Monday, January 2, 2012

Online Masters in Education - Bogus Schools

Many people have turned to online learning, or distance education, to complete their studies. For example, you can now complete a Masters in Education without ever having to sit in an actual classroom Some people have benefited from this, and can earn their masters degree online.

One huge benefit of completing your online masters in education is that you have the freedom to schedule your own classes. This freedom to arrange classes' means that anyone can fit the program into their daily lives - full-time mothers, professional and so on all have the chance. Unlike conventional campus courses, doing an online course is normally more affordable, and you get direct, personal attention.

Even though distance learning does have a number of benefits, it is imperative that you are aware of some of the limitations of these postgraduate courses. For example, some people cannot get motivated to work consistently when they don’t have to attend actual classes. Arguably, the major drawback to online programs is the possibility of being scammed.

You need to consider all of the merits of the course that you are going to be taken, starting with its various accreditation documents. The accreditation process means that the course has been evaluated in terms of the standard of education that you can expect to receive. This process means that all courses have met a certain standard, and the accreditation body has found that the course is acceptable.

The problem starts when the student ends up taking up a master's program from a non-accredited school. The major problem with this situation is that potential employers won't recognize the degree, and you cannot transfer with the credit that you have earned. Furthermore, a student must attend an accredited school to receive tuition fee assistance from employers.

Remember that not all accreditations are equal, and some are government approved while others are not. In America the Department of Education has nothing to do with accreditation in these kinds of courses - a separate body figures out the standards. At the end of the day The Council of Higher Education Accreditation, in conjunction with the US Department of Education, will have the final say.

If you are considering a few online masters in education courses, be sure to check whether they are nationally, regionally or specifically accredited. More often than not the general standard for graduate education is regional accreditation. A good sign for any online school is the fact that they display all of their accreditation information on their website where it is visible to all visitors.

It is imperative that you don’t get trapped in a diploma mill - these are false schools who give diplomas in exchange for cash. A tell tale sign of such a scheme is the fact that they give little or no schoolwork. Above this, they often say that course credit will be given for work experience or your personal career.

Keep an eye out for low admission standards or shortened course duration. You should think twice in any situation where your course can be completed in a single semester without prior qualifications. In some cases these schools even create false accreditation agencies to appear more legitimate.

Indeed, taking up an online master's in education program seems a fantastic option, but one should be very careful these days. Even though fake schools go to a lot of trouble to appear legitimate, the often forget about their website's URL. Take note, all legit academic institutes use the ‘.edu’ suffix on their URL.


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