Online College Degree: How Do You Know if it is a Legitimate Program

Posted by Nick Niesen on October 27th, 2010

You have finally made the decision to return to school and get a Bachelor?s Degree. After checking out a variety of programs, some look way too good to be true. You?ve also found some accelerated programs offered by good, reputable schools. Before you invest in a fast college degree, here are a few things you should consider.

Many online degrees are offered by degree mills - a company that offers college degrees with no coursework at all. You actually buy the degree. You can also buy transcripts, honors graduation, and employer verification. There is a fake degree for almost any type of college degree. There are programs for Associate degrees, for Bachelor?s, for Master?s and for Ph.D.?s. You apply online, show your experience and order the degree you want. You can pay either in a lump sum or with the help of a payment plan. The program administrators examine each applicant?s qualifications, to see if they are eligible for a degree. If an applicant is accepted, then a degree usually arrives within a week.

You are granted extensive credit for ?life experience.? Many legitimate institutions will also give you credit for life experience. The big difference is that a degree mill gives you all your credits based on life experience. You may be able to get an accelerated college degree from a reputable institution, but it will require some coursework, and there are no optional credentials to purchase.

A fake degree will not benefit you in any way. Due to of the rampant abuse of this market, most companies are taking measures to verify your diploma. Either a phone call or a visit to a web site can confirm if your degree is worth anything. If your diploma is fake, you can say goodbye to your job, or your hopes for career advancement
Fake college degree
Most employers will not accept degrees from degree mills. In some states, such as Oregon, it is illegal to use an unearned degree to get a job. Most people consider it unethical. There is a Senate investigation going on into government employees who listed unearned degrees on their résumés and applications.

You don?t gain anything with a fake degree. Most of all, you don?t gain what you wanted in the first place ? respect and knowledge. You will likely do more damage to your reputation with a fake degree than it is worth.

To determine if a fast online degree program is legitimate, consider these points

1.Assess the program. What are their requirements for graduation? How much credit do they give you for prior learning? What do they consider prior learning? Very few legitimate programs will grant you more than two years? credit for prior learning.
2.Investigate the school. Search for it on the internet and see what comes up. Evaluate their overall reputation. How well do their graduates do? Do their graduates get admitted to graduate schools?
3. Evaluate the faculty. What?s the student/faculty ratio? How many of the faculties are PhD?s? How many are Master?s? What have faculty members published?
4.Evaluate the school?s accreditation. You want to find a school that is accredited by a state approved accrediting board. You can go to the Council for Higher Education website at www.chea.org/institutions to check the accreditation of a college.

The best thing to do before signing up with any online university is to look around and do your research. You can easily find an accelerated online degree that is legitimate. Investigate the programs carefully, and you will find the program that is perfect for you.