The Ultimate Online University Guide
In theory, an online university is committed to delivering academic excellence and enabling students to achieve their higher learning goals without accruing a financial burden. However, in practice, not all online universities deliver the same quality of education and degree, and the difference between a diploma mill and a legitimate online university may not be obvious. The Online University FAQ was created to share with the reader the experience of someone who was instrumental in building an online university, with the knowledge of the tricks of the trade. While distance learning, another term for acquiring an online degree, is becoming more and more common, the notion that a degree is a degree could not be further from the truth. From the quality of the professors, the class structure, and even the type of accreditation, there are a myriad of factors that are very important to know when researching online universities and making your choice of which one to attend.
While the obvious factors of being sure to review tuition and fees for all schools to find out about all costs, payment options, opportunities for discounted tuition rates, are one thing, hidden fees and agendas are not uncommon with many of these institutions. While they may express a desire to help you with financial aid and see if tuition reimbursement plans from your employer are accepted, there are many pitfalls associated with paying for your degree, and other issues they may hide from prospective students. This is not meant to diminish the quality of a degree from an online university, but merely to point out that researching the university that is right for you, and one that offers a degree that will be valued by prospective employers is paramount to your search.
Our goal is to provide you with unbiased information regarding what to look for in an online university, and what to watch out for. The differences may not be so obvious between the multitude of these institutions, but you really need to be prepared in order to select one that offers the greatest value and the best price, and won’t be a waste of your time, as some, labeled “diploma mills,” will happily take your tuition, but that degree may not be recognized by some or many employers. The information you will find here should assist you in knowing the right questions to ask, how to be prepared during and after your search, and what to look out for, both positive and negative in your search for the right online university. Distance learning is one of the greatest advances in education in the past few decades, and with the advent of the Internet, acquiring a degree has become easier and cheaper. But prospective students need to protect themselves and ensure that the degree they receive is one that will benefit them, and we can help prepare you during and after your search.
