Are Online Degrees Valid to Prospective Employers?

Online distance education has been rapid popularity with the advent of the Internet, which has been shown to provide good support for facilities and convenience for online education. But like everything else with pros and cons, the internet has also opened doors for the widespread sale of fake online degrees. According to a report by USA Today, there were already 400 diploma service in 2003 and the number is increasing. In fact, many of these unscrupulous activities conducted by organizations in an industry worth 500 million U.S. dollars per year. But in the midst of the negative hype about online education, there are actually many distance learning colleges offering valid degrees and diplomas. These institutions do not sell fake certificates, but in fact aims at providing quality education as alternatives to on-campus higher education. Valid online courses with online video lectures as well as online library facilities and test conducted surveys often used to ensure that students actually meet the requirements of their studies and graduate legitimate. Sadly, however, many employers only see the negative side of things, and easy to brush off online degrees as equivalent to false degrees. Given the confusion, is the national school authorities by the U.S. government authorized 6 accreditation body that accreditation to colleges, as a measure to differentiate legitimate universities from the crooks. This means that students choosing their universities will be assured that these universities would have met the minimum requirements set by these bodies for learning institutions. In addition, there is also The Distance Education and Training Council (DETC) which provides accreditation specifically for distance learning institutions. The DETC is an accreditation body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (Chea). Moreover, there are also specialized accreditation for specific programs for different areas of specialization. These programs are found to have acquired skills will be granted accreditation by various professional accreditation bodies, depending on which area of specialization. For example, the International Association for Management Education (AACSB) accreditation to accounting related programs while health programs are approved by the American Health Information Management Association. It is also important to know that only accreditation agencies recognized by the Department of Education or Chea regarded accreditation body recognized. What does accreditation to a student? An institutional accreditation agency evaluates the various aspects of universities or colleges against minimum criteria for determining whether the individual institution meets their list of basic requirements and the quality of education. College accreditation is necessary to ensure that the training, tools and support from a college or university following the basic level. On the other hand, specialized accreditation evaluates excellence in individual program regardless of which institution the program will be delivered within. In this type of accreditation, course content and program curricula are assessed against predetermined standards for the department. All accreditation does is to assure employers, students and parents that the graduates awarded degrees from accredited colleges have undergone quality and adequate training in their respective field of specialization. This also means that colleges that are not certified by the proper accreditation body would not have met the standards established by the agencies. But would courses taken by prospective employees who are accredited by the respective agencies have met requirements for the respective areas of expertise. It is entirely up to them and the decisions of employers to assess the validity of an online or on campus degrees. With the recent hike in bogus degrees, employers can not resist more stringent in their applicant screenings and consider those with degrees who have been accredited. This can be tedious and sometimes employers may be confused. So if your accreditation is provided by an agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education, then you must explain to your potential employer about the background to the accreditation body. In this way you can prevent employers from sidelining your application based on something they may be unclear about and increase your chances of being short listed for an interview.