Saturday 26 May 2012

How To Get A Fast Online Degree

Is it possible to get a fast online degree? Many people today are beginning to realize how advantageous it can be for their careers if they have several degrees to their name. But since we now live in a fast-paced world, majority would rather not spend years trying to get their degrees. Instead they want to get their degrees quickly, and preferably online so all they have to do is get on the Internet from their computers at home. For this reason, many schools began offering online degrees and other accelerated programs. However, before you jump in on the online degree bandwagon, there are a few things you need to know.
First, because of the high demand for fast online degrees, many shady companies are trying to cash in on this demand. These companies are more commonly known as degree mills. They offer online college degrees to anyone who is willing to pay. The catch? There aren't any coursework, so what these degree mills do is basically sell degrees to anyone willing to shell out the dough. These degree mills have ala carte options too. For additional fees, your degree can come with honors, transcripts and even employer verification.
So now you're probably wondering how these degree mills can give you a degree. They actually give you credit for your "life experience." There are many legitimate schools that do give credit for life experience but that's in addition to some sort of coursework that you have to do still in order to get an online college degree. Degree mills, on the other hand, will simply give you all credits on the basis of life experience.
Be aware that many employers don't accept "degrees" earned from degree mills. Sure, you may have extensive life experience and you may know as much, or even be better, than your degreed co-workers, but a degree from these degree mills just won't cut it. In fact, it is illegal in some states for employees to use unearned degrees in order to get hired or promoted for a job. Employers look at the practice of getting degrees from degree mills as unethical. Case in point: Laura Callahan, the former deputy chief information officer of the Department of Homeland Security, is one of the many government employees currently under investigation by the Senate for including unearned degrees in their resumes and job applications.
So now you know that buying a degree from degree mills is not only unethical, but can also get you in a whole lot of trouble when you're found out. This doesn't mean, however, that you can't get a fast online degree legitimately. There are reputable and legitimate institutions that offer fast online degrees. It pays to do some checking on schools and other institutions that offer online degrees. Use the following as your guideline:
1. Evaluate the degree program being offered. Find out the graduation requirements, how many credit the school will grant you for prior learning and what exactly does the school consider as prior learning. Most reputable and legitimate schools that offer fast online degrees will typically give you at most two years' worth of credit for prior learning. This may or may not include your life experience.
2. Evaluate the institution offering fast online degrees. Is it a reputable school overall? What is the profile of the school's graduates? Are graduates of the school able to get into graduate schools? For a list of "substandard" schools, check out the database by the State of Oregon: http://www.osac.state.or.us/oda/unaccredited.
3. Evaluate the teaching staff. Find out what the student/faculty ratio is. What percentage of the teaching staff has doctorate degrees? master's degrees? In terms of publication, what types of work and how any have members of the faculty published, and where?
4. Check accreditation of the school. You want to get your online degree from an institution that is duly accredited by a legitimate state-approved accreditation body. The Universal Council for Online Education Accreditation (UCOEA) and the Board of Online Universities Accreditation (BOUA) are not considered legitimate accreditation bodies, so keep this in mind if you come across institutions stating they are accredited by either the UCOEA or BOUA. Visit the website of the Council for Higher Education to check a college's or institution's accreditation:
It is possible to get a fast online degree that is both legitimate and acceptable to current and future employers. You simply need to take the time to thoroughly study each institution and program to make sure you won't be paying for something you won't be able to use to advance your career.

Online Degree Programs is The Easiest Way to Earn a Bachelor Degree

The extensive development and enhancement of internet technology leads to the rapid growth of online education. Today, when you want to pursue a bachelor degree, you can do it easily through internet or online. Internet is an excellent mode to reach out to more and more people seeking bachelor's degree.
Online degree programs are increasing in popularity and creditability, more and more prestigious colleges and universities offer complete online degree programs taught by the same faculty who teach in their classrooms. Subject areas range from business to nursing, degrees from Bachelor to MBAs and Ph.Ds.
Online degree programs are designed with busy individuals
Before the introduction of online degree programs, if you are a working individual who want to pursue a bachelor degree, you need to on hold your current life and resign from your current job for 1 to 2 years in order to earn your bachelor degree from college or university. But now, not any more, the availability of online degree program has enabled you to earn your bachelor degree online while continue or maintain with your current life style. The online degree program provides you with self-paced, guided and independent study degree courses and can help you continue with studies in spite of you being busy with your jobs.
It is further beneficial to married women who need to tend to their household and take care of their children. Bachelor degree can be attained in the privacy and comfort of your home and can be done along with taking care of your kids.
Among the top online universities
There are many universities and colleges offer online degree program, among the top prestigious online universities which you can consider to pursue your online bachelor degree are:
  • University of Phoenix
  • AIU Online
  • Baker Online
  • Capella University Online
  • Colorado Technical University Online
  • ITT Technical Institute Online
  • Westwood College Online
One of the important factors to be considered before enrolling for an online degree program is accreditation. Only colleges or universities licensed by state provide accredited online degree programs. Remember, a bachelor degree from an established, accredited or state licensed university can increase your remuneration as well as make you a more qualified applicant for any employer.
Summary
The internet has changed human life style; it also enables a busy people like you and me an easiest way to earn our degree online. The online degree program has farfetched benefits like getting promotions at work. And it is also beneficial to the employers as they are able to fill top positions of their company with candidates who have been working with them over a period of time and who now have advanced their educations.

Distance Learning And Online Degree

Distance Learning and Online Degree:
With the advent of the Internet the mode of education has changed drastically. From distance education the word has changed to Online Education where the method of teaching has become virtual.
Additionally, course materials will be sent by post, which they can finish at home An online business degree is best suited to working executives who can finish their course at their own pace and do not need to lose work to attend classes.
2. How will an online business degree help your career?
An online business degree is one of the best possible ways to enhance one's academic qualifications. Many fortune 700 companies appreciate employees who have a higher academic degree and consider such degrees as a criterion for promotion. This means that even if you work hard and exhibit good professional ethics, you may be sidelined when it comes to promotions and pay hikes.
3. Getting qualified through an online course serves three purposes:
1. It enhances your academic standing
2. It does not require you to lose your job in order to make time for learning.
3. You can learn in your leisure time and use it productively to enhance your career.
Online Degrees are available all over the Internet from valid accepted Universities to fake Diploma Mills that churn out diplomas without need for anything other than cold hard cash.
While the advantages of the Online Degree providing colleges are many the fact remains that the fake diploma mills are adversely affecting the reputation of the legitimate degree providing colleges.
Legitimate Online Degree College vs. Fake Diploma Mills
Universities and colleges online have to be accredited and the best ones like Phoenix University are, but there are again, the 'life experience' degree providers like the Belford University that create fake accreditation agencies and then accredit themselves, causing students looking for shortcuts to believe that these are legit institutes and are merely showing them the way out.
However, when all online degree holders enter the practical world looking for a job carrying their 'online diplomas' these fake diploma holders cause the legit degree holders to lose out as potential employers lose faith in the 'online degrees' so many of which are useless.
The latest trend in education is distance education where you can attain an undergraduate and graduate, certification or professional degree with the help of advanced technology of Internet.
It is gaining popularity owing to the fact that it can be obtained without leaving your job and can be done at your own pace. Owing to this sudden popularity in distance education, more and more universities are introducing online degree education.
With the wave of intensive growth in distance education comes another problem which is that of fraudulent online degrees.
Universities need to make a profit in order to sustain in the growing competition. The statistics behind online universities indicate that online universities are growing by 33% annually [International Data Corporation Online].
The benefit that the universities offering online courses are that they need not worry about infrastructural expenditure and they can reach out to people across the globe.
The difference between a fake degree online and a valid one is that fraudulent online degree universities are called 'degree mills' as their main focus is in fast production and distribution of fake diplomas. They just offer credit for life experience and if you pay your fees you get your diploma. You don't have to worry about practical experience. If you pay a little extra, you can even graduate with honors!
The problem arises when this life experience is not accepted by state and federal laws and you face the problem of looking for a suitable job.
A legitimate online college can be recognized against a fake one by checking out the actual web address which is usually offered by The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the international organization that dispenses domain names (web addresses).
Accredited schools will receive the .edu designation. For example, Stanford University's web address is Stanford.edu which authenticates that they are genuine online universities. Next you can also check from the list of accredited schools provided by US Department of Education.
What is the 'The Diploma Mill Police'?
Diploma Mill Police is an online resource to identify if the diploma you have received from an online university is a valid one and is from a fully accredited institution.
To authenticate your degree, GetEducated.com, has launched a free online service, The Diploma Mill Police (TM). This is a free service offered by the website and helps students as well as employer to put forth their grievances regarding the accreditation of their online certifications.
All you need to do is to submit a query to check on the accreditation status of any online college operating in the USA. A Consumer Seal of Approval is also provided by GetEducated.com which genuine accredited colleges can use on their site after being screened by an authorized deputy of the Diploma Mill Police.
Is getting a fake degree worth the effort. Will it get you a job in a Fortune 700 company?
Getting a fake degree may cause lot more problems than benefits. It is a very big risk to buy a fake degree from a diploma mill as well as to claim that you have a degree which rightfully you are not worthy of.
You are shelling out enormous money and the people who are scam artists can get away with it but you can be victimized. The problem arises when this life experience is not acceptable by state and federal laws and you face a problem which acquiring a suitable job.
Students might be thinking that getting a diploma from an unaccredited university will save them the drudgery of studying and they want to out for an easy way out by just paying some money and buying a diploma.
The Diploma itself typically looks impressive and is indistinguishable from a real college or university diploma. Clearly the diploma mills have no integrity and are not worried about the injustice to the students like you who have worked hard for your degrees.
The fake degree may even lead to your prosecution as in the case of a dozen teachers in Georgia who claimed to have Doctoral degrees from the bogus Saint Regis University were caught in 2003. Similarly in May 2004, nearly 500 government employees lost their jobs when their degrees were checked.
It would be sheer luck if you acquire a job in a Fortune 700 company with the help of a fake degree as these companies undertake rigorous investigation to check the authenticity of the degrees.
If by chance you manage to get a job, you are always under pressure on when you might be fired, if they get to know about the fact that your degree is a fake.
Fake online degrees are a meaningless, waste of money because wherever, you use the degree; it will be validated as 'fake'. Is that true?
Getting a fake online degrees is a meaningless, waste of money because wherever, you use the degree; it will be validated as `fake'; this is true to a certain extent.
There are chances that you will acquire a job in smaller companies who do not undertake rigorous screening of certificates of their employees. You might get away with it for sometime.
However, as you go up the ladder or look for a job in established companies you might come across the ground reality that your degree is just of piece of paper. A fake online degree has more problems than benefits. You will always be under the pressure that you would be caught for your fake certificate.
Students might be thinking that getting a diploma from an unaccredited university will save them the drudgery of studying and they want to out for an easy way out by just paying some money and buying a diploma.
The diploma itself typically looks impressive and is indistinguishable from a real college or university diploma. But the truth is employers know which degrees are worth it and which have been bought.
Some FAQs Accreditation and College Degrees
1. What is accreditation?
Accreditation is an assurance. It is a type of authorization given by an authorized government institute. The reason for accreditation is to give online degrees required recognition. In addition to this, it is also to ensure the quality of the program being offered.
2. What are the types of accreditation?
Regional accreditation boards provide the most recognized form of accreditation. For instance, Harvard and Ohio universities are regionally accredited. Stanford is also regionally accredited.
Whenever you come across people asking you whether you have attended an accredited university or not, they generally refer to regionally accredited universities. Hence, regional accreditation is the most preferred form of accreditation.
3. What is the significance of accreditation?
Accreditation provides a public record of your degree. A degree from an accredited institute is recognized by employers and companies all over the world.
4. What are the six regional institutes for accreditation?
There are about six authorized units responsible for accrediting online degrees. Namely they are:
NASC - Northwest Association of Schools and Colleges
NCA - North Central Association of Schools and Colleges
NEASC - New England Association of Schools and Colleges
SACS - Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
WASC - Western Association of Schools and Colleges
MSA - Middle States Association
What is programmatic accreditation?
At times, the special departments in accredited universities require special accreditation. The teachers licensing board requires a degree from accredited universities. Also, to accredit certain programs, the government requires a college to be accredited.
What do I need to know about State approved Universities?
Presently, there has been an enormous increase in State approved Universities. Many states have a test which a university has to pass, in order to be approved.
This process however is not equivalent to accreditation. It simply means that the college is approved to do business. The standard and quality of the degree is not ensured.