The term online degrees refers to college degrees sometimes including high school diplomas and non degree certificate program, that can be earned primarily or entirely through the use of an internet connected computer, rather than attending college in a traditional campus setting. Improvements in technology and the increasing use of internet worldwide have led to a proliferation of online colleges that award associates, bachelors, master’s and doctoral degrees. The internet evolution has drastically changed the education landscape. Online degrees are available from a wide variety of internet sources to include accredited universities to fake diploma mills that churn out diplomas without any requirements other than payment. Receiving an online degree provides numerous advantages to education seekers, who are restricted by time, resources or transportation but can still advance their career through education.
The goal of educational 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 degree should obtain proof of accreditation from a regional or national accrediting body in the United States. Online colleges that are fully accredited have earned a widely recognized form of accreditation from one of six regional accreditation boards.
Each of six geographic regions of United States has a nongovernmental, regional agency that oversees and accredits degree-granting institutions headquartered in their areas. There are six regional accreditation boards. The names of these are as follows:
1. Middle stated association of colleges and schools
2. Northwest commission on colleges and universities
3. North central association of colleges and schools
4. New England association of schools and colleges
5. Southern association of colleges and schools
6. Western association of school and colleges
There are many advantages of obtaining an online bachelors degree through accredited online colleges and universities. Some of them are as follows:
1. You can earn an advanced degree that can lead to an increase in salary.
2. You save on childcare costs since you do not have to leave home.
3. Online colleges require little or no commuting, saving time and money.
4. You can complete your course work when it is convenient for you.
5. Online colleges offer easy access to your teachers, other students, and the library since they are only a click away.
In the middle of today’s “diploma mills” that offer you phony degrees in just two weeks, making sure that online degrees are accredited has become more important than ever. Accreditation is a process of school approval. In order to gain accreditation, online colleges and universities are reviewed thoroughly over the course of several years by an outside agency that holds the colleges and universities to a set of standards and then determines whether the colleges meet those standards. Because accreditation is such a difficult and costly process to go through, it is a good way to differentiate between legitimate colleges and universities versus fly by night colleges or diploma mills.