Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Online Colleges

Online Colleges

There are accredited online colleges that award Associate’s, Bachelor’s, Master’s and Doctoral Degrees. More than 96 percent of the largest colleges and universities in the U.S offer online courses, according to a report by the Sloan Consortium. It is important to check if an online college is a real, accredited school or a diploma mill.

To check the accreditation of online colleges go to the U.S. Department of Education database. The Sloan report states that almost 3.2 million students were taking at least one online course during the fall 2005 term. Students who attend online colleges can apply for financial aid from the Federal Government but only if the courses are a part of an associate’s, bachelor’s or graduate degree program.

There are online colleges that are degree mills or diploma mills that offer diplomas on a fraudulent basis. These online colleges may offer degrees for a flat fee and require no course work. Other online colleges may claim to be accredited but are accredited by an unrecognized accrediting agency.

However, there are credible online colleges that are not accredited: they usually offer certificate programs. A certificate program is a highly specialized course such as Six Sigma that teaches a specific skill. A certificate program is not a college degree. It can vary in length and may require less than two years of study.

Boston University has on online program to finish your undergraduate degree if you already have 64 undergraduate credits.

University of Cincinna

Indiana Wesleyan University

Trump University has certificate programs in real estate and marketing.

Villanova University has certificate programs in Six Sigma and other business areas.

Online Colleges

Online Colleges

There are accredited online colleges that award Associate’s, Bachelor’s, Master’s and Doctoral Degrees. More than 96 percent of the largest colleges and universities in the U.S offer online courses, according to a report by the Sloan Consortium. It is important to check if an online college is a real, accredited school or a diploma mill.

To check the accreditation of online colleges go to the U.S. Department of Education database. The Sloan report states that almost 3.2 million students were taking at least one online course during the fall 2005 term. Students who attend online colleges can apply for financial aid from the Federal Government but only if the courses are a part of an associate’s, bachelor’s or graduate degree program.

There are online colleges that are degree mills or diploma mills that offer diplomas on a fraudulent basis. These online colleges may offer degrees for a flat fee and require no course work. Other online colleges may claim to be accredited but are accredited by an unrecognized accrediting agency.

However, there are credible online colleges that are not accredited: they usually offer certificate programs. A certificate program is a highly specialized course such as Six Sigma that teaches a specific skill. A certificate program is not a college degree. It can vary in length and may require less than two years of study.

Boston University has on online program to finish your undergraduate degree if you already have 64 undergraduate credits.

University of Cincinna

Indiana Wesleyan University

Trump University has certificate programs in real estate and marketing.

Villanova University has certificate programs in Six Sigma and other business areas.
The Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) recognize the Distance Education and Training Council (DETC) as the accrediting organization for distance learning institutions and education programs that offer online degrees.degree program at an accredited Title IV-eligible institution.

six geographic regions of the United States

Each of the six geographic regions of the United States has a non-governmental, regional agency that oversees and accredits degree-granting institutions headquartered in their areas. There are six regional accreditation boards:

Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools

Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities

North Central Association of Colleges and Schools

New England Association of Schools and Colleges

Southern Association of Colleges and Schools

Western Association of Schools & Colleges

Accreditation

The goal of accreditation, according to the U.S. Department of Education, is to ensure that programs provided by institutions of higher education meet acceptable levels of quality. In the area of online education, it is important to avoid diploma mills that offer fake degrees at a cost. Students seeking valid online degrees should obtain proof of accreditation from a regional or national/specialized accrediting body in the United States. Online colleges that are fully accredited have earned a widely recognized form of university accreditation from one of six regional accreditation boards.

Financial Aid

Until recently, students enrolled in online degree programs were ineligible for federal student aid unless at least half of their program was campus based (a law established in 1992 and known as the 50-percent rule).[7] In February 2006, that law was repealed and now federal student aid in the form of federal loans, grants, and work-study is available in the U.S. for students enrolled in an eligible online

Prevalence of Online Education

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) conducted a distance education study based on the 2001-2002 academic year at 2-year and 4-year Title IV (Federal Student Aid)-eligible, degree-granting institutions. The study reported that 56 percent of all institutions surveyed offered distance education courses. The study also found that public institutions were more likely to offer distance education than were private institutions.

The Sloan Consortium, based on data collected from over 2,200 colleges and universities, reports that nearly 3.2 million students took at least one online course during 2005 (a significant increase over the 2.3 million reported in 2004). According to the same report, about two-thirds of the largest institutions have fully online programs