Diploma Mills Versus Real Online Education

The increasing popularity of online education programs has led to an increasing number of online colleges and universities. While some of these organizations offer excellent programs and respectable degrees, other organizations are questionable. Instead of providing a convenient education, these diploma mills hand out degrees for little work and lots of money. If you are interested in online education, you need to know how to pick a legitimate institution.

Diploma mills are not new. They have existed for decades, providing naïve, hopeful people with useless degrees. All the “colleges” need to do is create nice-looking certificate in exchange for hundreds or even thousands of dollars. People pay for the degrees because they think it will help their careers. Some people even buy the degrees knowing that they are fraudulent. Such people should be warned that if they know the degrees are a sham, employers are likely to know this as well.

 

Go with a respected name. The school doesn’t necessarily need to be a prestigious Ivy League university, but it should be a respectable, recognized institution. This looks better on resumes, too. Many regular colleges and universities now offer online programs; usually, the fact that you studied online will not even be noted on your degree.

There are some institutions that focus primarily or completely on online education and have been able to make a name for themselves by offering quality classes and genuine degrees; these programs are acceptable, too. You should, however, avoid institutions that you have never heard of. Fly-by-night colleges, just like fly-by-night businesses, are likely to bescams.