Requirements for licensing and/or authorization for
educational institutions vary from state to state in the United States. Most
states require that a learning institution be certified, authorized and/or
accredited in order to award degrees to students. There are some schools out
there that do not meet these requirements. In fact, there are several levels of
fraud found in some educational programs and "schools." They range
from using the student's work history as the "learning" period that
earned the degree to simply selling diplomas. These "diploma mills"
have been around for decades. Online degrees programs like Degrees-R-Us promise
a bachelor's, masters or doctoral degree in about 10 days. (There is a higher
tuition fee if you want to graduate with honours!)
Now, however, there
are some states (Oregon, Iowa, and South Dakota) that are cracking down on
schools within their borders that grant degrees without any type of approval
and legitimate accreditation. There are also some states (Wyoming, Montana, and
Hawaii) that allow unaccredited universities to do business as long as they
have a physical presence in the state. The problem is that when a state does
pass legislation that requires accreditation, those schools simply change
addresses (when you don't have a campus, it's not that difficult to move). The
question of jurisdiction also comes into play. If the institution has an
address in one state but sends out degrees from another state, then which state
is responsible for it?
For this reason, the
most important thing to check out before you begin any kind of distance
learning program is the accreditation the school has or claims to have. Simply
having a statement about being "licensed by the state" isn't an
accreditation and may not mean anything at all. There have been many violators
that claim accreditation from agencies that either don't exist, have been
created by the school itself, or are legitimate agencies but have no record of
accreditation for the school. Students who are enrolled or have completed
degrees from schools that are not accredited have wasted a lot of time, money,
and effort on a degree that may be rejected by potential employers. Credits
from schools that are not accredited cannot be transferred to other
universities.
There are several state-based and regional accrediting
bodies. Each is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
To find out whether the school is truly accredited, contact
the appropriate State Department of Higher Education.
Tribulations with non-accredited schools
Some of these violators have been awarding diplomas and
degrees for decades. Courts that have shut them down have cited problems like:
·
Too few qualified faculty members to maintain
the number of students or level of education
·
Too much credit given for previous life and work
experience without properly determining the actual level of knowledge
·
Not having course objectives
·
Awarding PhDs to students who haven't performed
the type of research and analysis typically required of such a degree
Basically, the problem relates to the schools having
substandard requirements for earned degrees. Some programs even allow students
to earn masters or doctoral degrees without having first earned a bachelors
degree.
The Best of the Practices
The best bet is to stick with a known, reputable university
or college that is offering accredited degrees. That school's reputation will
be at stake so it is more likely to have the same quality online as offline. Of
course, there are some good programs from universities that are strictly
online. According to an article by a former student at the University of
Phoenix Online, many students feel as connected with other students as they
would if they were on a campus attending classes in the traditional way.
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