Why doesn’t ODA recognize degrees issued by unaccredited colleges approved by other states?
Standards for approval vary widely from state to state, and many states allow exceptions or have low standards or none at all. Colleges that want their degrees to be generally accepted outside their state of origin need to obtain accreditation from a federally recognized accreditor. Aren’t all accreditors federally recognized? No. Many are self-starter operations or fakes whose approval means nothing under Oregon law. See CHEA Fact Sheet No. 6 on fake accreditors for more information: www.chea.org/pdf/fact_sheet_6_diploma_mills.pdf Is Oregon the only state that disallows use of most unaccredited degrees? No. It is also illegal or restricted in North Dakota, South Dakota, Illinois, Missouri, New Jersey, Texas, Nevada, Washington, Virginia and Maine to use unaccredited degrees. It is illegal in Indiana to use an unaccredited doctorate and Michigan law limits the legal options of users. See those states laws http://www.osac.state.or.us/oda/unaccredited.aspx for details. Many other states
