Mary, I hate to bear bad news, but Accreditation is no laughing matter.

If you have attended an unaccredited school, then the credits you earned are virtually worthless.  Even some accredited schools get a narrow view from other schools: they are all too clearly aware how the other schools teach and how much information their students grasp.

Some schools will, in reasonable circumstances, allow you to "challenge" lower level courses.  Basically, you take the final exam for that course, and if the teacher sees that you really do have the knowledge he hoped to impart, he will grant you the credit for his course.  Few schools will allow you to challenge more than one course per quarter except at the freshman level.

I have yet to see a university grant an advanced earned degree on a bucketful of "challenges."

I would have my doubts of any university that did.