So you’ve finally decided to take the plunge and enroll in an online distance education program. Like most people these days, you probably typed your search into Yahoo or Google only to find a sea of different online schools offering everything from professional certifications to PhD’s in any field imaginable. Each month hundreds of new online schools are popping up all over the internet. Should you be skeptical about some of these degree granting institutions? Absolutely! Many people have found out the hard way that their so called degree is worthless in an ever increasing competitive job market. Should you be discouraged? Not at all because many of these programs are legitimate. You just need to know what to look for.

Accreditation

Accreditation is a school’s way of showcasing its commitment to quality education. Whether your degree is accepted by future employers and future schools for transfer is heavily dependent on the school’s accreditation. Naturally, the most important first step you can take to researching a distance education program is to determine whether the school is accredited by a recognized accrediting body.

There are two main types of accreditation, namely regional and national accreditation. Regional accreditation is more widely accepted than national accreditation, but both are recognized by the US Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Association. Some online programs are accredited by the Distance and Education Training Council which is a national accreditation body. You can perform searches on the following websites to determine if your prospective institution is accredited by a recognized body:

US Department of Education search site:

http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/Search.aspx

Distance Education and Training Council search site:

http://www.detc.org/search_schools.php

If the prospective school claims that it is accredited by a recognized accrediting agency, you can find a database of recognized accrediting agencies (both regional and national) at: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/Agencies.aspx.

Many schools will make up their own accrediting body, or use credentials from an “accrediting mill” so always verify the information you are given regardless of the source. This simple step can ensure that you don’t fall victim to a scam.

Transferability of Credits

If you are 100% positive that you will never seek higher education once you receive your degree then you can ignore this section. However, in my many years of education, the most common lamentation I hear from transfer or returning students is that their credits didn’t transfer. The college credits and degree you earn from an online program will take up your valuable time and money, so it might be worth your while to do some checking on the transferability of credits. One way to guarantee that the most amount of your work will transfer to other schools is to ensure that your prospective school is accredited by a regional accrediting body (as opposed to a national accrediting body). If you have one or two prospective future colleges in mind, then obtain their transfer policy to see what you might be up against in the future. Lastly, note that there are no absolutes when it comes to transferring credits but you increase your chances of making the most of your money by doing some checking around.

Does the School Meet Your Standards?

Once you’ve determined that the school offering the online program is accredited, you want to ensure that institution meets other standards. Here are some things to consider before choosing a distance learning program:

• Determine the qualifications of the teachers. Many times you can find a teacher’s resume or curriculum vitae online. Every teacher should have at least a master’s degree (within the pertinent area they teach) or a technical certification with years of field experience. If you cannot find this information online, then call the school and ask.

• Determine if the institution has the expertise to teach online classes. This is important because online programs are new to many schools. A school with a reputable name doesn’t guarantee that their online program is as well taught as their traditional on campus classes. Find out what qualifications the instructors have in the realm of online teaching.

• Ask specific questions about the program you are interested in and pay attention to the responses you get. If you can’t get any satisfactory straight answers, then the quality of online education may be questionable. A couple of examples include asking about the content and how that content is presented or asking about how interactions between faculty and distance education students take place. You should also ask what proportion of students complete the program; how long it takes to complete a program; and what the reasons are for students who don’t complete the program.

• Try to get a hold of a few alumni and ask them what their experiences were like during the program and after completion of the program. Ascertain whether the program is engaging and intellectually challenging.

Administrative Issues to Consider

If a distance learning program has satisfied all of the above thus far then it’s time to start looking at the administrative side of things. Here are some questions that you should know the answers to before committing to a program:

• What majors are available and what are the admission requirements? Be wary of extremely low entrance requirements such as not requiring a G.E.D or high school diploma to get in.

• How much does tuition cost? More importantly, are there any other hidden fees? Tuition should be similar to the tuition required for a nearby university. You should never have to pay exorbitant amounts of money.

• Does the program need to be completed within a certain time-frame while on a certain schedule determined by the school? This is not necessarily a bad thing; however, you should make sure it fits with your life.

• If you have college credit from the past, you should get a determination of which credits transfer and which do not before paying any tuition.

• Is there technical help available for distance education students? If so, to what extent?

• Is there special software needed or are the classes web based? If special software is needed, what are the computer requirements to run that software, and is that software provided free of charge? If it is web based, make sure your network at home meets the bandwidth requirements.

• Are books included in the cost of tuition? What are the reimbursement policies for dropped classes?

• What types of services are available to students? Can students view their grades, request transcripts, apply for financial aid and pay tuition online?

• What types of financial aid/scholarships are available?

Concluding Remarks

Finding a quality distance learning program can be a daunting task, but it is a necessary one. The marketing departments are quite adept at designing websites to lure unsuspecting students. Unfortunately, the quality of education you receive is not always accurately portrayed by their websites. Do your research now to save yourself the headache later. Remember, this is your future that we’re talking about!