Educate Yourself: to students and parents
Schools of Record
Many third party programs are not eligible for accreditation by their regional accreditation body. Since most students are seeking academic credit for study abroad, this need is met by the School of Record (SOR).
SOR’s are accredited universities that document and award credits for non-accredited third party study abroad providers. In other words, SORs verify to the home university that the third party program is academically worthy.
The methods by which SOR’s verify the credit worthiness of 3rd party programs can be variable, and site visits are generally not required.
There is a fee associated with SOR services. This means, if a student is attending a third party program, that program will receive the largest portion of tuition. However, the SOR and home university will receive some portion, too.
The Forum on Education Abroad (“The Forum”) is a membership organization for U.S. study abroad professionals. It has published the following information about SORs.