How Can You Spot A Fake Online Bachelor Degree?
Along with the growing popularity of obtaining an online Bachelor degrees, many bogus schools have cropped up to cash in, taking advantage of potential students seeking a genuine education to maintain their current level of employment, or achieve specific career goals. Unfortunately, the sales pitch attracts many students who do not possess the time, or the finances, to gain a college education. The main selling points may include easy graduation, no tests or end of semester exams, credit for life experiences, and lower tuition fees. Some diploma mills even have the audacity to make money through bulk emails offering to sell university degrees.
So, how do prospective students determine whether an online college is accredited or only offering bogus online Bachelor degrees? Especially for International students, it can be very difficult to determine a school’s validity. In most cases it is impossible for distance learners to visit the campus, so the website is the only point of contact before making the choice and enrolling, which makes it hard to determine credibility.
The first thing to do is to verify the type of accreditation the college claims to have. Only 6 government agencies have been given the authority by the U.S. Department of Education, to award accreditation to colleges and universities offering online Bachelor degrees. Therefore, if a site brags about worldwide or nationwide accreditation, beware. Unless they specifically name the agency, chances are they are not a legitimate institution of higher education.
Six accreditation agencies have been given the authority to award college accreditation. The agencies are divided by geographic location, so it is possible to contact the appropriate office to determine whether a college or university has legitimate standing and been registered in that district. The agencies are all appointed by the National Board of Education and include: New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC), North Central Association of Schools and Colleges (NCA), Middle States Association of Schools and Colleges (MSA), Southern Association of Schools and Colleges (SACS), Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) and the Northwest Association of Schools and Colleges (NWCCU).
If a university sends out mass e-mailings offering on online Bachelor degrees, Master’s Degree, and even Doctorate degrees for a fixed rate, it is a sure sign the result will be a bogus degree. Course credits for such a degree may include such strange elements as: credit for life experiences, work experience, previous educational background, workshops, community services, travel, and books read in the past. To further confuse the issue, fake accrediting URLS are set up to prove accreditation, but unless it is from one of the 6 agencies endorsed by the Department of Education, the award is most likely phony. The unscrupulous institutions depend on the desperation of people who do not have the time, or the money, to earn a valid degree. Nevertheless, without that all-important diploma, good jobs are impossible to find.
In conclusion, as the awareness on bogus degrees increases amongst prospective employers, degrees obtained through a legitimate avenue of education can sometimes be mistaken for bogus online bachelor degrees too. Therefore, the best approach to select a college would ideally be based on legitimate college accreditation awarded by the appointed authorities to the respective colleges.
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