Accreditation & Credentials
Every course delivered through AlwaysOnline carries the same accreditation and recognition as courses taught in traditional classrooms. When your students earn credits through our platform, those credits are backed by the most respected accrediting bodies in American education.
For administrators: This page serves as a reference document for board presentations, compliance reviews, and accreditation verification. All credentials listed below apply to courses delivered through the AlwaysOnline platform under your school's brand.
Dual Accreditation: Cognia & WASC
Silicon Valley High School holds dual regional accreditation — the highest standard of institutional recognition in American education. Every course delivered through AlwaysOnline carries this accreditation regardless of which implementation model your school selects.
Cognia (formerly AdvancED)
Cognia is the largest community of education professionals in the world, serving over 36,000 institutions across 85 countries. Accreditation by Cognia certifies that our curriculum, instruction, and institutional practices meet rigorous, internationally recognized standards.
WASC — Western Association of Schools and Colleges
WASC is one of six regional accrediting agencies recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. WASC accreditation is the standard for schools across California, Hawaii, Guam, and the Pacific Islands — and is recognized nationwide by colleges, universities, and state education departments.
Why dual accreditation matters for partner schools: Having both Cognia and WASC accreditation means your district compliance officers, state education agencies, and receiving institutions will always find a recognizable, trusted accrediting body behind the credits your students earn — regardless of which region your school operates in.
NCAA Approval & UC A-G Recognition
Beyond regional accreditation, AlwaysOnline courses hold two additional approvals that matter for student-athletes and college-bound students at your school.
NCAA Approved Courses
Student-Athlete EligibilityCourses delivered through AlwaysOnline are approved by the NCAA Eligibility Center. Student-athletes at your school can use these courses toward their core course requirements for Division I and Division II athletic eligibility.
UC A-G Approved Courses
California College PreparationAlwaysOnline courses carry UC A-G approval from the University of California system. This means students completing these courses satisfy the subject requirements for admission to the University of California and California State University systems.
Credit Transferability & Course Quality
One of the most common questions administrators ask before adopting AlwaysOnline: "Will these credits actually count?" The answer is clear — and backed by a decade of transcript acceptance data.
How Credits Transfer
When your school uses AlwaysOnline, courses are delivered under your school's brand. Depending on your implementation model, credits may appear on your school's transcript directly or on an SVHS transcript that accompanies the student's record.
In both cases, the underlying accreditation from Cognia and WASC ensures that receiving schools, colleges, and universities recognize the credits as legitimate and transferable.
SVHS transcripts have been accepted by every Ivy League school and over 300 colleges and universities worldwide — including Harvard, MIT, Stanford, Yale, and Princeton.
For Board Presentations & Compliance
When presenting AlwaysOnline to your school board or district leadership, accreditation verification is straightforward. Cognia and WASC maintain public databases where your compliance team can verify SVHS credentials independently.
Our partner support team can also provide formal accreditation verification letters, course approval documentation, and institutional credential summaries tailored to your board's reporting requirements.
Need an accreditation verification letter for your board? Contact your AlwaysOnline partner representative or reach Dr. John Ott Jr., Program Manager, through our contact page.
In addition to institutional accreditation, our courses carry Quality Matters certification — a nationally recognized peer-review process that evaluates online course design against eight rigorous standards. This ensures that the curriculum your students access isn't just accredited, but pedagogically designed for effective online learning.
Quality Matters reviews evaluate alignment between learning objectives, assessments, instructional materials, learner interaction, course technology, learner support, and accessibility.
Institutional Codes & Compliance
Registrars, counselors, and compliance officers need specific codes when processing transcripts and verifying credentials. Here are the codes your staff will need.
Standards Alignment Summary
FERPA-Compliant Data Handling
All student data processed through the AlwaysOnline platform is handled in full compliance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). Our infrastructure runs on enterprise-grade AWS services with automatic encryption, access controls, and continuous security monitoring. Your school retains full ownership and control over student data at all times.
What This Means for Your School
Accreditation isn't just a checkbox — it's the foundation that makes AlwaysOnline a viable, defensible, and sustainable addition to your school's academic program.
Board-Ready Documentation
When you present AlwaysOnline to your school board, dual accreditation from Cognia and WASC provides the institutional credibility that board members require before approving new curriculum partnerships.
Compliance Confidence
State education agencies, accrediting bodies, and district compliance officers can verify every credential independently. No ambiguity, no risk, no surprises during audits or reviews.
Student Outcomes Protected
Students earning credits through your AlwaysOnline program receive transcripts that colleges, universities, and the NCAA recognize without question. Their futures are never at risk.
Transfer Without Friction
When students move between schools, their credits transfer cleanly. Regional accreditation means receiving schools accept these credits without additional documentation or petitioning.
Reporting Simplified
QuickSight Q analytics combined with accredited coursework means your school can generate compliance reports, student progress summaries, and board presentations in minutes — not weeks.
Parent & Community Trust
When parents ask "is this real school?" — and they will — you can point to the same accrediting bodies that accredit every traditional school in your district. That conversation ends before it starts.
Questions About Accreditation?
Our partner support team can provide accreditation verification letters, compliance documentation, and institutional credential summaries tailored to your board's reporting requirements.