University

I've been having a very leisurely day today, and that got me to thinking about the university studies I am currently doing. I am studying with University of the People. They are an accredited university (more on that below) but they charge no tuition fees. The only cost, for typical students, is a small fee for each examination.
Anyway, because it's an American university, I am studying the American way. What does that mean? Well, even though my degree will be in Computer Science, I must study so-called Liberal Arts subjects like history, economics, English and other non-computer, non-mathematics-related subjects. I think that's weird, but it does also give me a much more full appreciation of the world than I might otherwise gain.
In the UK meanwhile, we spend three years studying the subject matter and supporting subjects, and that's all. In the USA, they spend four years because of all the non-relevant subjects. Which is better? I honestly don't know. The American way makes more rounded students, the British way is way, way cheaper.
Oh, and Americans call university "school". They might say "I went to school for Social Work", by which they mean they studied (or read) a subject at university.

What is accreditation?

I mentioned above that University of the People is accredited. In the USA, anyone can set up an organisation and call it a university. But the degree that that university issues is worthless if that university is not accredited by one of a number of accrediting organisations.