Beware Of Some Accredited Online Degree Programs

People who are looking for any online degree program will concerns about accreditation because accreditation is the keyword that differentiates online degree programs that are recognized and offered by reputable online colleges than degrees offer by diploma mills. But this keyword had been abused by diploma mills and most of fake's online degree programs offer in the market are now claimed accreditation. Hence, you must be a smart consumer when searching for your favorite online degree program and beware of any sign that shows the potential of diploma mill. This article will outline some hints and alerts that you must be aware of when searching for an online degree.

Why Accreditation is Important?

Accreditation provides assurance on the online degree program which you are enrolled or are considering enrolling has met the education guideline of national standards in the profession and the degree you earned or going to earn is recognized and accepted in the job market. Accreditation is not only important to students; it also serves as a guide to employers who are going to hire those graduates, it indicates that these candidates have met the required education standard on the field written in their degree.

How to differentiate "Fakes" & Real Accredited Online Degrees

"Fake" and real online degrees look so alike until sometimes it creates confusion to us. That's why there are still many people who accidentally signed up the online degree programs offered by diploma mill, and then applying for a job with these fake degrees and get rejected by employers.

The fact is all "fakes" online degrees do claim accreditation nowadays; hence, you can't just look at the word "accreditation" that attached to any online degree program and think that it is fine to enroll into this program. If it is a "real" online degree, you are lucky, but by chance it may be a degree program that is offered by diploma mills and accredited by a "fakes" accreditation agency; you will waste your time and money when you find out that you have earned a "fake" degree that does not help in your career. Hence, it worth to spend some time to confirm the degree program that you are going to enroll is properly accredited by an accreditation agency recognized by US Department of Education.

Which accreditation agencies are recognized by US Department of Education? There are two categories of accreditation agencies: National Institutional & Specialized Accrediting Agencies and Regional Institutional Accrediting Agencies. All the online universities and colleges accredited by these two groups of accrediting agencies are listed in accreditation database of ed.gov, website of US Education Of Department. So, the accreditation database of ed.gov is a good place to check whether your selected online university and online degree program are property accredited by one of these accreditation agencies.

Another place to check for listed accreditation agency is CHEA.org, it is a non-profit organization of colleges and universities serving as the national advocate for voluntary self-regulation through accreditation. Any accrediting agency or online university that is not list in this accreditation database, it needs to trigger your alert on diploma mills.

Summary

An accredited online degree program does not give assurance on it educational quality if it is not accredited by a proper accreditation agency that is recognized by the US Department of Department. You need to ensure that the online degree program that you are enrolling or considering enrolling is properly accredited in order to ensure the value of your degree you going to earn.

Amelia Turner is the author from http://www.your-online-degree.info Visit her website if you want more FREE and detailed information on choosing the right Online Degree, accredited online university and other online education information.

Make Your Dream Comes True With An Online Degree Program

What had you written in your high school's essay about your ambition? Do you still remember it? Is your current career in conjunction with what you ambitious for? If not, do you still want to realize the career that you are dreaming for? If you answer is yes, but you are not willing to put on hold your current job, then enrolling into an online degree program may be your best option. By enrolling into an online degree program, you can pursue your goals without disrupting your current lifestyle, because online degree programs are designed to fit into your busy schedule.

Look For An Online Degree Program

Before you enroll into any of the online degree programs, you need to know what you want to do with the degree you going to earn. Make your career direction clear and start to search for online degree programs that offer courses that meet your career goal. There are many accredited online universities or colleges offer various online degree programs. The best place to search for this information is Internet. You may find many online degree programs that close to your needs that make you confuse and hard to decide one. Don't rush your decision making. Make a request for information for those online universities or colleges. The information requests are free of charge, so make use of these resources.

Once you get all the information in hand, carefully study the courses' description of each online degree program. If you have any doubts or questions, you better get them cleared before you sign up the program. There are many online universities making their admission officers or counselors live for chat, get your questions answered at these live chat sessions. If you prefer to ask through phone call, the university's contact or toll free number should have stated in their website or in the information brochure that they sent to you. You won't be charged for asking questions, so ask as much questions as you have and make yourself clear on what the online degree program is offered and it is meeting your career goal.

Scheduling Your Online Classes

The best feature of online degree program is the flexibility. It tailors to fit your schedule so that your can still maintain your lifestyle and career. The drawback it, you have to schedule it. Typical class-based degree program has a fix learning schedule that you just need to follow, but with online degree program, you make the calls on when you want to attend your courses, put the time into your own schedule and ensure the online classes do not crash with your working schedule. Before you know it, you can be on your way to a college degree and your dream of career will be soon comes true.

Summary

Not many people will realize their career ambition due to many reasons. Now you have a chance to make yours comes true. With the available of online degree programs, busy working schedule and unable to put on hold your current job for earning a degree should not be your excuses any more. Put your dream into an action by enrolling into an online degree program and move your career according to your ambition.

Amelia Turner is the author from http://www.your-online-degree.info Visit her website if you want more FREE and detailed information on choosing the right Online Degree Programs, accredited online colleges and other online education information.

Back To Study With An Online Degree Program

Since you started your career after graduation from college, you are working hard to build your career to a success level. World is changing every moment and technology change every second, more and more students are out from colleges to compete the same career opportunities with yours. Hence, you need to continue upgrade yourself to be competence enough to face the challenges. Your busy career schedule won't allow you to go back to traditional school to gain the latest knowledge to support in your career moves. Fortunately, online degree program makes it possible for you to achieve your education goal while continue your movement in your career path.

Online degree programs have been designed to fit the busy schedule of working individual to earn a degree at the most comfort home environment and in the most flexible schedule. While many traditional "brick & mortar" universities had made their degree programs available online, more and more prestige online universities that are accredited by accreditation agencies recognized by U.S Department of Education offer various degrees that cover degree level from online associates degree to bachelor, master and doctorate degree and topic from business, computer, engineering, health care & etc. You should able to find one that meets your career requirement.

Advantages of Taking Your Education Online
The key factors that make online degree programs become popular and most accepted by many working individual who are seeking to continue their education either for career advancement or job promotion includes:

1. Freedom to Learn From Your Comfort Environment
You do not need to drive all the way to university to attend the classes. Turn on your computer/laptop and modem that connect you to the university online learning system, you can start your learning right away. Hence, you can choose to enroll into any online degree program offer by your favorite school without the need to consider where the university is located.

2. Reduced Material Costs & Easy Access To Learning Material
One of the e-learning advantages is most of textbook and learning materials are in electronic format and online library is just a finger click away. This will reduced your expenses for book, computer software and other material costs. And as an online student to a university, you can access the university online library from your computer, allows you to have easy access to the learning resources you need.

3. Flexible Learning Environment
Many online courses are self-paced and you can arrange your learning schedule to fit into your working hours. You can always choose to speed up if you have more free time and slow down your learning process if you are busy with your work. You make the call to complete your degree in the duration that fit into your time schedule.

4. Save Money & Time
Time is so important because you need it to build your career to a success level and online degree program allow you to save not just money but also the most valuable time. It saves your time by cutting out commuting, parking, traveling time and saves your money in term of transportation costs, meal and childcare and more.

In Summary
Online degree programs have created a different learning environment where you can gain new knowledge and equip yourself with the required skills that can help in your career move without the need to give up your job.

Amelia Turner is the author from http://www.your-online-degree.info Visit her website if you want more FREE and detailed information on choosing the right Online Degree Programs and accredited online colleges and other online education information.

What Are The Educational Benefits Of A Distance Learning College?

Be honest. How many times have you said something like, "I don't have the time to go to school"? If you're like most working adults, or those with family responsibilities, that comment is awfully common, and rather sad, because no one should lack higher education because of time constraints.

That's one of the benefits of attending a distance learning college. Classes come to you, not the other way around. You determine the best time for your studies, whether it's after midnight or at four o'clock in the morning. The good news is that today, nearly 50 percent of higher education institutions around the country, and the world, offer some type of online learning opportunities, whether it's a few courses or an entire degree program.

Web based course work and degree opportunities offer students of all ages, backgrounds and financial situations to consider the education that used to be off limits to them for various reasons. No longer is time an issue when it comes to distance learning. Working online at home, work or in a library is now an option for those who must work and take care of families as well as other responsibilities on a daily basis. Even night and weekend school is not an option for some, as transportation and location in many areas is difficult, if not impossible, to obtain.

Learning online through a distance learning college offers the same quality and degree weight that would be received through a traditional educational campus. Distance learning schools must be accredited, so the school of your choice should offer potential students everything that a typical college campus does, including student services, financial offices, student support services as well as guidance and educational counselors. You won't be limited to attending a physical campus in your area, but can branch off into different states, or even countries, if you desire.

It is the responsibility of the online college student to follow study guidelines and coursework curriculum within the parameters offered by guidance counselors of any distance-learning program, and must also be able to work independently of others in this environment. For those tackling a distance learning degree, discipline is essential in order to complete coursework in a timely manner, as well as the ability to study and prepare for final examinations and complete testing requirements.

With a distance learning college, every student experiences a sense of equality with others enrolled in various courses and programs, and in a sense, everyone is in the same boat, starting and finishing with the same coursework and restrictions as everyone else. In some cases, this sense of equal footing acts to provide a sense of accomplishment to those who usually have trouble competing with others in a student environment. Instructors are accessible online via email, chat rooms and forum discussion boards, and offer student ample opportunities to communicate.

Distance learning colleges are offering a new way of learning for 21st century students, one that will continue to increase in both availability and quality as demands increase. Millions of students worldwide are taking advantage of this style of learning for various reasons, but no matter where they are, they are finally receiving the higher education they have always dreamed of. It's about time.

Looking for the right distance learning college for you? Find out more at http://DistanceLearningRevealed.com

Online Education - Make The Healthcare Shortage Work For You

By now, most Americans have heard about the growing healthcare shortage. As Baby Boomers start to retire, the demand for healthcare services is increasing at the exact time that the number of healthcare workers is decreasing. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the healthcare industry is the fastest-growing in the country. Right now the biggest shortfall is in the number of nurses; there are currently 200,000 unfilled registered nurse positions and by 2020 this gap is expected to reach one million. However, virtually all healthcare occupations have begun to experience shortages.

What most media reports don't mention, however, is that this shortfall represents a huge opportunity for people looking for a great career. In desperate bids to attract and retain healthcare employees, employers are offering much larger salaries than in the past, along with hiring bonuses, perks, benefits, and flexible schedules. The well-qualified healthcare job seeker has a serious advantage in this market. The opportunities are endless. You can pursue a rewarding career helping others and making the world a better place - and be sought after by great employers offering rising salaries and excellent job security at the same time.

Right now, one of the top priorities for hospitals, clinics, and the government is to increase the number of healthcare students. The federal government has even passed an initiative designed to help students get nursing degrees - check out the Nursing Reinvestment Act. However, there are a number of barriers that potential students confront . One is a shortage of nurse educators, which leads many qualified candidates to be turned down. Many potential healthcare students are also unable, for one reason or another, to attend traditional schools. Maybe you are already employed and looking for a career change. Maybe you are staying home with your kids and planning on entering a healthcare career when they go to school. Perhaps you live in a rural area, or an area that doesn't have very many educational options - these areas are often even more in need of healthcare professionals. Maybe you already work in healthcare and you know that continuing education will get you to a higher level.

One solution is to pursue healthcare education online. You can take courses to give yourself a competitive edge for entering a traditional program, or you can take the entire degree online. This allows busy adults to prepare for their career (or career change) according to their own schedules, at their own pace, and from wherever they happen to be. In addition, many online students use supervised internships in order to get the hands-on training they need. Learn about the options, learn about the careers, and get ready for those healthcare opportunities.

Breanna Hite is an editor for the Guide To Healthcare Schools, a resource guide and directory of schools with online course offerings. The website provides advice and information about online degree programs.

Quality in Offshore Online Tutoring - Definition and Determinants

Personalized online tutoring is fast becoming a popular concept in the US. The appeal lies in the personal attention devoted to the learner, ready availability, convenience of use and increased affordability due to off-shoring model followed by several tuition providers.

From the perspective of a learner, it is important to understand what online tuition is supposed to deliver and what should the characteristics of quality online instruction be.

What is Quality
Online tutoring in its best form is supposed to cater to the individual learning aptitude, personality and pace of the learner while imparting knowledge, skills and application. Thus quality of an online learning program needs to be measured by how much knowledge has the learner grasped and retained and how well can he apply it to problem solving.

Parameters affecting quality
Since by definition, online tutoring has to cater to the individual differences between learning aptitude of the learners, any discussion on quality should exclude it from parameters affecting learning outcome. Effective online tutoring is supposed to teach no matter whether the learner is fast or slow and that is the determinant of its quality.

Thus the factors affecting the quality have to be intrinsic to the process and operation of providing online tutoring. Broadly, these factors can be categorized as:

• Instructor quality
• Process control
• Content quality, and,
• Technology & infrastructure

Instructor quality
Online instruction takes personalization of teaching to the next level thereby making the role of instructor even more significant.

An enthusiastic teacher with great subject matter expertise and teaching aptitude can make the online classes very exciting. The novelty of learning online from a teacher sitting thousands of miles away becomes an exciting prospect.

Thus, in terms of instructor quality, it is important to ensure that the instructor has sound knowledge of the subject matter, basic teaching aptitude, great communication skills and in case of offshore teachers, command over spoken English including neutralized accent and an appreciation of cross-cultural nuances.

While the subject matter expertise and teaching aptitude is to be tested before recruitment, proper training enables the instructor to effectively communicate to students across the globe.

From a process perspective, the implications are:

a) Online tutoring provider should have stringent recruitment criteria to ensure teachers with good subject knowledge and teaching skills
b) Systematic training be provided to build online teaching skills to an alien audience (eg students in an entirely different country)

Process control Online tutoring is a person-to-person service. To ensure quality of interaction between the teacher and the student, robust quality monitoring and quality control mechanisms are necessary, especially while a session is going on.

Real time monitoring contributes significantly towards ensuring quality. Having an academic counselor apart from the teacher and reverse feedback mechanisms from student to the teacher and academic counselor helps build accountability.

Interestingly, several online tutoring providers follow a distributed model of teaching where the teacher teaches from his/her own home. Several other companies provide a matching service between online tutors and students. While both these models reduce the overheads, they make real time quality control quite difficult. For example, a ringing doorbell or a bawling kid in the background may completely ruin the continuity of a learning session in the teacher-teaches-from-home model.

Having a centralized teaching facility and the tutors as full time employees goes a long way in building and maintaining quality tutoring. The formal office environment generates professionalism and a shared service culture so very important in ensuring great person-to-person service.

Content quality
Content comprises of the teaching material, books, notes and exercises.

Since the basic premise of online tutoring is total personalization, using standard teaching material greatly reduces the effectiveness of instruction. Experience shows that a single concept can be taught in several different ways and different students respond differently to each of these approaches. Thus, it is important to assess which approach to take for which student and present the study material according to the same. Standard text or notes become pretty ineffective at this stage.

Thus, it is important for online tutoring providers to have dedicated content development function. The idea is to customize the study material as per the requirement of the learner so that benefits of personalization made possible by offshore online tutoring can be passed onto the student.

Technology & infrastructure
Technology and infrastructure play an extremely important role of a facilitator - great infrastructure and technology does not automatically ensure great teaching but lack of it does ensure no teaching.

The voice conferencing software, whiteboard etc should be reliable and not lead to wasted time in trying to get the session run smoothly.

Contrary to popular belief, teaching online students across half the earth calls for more than just a PC with broadband. It is important that the tutoring provider invests enough in infrastructure and processes to ensure quality tutoring consistently

Conclusion
Offshore online tutoring making quality personalized help accessible to all is a great promise. Quality control of service delivery is extremely important to impart effective learning.

Proper recruitment & training processes for tutors, real time process monitoring & control, content customization and adequate technology & infrastructure are extremely important to providing exceptional online tutoring, consistently.

About the Author
Prashant Yadav is the founder of personalized online tutoring provider Etutelage

An avid educationist, he his primary interests include technology assisted learning and teaching methodologies. Along with his teaching experience, he brings valuable business and technology expertise having held various leadership roles across the US and India in companies like Coca Cola, Mentor Graphics and Atrenta.

He is an MBA from IIM Ahmedabad, the foremost business school in India and an Electrical Engineer from the prestigious IIT Kharagpur.

Online Education and Travel - 5 Things to Do Before You Go

Inhale the scent of cherry blossoms in Tokyo, enjoy gourmet French cuisine in Paris, take an automobile trip through the gorgeous countryside of New Zealand, or meander down the Rhein River on a cruise in Germany. Surprisingly, it is possible to enjoy these experiences and more while taking classes online.

One of the delightful perks of enrolling in online classes is that you can travel and study at the same time. However, it does take thoughtful planning to insure that things go smoothly on the road. Here are five suggestions:

1- Choose hotels or other lodging that include free or reasonably-priced Internet service. Read reviews from travel sites that describe the quality of the Internet connection at your chosen place of lodging, so you will not be disappointed when you arrive. If your lodging is fixed and does not include Internet service, look for Internet accessibility that may be conveniently located near your destination – whether it is in a coffee shop, an Internet café, a public library, a copy shop or a WiFi hotspot. Some of these places rent computer time as well if your computer becomes disabled while you are traveling.

2- Avoid purchasing travel packages that include daily guided sightseeing tours. Instead, opt for a la carte tours that give you flexible choices about how to spend your time, especially if you are in a different time zone. This allows you to take required tests and finish homework assignments while rested and without feeling hurried.

3- Purchase an extra laptop battery and a travel adapter, if needed. And be sure to pack any necessary input/output cords or surge protection devices. Some Internet connections on the road may also require an ethernet cord as well; so purchase one before you leave, rather than paying top dollar for one somewhere else.

4- Make a copy of any textbook or resource materials you will need to complete your assignments while you are away. Rather than packing heavy textbooks, just copy the chapters and other information needed. Keep this material with your laptop as a carry-on, just in case your luggage is lost. Double-check your syllabus and take a copy of that with you as well. If carrying the copies or packing them constitutes a problem, consider scanning these materials into your computer.

5- Research the time difference between where your assignments need to go and your travel destination. This will allow you to plan your homework in a way that will avoid penalties for late submissions. To further avoid any due date snafus, try to turn in assignments a day early.

Travel and online classes are made for each other as long as the proper preparation is undertaken beforehand. So follow these guidelines and bon voyage!

Vida Olivier is a contributing writer to Directory of Schools, the only resource you will ever need for online education information. The DirectoryofSchools.com one-stop website offers over 9,000 online degree programs; 1,400 online colleges and universities; a national Directory of U.S. High Schools; helpful education articles; and an exciting new Education Blog with up-to-date education news. It is the website you can trust for your education needs.

Get on the Fast Track to Success with a Great Career in Advertising and Public Relations

With the expansion of cable and satellite television and broadband internet, the advertising field has grown by leaps and bounds over the last ten years. Advertising account managers, public relations representatives, and professionals who sell print ads, digital space, or broadcast time remain in high demand. If you're interested in joining this exciting field or advancing your existing career in advertising, there is a wide range of online educational options at your fingertips.

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Projects Tremendous Growth

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), employment in the advertising/public relations industry is projected to grow by a whopping 22 percent this decade. Advertising graduates are employed throughout the country in a broad variety of careers.

Wide Range of Career Opportunities

The wide and diverse range of advertising employers include advertising agencies, public relations firms, entertainment companies, newspapers, magazines, internet hosting and production firms, and broadcast networks. Aside from landing jobs with the many private advertising and branding boutiques, college grads also find positions at financial corporations, manufacturing firms, and healthcare organizations with internal corporate advertising departments.

Flexible Online Training Programs Available

Accredited colleges and universities offer flexible, online training programs that lead to certifications or associate, bachelor, and master's degrees in advertising and marketing. Within the broad advertising degree programs, you can choose to generalize, or pursue specializations in copy writing, art direction, media planning, digital animation advertising and multimedia.

Many Programs Offer Internships to Help You Get Started

One of the many benefits of enrolling in an online advertising degree program is the internship requirement that places you with a successful advertising company. Here you gain on-the-job experience and develop your own portfolio.

Online Education Opportunities

If you’re ready to be on your way in the wide-open field of advertising, it’s time to explore the opportunities available to help you get the knowledge and skills required. Discover how you can start or advance your advertising and public relations career with a convenient online program from an accredited college or university.

Individuals ready to earn a degree or advance their education will fin many accredited online colleges and universities offering programs online in almost any area imaginable. The online programs are specifically designed for those ready to improve their opportunities or change careers completely - all through the convenience of online learning. Why not explore what’s waiting for you online?

Nancy Lambert is an executive for Accredited-Online-Colleges.com. From online certificates to Associates, Bachelors, Masters and PhD degrees, Accredited-Online-Colleges.com provides information on hundreds of degrees offered online through accredited colleges and universities and helps students and adults discover the advantages of earning their degree online. Earn your advertising and public relations degree online today