Higher education has become critical these days and the whole world seems to be going back to school. One of the reasons for this is probably because the World Wide Web has made it easier for many busy people to make their dreams come true through an online degree course.
You cannot argue with the fact that online degrees are convenient and you are spoilt for choice from some of the leading universities in the world. And what is more the cost is also much more manageable since you do not have to be on campus. And neither do you have to give up your current job.
Little wonder that those running online degree course are making a fortune these days. Naturally where there is so much money flying around, you are bound to find con artists and all kinds of undesirable characters looking to cash in on the situation. Higher education online is no exception.
The saddest thing about fake online degrees is that the person who is most likely to get prosecuted is you and not the shady diploma mills. It is a very serious offense to present a fake university degree and in some cases the poor job hunter may not even be aware that the online degree they possess is fake.
Now some people believe that it is very easy to identify a fake online degree course. This is not true because the con artists are getting cleverer and more sophisticated by the day.
So here are a few tips to help those of you interested in pursuing higher education online.
Look out for imitations of branded universities and colleges and alleged affiliations. Sometimes the names could be very similar and you may not notice the difference. For instance Hamilton University is the fake version of the real prestigious Hamilton College.
You also need to check for small errors like spelling and grammatical mistakes. A university takes a lot of pride in this piece of paper and will never allow such mistakes.
The time in which the degree has been obtained is yet another tell tale sign that all is not well. Real online degree courses will be very demanding and will usually take at the very least two years. When you hear about some fast track degree that will take you six months or less, you have reason to be very worried.
Also check the address. Fake online universities will have addresses that do not exist or will use P.O. boxes only.
It is also interesting that fake online training institutions will usually not have a catalog that contains information on the syllabus, schedules and tuition fees. To be on the safe side always and take the trouble to look for online courses that are accredited to the relevant authorities in that country. For instance the United States department of education certifies only universities that pass the department’s stringent standards. And so if your online university is not accredited you know the reason why.
Having said this there are so many genuine and exciting opportunities being provided by various online degree courses these days which we shall explore here in the days to come.
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One the of deadly outcomes of such fly-by-night degree minting institutions based in the wild-wild west of the cyberspace is the fact that some unsuspecting hospitals and medical facilities have hired people or promoted individuals on their staff who are holders of online degrees in programs such as nursing, pharmacology, lab techs, etc.
ReplyDeleteTalk of health disasters waiting to happen in those countries that have not implemented controls on such runaway degree programs, that's if they are not already taking place.
Let the sympathisers and defenders of such online institutions that are not part of the established and accredidated universities say what they will, but nothing beats the required physical presence and undertaking a thorough recommended curriculum at any one of the traditional institutions around the world.
There are those of who are now fronting online doctorates in the hopes of landing better paying jobs in the developing nations.
For the record, the government of South Sudan has rejected thousands of such doctorate holders and continues to do so least they take advantage of the young nation and its developing institutions.
The various government ministries and institutions in South Sudan have been very busy with weeding out suspect applications from locals and foregners with questionable qualifications, thanks to the system that has been put in place courtesy of UCLA, Princeton and others to safeguards the interests and integrity of emerging institutions in South Sudan.
I have heard of certificates being issued in mixology by certain localised institutions, but not PhDs in Mixology, where the holders want to teach in various academic institutions.
Imagine a PhD in Mixology, with a speciality in Yokozuma, Chibuku, or Kwete.