There are different types of accreditation for schools. Generally speaking, if you are in the US and want minimal risk in terms of transferability, you want to

There are different types of accreditation for schools. Generally speaking, if you are in the US and want minimal risk in terms of transferability, you want to attend a school that has been accredited by one of several regional authorities. National accreditation is different and for purposes of credit transferability in the US, it is considered inferior to regional accreditation. The University of the People applied for regional accreditation in 2020. They are not regionally accredited yet. The process can take years. Note: Good schools can lack accreditation and bad schools can get the most prestigious accreditations. Another note: There are schools that set up accrediting organizations to, surprise, accredit their own schools. Edit: I think this is the list of legitimate regional accrediting organizations: https://www.chea.org/regional-accrediting-organizations https://www.chea.org/regional-accrediting-organizations