www.detc.org), "DETC aspires to be the preeminent accrediting association for distance education and training institutions worldwide... through voluntary assessment and high standards for academic quality." DETC is currently accrediting over 100 institutions, including post-secondary, military and high schools.
It should be noted that many schools are accredited by local institutions and may not accept DETC certifications. Many regionally accredited schools will accept other regionally accredited schools, but not accept DETC accreditation. There are schools that may accept DETC credits partially. Every school has an individual transfer program so it is best to speak with a school advisor to confirm what transfer credits the institution accepts. You may also check Higher Education Transfer Alliance database at www.chea.org. This is a list of schools and educational programs that accept accreditation approved by the DETC, CHEA or USDE.
DETC conducted a study finding that 70% students who wished to transfer DETC credits to a regionally accredited school were accepted. It was not reported what percentage were partially accepted, so one can assume that there is at least a small chance of not having credits accepted.
In an interview with Michael Lambert, Executive Secretary of the Accreditation Commission of the DETC, Lambert states that the main reason regional schools don't accept DETC accreditation is simply "anti-competitiveness" or the fact that they don't want any outside institution saying what could or could not be acceptable. Lambert says that many students are able to get their credits approved. He claims that most businesses do accept DETC accreditation as well since they are routinely accepted for corporate tuition reimbursement programs. In a DETC survey of employers, it was reported that nearly 100% are satisfied with personnel who have earned a DETC degree. It should be noted that these are only the people that choose to respond to the study, and it appears that the study was performed by DETC, which may affect what results are reported.