Accredited? Credit? Non-credit? What’s The Deal With Au Pair Education Requirments?

I often get questions from both host families and au pairs about the au pair program’s education requirement.  This can be somewhat confusing.  Since this topic has many “confusion points”, I am going to address these questions in multiple blog posts.  Today I’m going to specifically discuss the terms “accredited”, “credit” and  “non-credit” as they pertain to the au pair education requirement.  These words sound similar, but have very different meanings.  (That’s English for you!)

The US Department of State says that sponsors conducting an au pair exchange program (like Go Au Pair)  “shall require that EduCare au pair participants register and attend classes offered by an accredited U.S. post-secondary institution for not less than twelve semester hours of academic credit or its equivalent and that all other au pair participants register and attend classes offered by an accredited U.S. post-secondary institution for not less than six semester hours of academic  credit or its equivalent.”

Let’s start with “accredited”.  An accredited post-secondary institution is a school that has received a “seal of approval” from some agency that has been designated to do so.  In most countries, these “quality assurance” designations are granted by the government.  Interestingly, in the United States, accreditation of post-secondary schools is independent of the government and is performed by private membership associations.  As a result, there are many agencies that offer accreditation.  The Department of State does not specifically state which agency must accredit a school for it to be on the “approved list”.  So what does that mean to an au pair?  Basically as long as the school is accredited by some agency, an au pair may take a course there that will qualify for the Department of State’s requirement.  Courses offered by the local YMCA, public library, some newly-formed schools, and town recreation departments do not typically meet this requirement.  So, how do you know if a school is accredited?  In order to become accredited, a school must complete a lengthy and costly application process. As mentioned before, they do this so that they can get a “seal of approval” from some authority.  If they are accredited, they will likely advertise this fact on their website or program brochures.  Go Au Pair has a list of schools that have already been verified as accredited.  You should have received this list in your welcome packet, you can get this list from your LAR, or by contacting Go Au Pair’s Education Coordinator at educoord@goaupair.com.  If you find a school that is not on the list and you are unsure if the school you want to study at is accredited, be sure to contact educoord@goaupair.com to make sure before paying any money for classes.

The term “credit” in this case has to do with “academic credit”.  When you are attending a college or university and are enrolled in a degree program, you are required to obtain a certain number of “credits’ to earn your degree.  The au pair program does have an educational component, but it is not really an education program.  It is a cultural exchange program.  The intent of this part of the program is so that the au pair can experience life as a young American would.  But they are not here to earn a college degree, only to have a college experience.  EduCare au pairs are required to complete 12 credits, or it’s equivalent, and all other au pairs are required to complete 6 credits.  One class is typically equal to 3 credits.

In addition to traditional classes that qualify for academic credit, many colleges offer “non-credit” classes.  ESL courses are usually offered for non-credit as well as some hobby courses (like photography or art) or professional development courses (like computer software courses).  Au pairs often think that these classes do not qualify for the au pair program, but they do!  A non-credit course just means that the classes will not count towards a degree program. But since au pairs aren’t taking classes to get a college degree, these classes are perfectly acceptable.  Remember, that the Department of State said that au pairs must take “6 credits or it’s equivalent”.  They key here, is “it’s equivalent”.    If you are not sure how many credits a non-credit course is equivalent to, you can figure this out by using this formula: 12 classroom hours= 1 credit.  So, a class that meets one time per week for 3 hours and lasts for 12 weeks would be equal to 3 credits.

3 hours per class x 1 class per week x 12 weeks = 36 hours.  36 hours/12=3 credits!

I hope this clarifies some of the confusion about accreditation and college credits.  Good luck in your pursuit of knowledge.  I hope you will choose a course that is interesting and enlightening!