Online Education Learning FAQs
1. What is Distance
Learning?
2. What Is Accreditation?
3. Why Might Accreditation
Be Important?
4. What Kind of Accreditation
Should I Look for in an Online College?
5. What Are the Names
of the Regional Accreditation Boards?
6. What Are the Advantages
of Attending a Regionally Accredited College?
7. What Other Types
of Accreditation Are Widely Recognized in the United States?
8. What About Programmatic
Accreditation?
9. What Is a Diploma
Mill?
10. Are All Degree-Granting
Universities those are Unaccredited or Accredited by Unrecognized
Agencies Also Diploma Mills?
11. What Questions
Should I Ask About Accreditation to Protect Myself?
12. Can't I Just Use
the Internet to Find a Good Virtual University?
13. Do you have any
recommendations for being a better online student?
1. What is Distance Learning?
Distance learning is any learning that takes place with the
instructor and student geographically remote from each other.
Distance learning may occur by surface mail, video, interactive
or cable TV, satellite broadcast, or any number of Internet
technologies such as message boards, chat rooms, and desktop
video or computer conferencing.
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2. What Is Accreditation?
Accreditation is any form of independent review of educational
programs for the purpose of helping to establish that the
learning offered is of a uniform and sound quality.
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3. Why Might Accreditation Be Important?
Accreditation of an online university may be important if
you seek to have a public record of your learning that will
be widely accepted by employers, professional associations,
and other colleges and universities.
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4. What Kind of Accreditation Should I
Look for in an Online College?
In the United States the most widely recognized form of accreditation
for degree-granting programs comes from the regional accreditation
boards. Harvard University is regionally accredited. Ohio
University is regionally accredited. Stanford University is
regionally accredited. Indiana State University is regionally
accredited ... and so on. When people ask if you have attended
an "accredited university" in the United States,
they most commonly mean a regionally accredited university.
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5. What Are the Names of the Regional
Accreditation Boards?
Each of the 6 geographic regions of the United States has
a non-governmental agency that oversees, reviews, and accredits
degree-granting institutions that are headquartered in their
territories. The 6 regional accreditation boards are:
MSA--Middle States Association
NASC--Northwest Association of Schools & Colleges
NCA--North Central Association of Colleges & Schools
NEASC--New England Association of Schools & Colleges
SACS--Southern Association of Colleges & Schools
WASC--Western Association of Schools & Colleges
These 6 boards are seen as equal in each other's eyes and
the eyes of academics for the purpose of transferring credits
or degree status from one college to another. There is no
better or worse among these 6 agencies. Regionally accredited
colleges recognize degrees and credits earned at each other's
institutions as equal to their own.
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6. What Are the Advantages of Attending
a Regionally Accredited College?
A major benefit of earning credits or degrees at regionally
accredited colleges is that credits or degrees earned at one
regionally accredited university are generally fully accepted
in transfer by other regionally accredited colleges. Credits
and degrees earned at non-regionally accredited universities
are not commonly accepted in transfer by regionally accredited
institutions.
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7. What Other Types of Accreditation Are
Widely Recognized in the United States?
The Distance Education & Training Council (DETC) is a
nationally recognized accreditation agency for distance learning
colleges. The DETC accredits over 70 institutions that sponsor
home study programs of all types. While the DETC is a recognized
accrediting agency, credits and degrees earned at DETC colleges
are not yet widely accepted in transfer by regionally accredited
colleges.
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8. What About Programmatic Accreditation?
Sometimes academic departments within colleges and universities
seek special accreditation for their programs. Careers that
are regulated by state or national licensing boards may require
students to attend college departments that hold special accreditation.
For example, many teacher licensing boards require that students
earn their education degrees from colleges whose education
departments are accredited by the National Council for Accreditation
of Teacher Education. State bar or lawyer licensing exam agencies
may require applicants to hold degrees from law schools that
are accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA). For
a list of recognized programmatic accreditation agencies,
visit the Council for Higher Education Accreditation.
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9. What Is a Diploma Mill?
A diploma mill is the name given to any university that operates
primarily to make money or issue degrees/credentials without
any thought to insuring that an education occurs. Diploma
mills literally crank or "mill out" paper diplomas
to anyone who applies and sends them the requested "tuition"
amount -- generally a lump sum of about $2,000 -- though sometimes
much more.
In many states there exists no regulation of the term "college"
or "university." This means that you, or anyone
else, might legally declare you a university and begin issuing
degrees any day of the week. (A frightening thought, eh?)
Diploma mills have existed for decades. They often operate
out of phone boiler rooms with high-pressure telemarketers
who follow up e-mail requests and Web site visits with an
aggressive enrollment approach via the telephone. Some of
these diploma mills have been in operation for decades. Like
telephone scams, they avoid prosecution by changing the state(s)
they operate in from time to time and by locating themselves
in states or foreign countries with the lamest educational
laws.
Diploma mills prey on people's lack of knowledge and confusion
about accreditation. One favorite trick that works time and
again for diploma mills is that they advertise widely as being
"fully accredited" or "nationally accredited"
or "accredited worldwide." They advertise heavily
in magazines, on the Internet in newsgroups, and at impressive
looking Web sites. The trick here is that are indeed "accredited"
-- but it is by unrecognized agencies -- often by bogus accrediting
agencies that they themselves have created.
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10. Are All Degree-Granting Universities
those are Unaccredited or Accredited by Unrecognized Agencies
Also Diploma Mills?
No. There are colleges and universities with distance degree
programs that are not accredited by any recognized agency
that are not diploma mills. These programs have opted not
to seek regional or DETC accreditation for their own reasons
-- often because they object to the standards or procedures
that traditional accreditation implies in the United States.
Often these colleges teach subjects that may not be readily
taught at a "traditionally accredited" university
-- subjects like extra-sensory perception or animal acupuncture,
for example. It is possible to get a very good education at
some of these unaccredited universities, but their coursework
and degrees remain unrecognized by regional or DETC accredited
colleges.
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11. What Questions Should I Ask About
Accreditation to Protect Myself?
Are Your Accredited?
If So, Whom Are You Accredited By?
Is the accrediting agency in question a recognized agency?
Remember that accreditation by unrecognized agencies is a
common ploy of online diploma mills! In the United States,
the Council for Higher Education is the agency that oversees
legitimate accrediting agencies. CHEA maintains a directory
of recognized accrediting agencies at their Web site.
Make Sure You Understand the Kind of Accreditation You Personally
Need
Does the kind of accreditation the colleges have meet your
personal and career needs?
If In Doubt, Verify the Accreditation
Check the official independent guide to such matters: The
American Council on Education's "Accredited Institutions
of Postsecondary Education." This annual official guide
does not lie. This guide can be found in any college library
or at any accredited college's Registrar's Office. (The Registrar
is the person who checks this sort of thing before granting
you admission or transfer credit status at any regionally
accredited college in the United States.)
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12. Can't I Just Use the Internet to
Find a Good Virtual University?
Absolutely Not. Much of the information on the Internet is
not filtered or fact-checked. Web sites are not checked with
any scrutiny to determine if the site is operating from a
scam or legitimate position. Anyone can create a Web site
and submit their URL to a master Web directory or engine for
indexing. To complicate matters the .edu (education) domain
extension on Web and e-mail addresses is not regulated at
present either. Do not be misled into thinking that a Web
site or e-mail message that has .edu at the end of it MUST
be a real educational institution!
For these reasons, you cannot assume that because a university
has a Web page listed at a popular online site, like Yahoo!
or AltaVista, that this fact alone "legitimizes"
the college and what it has to offer. You must carefully scrutinize
all information that is available on the Internet in order
to protect yourself from fraud or from investing in an education
that may not meet your personal needs.
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13. Do you have any recommendations for
being a better online student?
The following are some tips that that may help improve study
skills and organization for distance learners.
- Thoroughly research the course online prior to registering.
Course syllabuses are generally posted on the school's website
and can provide you with important information regarding
required time, materials, group work, etc. At that point,
you can make an informed decision about taking the course
and dedicate the appropriate amount of time. The syllabus
will also inform you about course objectives, calendar,
textbooks used, assignments, the professor's background,
etc. It is an important document that you will refer to
throughout the term.
- Be sure to identify what will be required of you in terms
of computer hardware and software before enrolling in a
particular course. Access to a VCR, fax machine, email and
web access are "must-have" items for many online
classes, so be sure to check the requirements up front.
- Broadband web access (e.g. DSL or cable modem) may be
a worthwhile investment, given the amount of online coursework
required or time spent researching online or chatting with
team members.
- Dedicate a fixed amount of time each day for your online
coursework. Distance learning does provide schedule flexibility,
but academic work is required and you will have regular
assignments to complete and submit to your instructors.
- Keep yourself as organized as possible. Set educational
objectives and maintain a calendar throughout the months
of the course to ensure you are completing assignments on
a timely basis.
- Try and avoid interruptions during the times you have
set aside for your online study. Find locations that work
best for you, in terms of maximizing your productivity,
such as a local library.
- Keep in regular contact with your instructor. Don't hesitate
to ask questions or request some one-on-one time to review
coursework, assignments or progress being within your team
(often referred to as "Cohorts").
- Make the most of your time with fellow team members. They
make good study partners and are generally a good resource
when preparing for exams.
- Discuss your progress and ask for regular feedback from
your professor.
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