One of the hottest trends in education in recent years is the spread of online schools. If you’ve been researching schools for any period of time, you will most likely have come across one or more of these programs, and you’re probably wondering if there is anything to them. I hope to clear up some of that confusion with this article.
First of all, lets make it clear what we’re talking about. There are many “online degree programs” which are nothing more than attempts to scam you out of your money in exchange for a worthless piece of paper they call a “degree.” These “diploma mills” often advertise “life experience degrees,” or tell you that you can get your degree in an extremely short amount of time. I have just a few words to say about these places.
Don’t even think about it.
These diploma mills are a serious criminal operation, one whose effects are being felt by employers everywhere. To get an idea of the scope of this problem, take the time to read this article from USA Today about the diploma mill problem. This organizations will take your money, and leave you with no education, and credentials won’t stand the slightest amount of real scrutiny.
However, the online degree world is not all diploma mills. In fact, there are many organizations devoted to making education more accessible to busy, working people who want to get a degree. They use real teachers, interactive online classrooms, and accredited course materials to get you a useful education on your own time schedule. For those who are working and can’t make regular class hours, these online programs (as well as some special flex schedule campus programs) are a great way to get the education you want.
So, how to tell the difference? Of course, the answer involves doing a little research(something you had better get used to doing if you’re planning on getting a college degree, right?). The number one thing that real online programs have that diploma mills don’t is accreditation. Accreditation means that the school is official recognized to give out degrees. This means that the school meets certain standards, and that your degree is “real.” If the school isn’t accredited, you’re throwing away your money.
Fortunately, checking accreditation is quite simple. This website, run by the Department of Education, will let you search for the school in question and verify its credentials. If your school isn’t listed on here, run, don’t walk, away. Accreditation is that important.
So, you can clearly see that in the world of online education, there is good, and there is terrible. However, if you do your research, and carefully check into each school’s credentials and reputation, you shouldn’t have any issues finding a quality online program that will work for you.
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