Stafford is accredited by the Education Council for Homestudy Online.

The rapid emergence of Internet technology, and of interactive teaching and testing in particular, has encouraged many educational institutions to experiment with distance education programming.

As the pace of acceptance of online learning programs has accelerated, so have the concerns about maintaining standards.

The Education Council for Homestudy Online (ECHO) was founded forty-three years ago by educators advocating home study for religious and ideological reasons. It has been evaluating academic standards for many years.

Members of the council frequently audit home study programs. So it is not surprising that ECHO already has a set of principles and guidelines, based on the American home study model, that grants accreditation to programs rather than to institutions.(The latter system has always tended to limit or even deny  the validity of both home study and of online programming a prior)i.

ECHO is at the forefront of these developments in education and has been invited by several European universities to evaluate their course  content, required texts, and teaching methodologies in order to receive their approval and accreditation.

For further information about institutions already approved and accredited by the Council, including Stafford, please contact ECHO at inquiries@echo-info.us

(Revised 29-11-09)