Why should you consider accreditation?

For many homeschoolers, accreditation is a scary concept. We often think that to be accredited means to subject our home schools to an outside big-brother type organization that takes over all curriculum decisions, sets standards for teacher credentials, and requires additional oversight and inspection.

Still, we consider accreditation because we know it provides a level of approval for our work. That seal of approval has value when it comes to college applications. Accreditation opens doors. A college application from an applicant with an unaccredited transcript can result in extra requirements for admission: additional testing, interviews, portfolio development, etc. An applicant with an accredited transcript follows the “normal” process for admissions. No extra requirements. No extra tests. No portfolio. Plus, in Georgia, an accredited applicant with a 3.0 GPA is immediately eligible for the HOPE scholarship, while an unaccredited applicant, even with a 4.0 GPA, is only eligible retroactively, after maintaining a 3.0 GPA through 30 semester hours in college. If neither student is able to keep the 3.0 GPA for 30 hours, the accredited student still gets those first 30 semester hours paid for by the HOPE Scholarship, the unaccredited student does not. The benefits of having an accredited transcript are obvious, but we still shy away because of the possible cost of losing control over our home school and the education of our children.

The standard accreditation procedure involves a review of the school, its administration, its teachers, its curriculum, its classroom space, financial management, the number of books in the library. In the end, a decision is made on the educational process. The education of a student who has been processed through an accredited school is deemed worthy of the endorsement granted by the accrediting association. Some have been led to believe that certain curriculums are accredited, but curriculums are not accredited, schools are. Some seek accreditation through correspondence schools. What we need is an accreditation program designed for independent study.

Good News! There is an accreditation program that recognizes the effort of students involved in independent study. The Accrediting Commission for Independent Study (ACIS) was created for the purpose of making a professional evaluation and giving a professional recognition for independent study. ACIS later merged with the Georgia Accrediting Commission (GAC). The Noah Webster Center, a service of Character Corner, is accredited through GAC as a non-traditional center for independent study. By affiliating with our Center, homeschoolers can receive an accredited transcript that is approved by the University System of Georgia for admission into colleges and universities within the system. Graduates of our accredited center are eligible applicants for the HOPE Scholarship.

We provide counseling to ensure college entrance requirements are met. We help you plan your four years of high school, making sure that you have sufficient credits in each subject area and that the curriculum chosen is appropriate for the grade level. Although our accreditation program is designed to meet or exceed the admission requirements of the University System of Georgia, the program will usually fulfill the requirements of any college you choose to attend.

Our process is relatively simple. Our planning session involves discussion of curriculum options along with counseling to meet your student’s curriculum needs, and to provide a basis for acceptance of the curriculum you choose to use. We discuss teaching methods and testing guidelines, and we gather some information about the teacher and the homeschool. Then we develop the student’s high school plan. Each year, we review the student’s progress against the plan and make adjustments as necessary before mapping out the current year. You are still in charge of your home school; you provide grades for the “at home” work and administer and grade the tests we observe on a quarterly basis. From the data we gather about you the teacher (and any other tutors you might use) along with the results of the testing (at home and under our observations) we are able to issue an accredited transcript.

The cost includes a one-time registration fee of $50.00. The annual accreditation fee is $300.00 and is payable by August 31 each school year. An installment payment plan is available for an additional fee. Individual classes (completion of high school level class during middle school years, etc.) may be accredited on a per-class fee of $75.00.

Independent study completed prior to enrolling in the center may be verified and included in the accredited transcript only after completion of one full academic year of study in the center program. The fee for reviewing your records and including these classes in the transcript is $75.00 per class.