Monday, January 2, 2012

Important Facts About Online Masters in Educations

It appears that online learning, also known as distance education, is here to stay. Some people are now using this avenue to pursue a Masters in Education, because they can attend class without leaving their home. If you are unable to attend actual classes, you can now earn your masters diploma online.

A big draw card for doing your master in education online is that you can structure the classes to suit your schedule. This means that anyone can make use of these programs, from full-time moms and professionals to those trying to change careers. Another advantage of doing your online masters is that it will be cheaper than traditional options, plus you get direct, personal attention.

It isn't all sunshine and roses though, and a lot of people feel that doing a postgraduate qualification online has its disadvantages. For example, some people cannot get motivated to work consistently when they don’t have to attend actual classes. These problems pale in comparison to the fact that you could get scammed.

You should only consider courses that have the right accreditation. All good courses go through this test process which evaluates the standard of education that you can expect to receive. The main purpose of accreditation is to make sure that the program has met an acceptable standard of quality, and is recognized and accepted from an accreditation-giving body.

The problem starts when the student ends up taking up a master's program from a non-accredited school. This degree is of no use to you - employers don’t recognize it and you cannot get credit for it elsewhere. If you are studying and working, your employer is not obligated to give you tuition fee assistance if the course is not accredited.

In some cases, the government itself can approve a course. In the US, accreditation is not done by the Department of Education but instead conducted through different education boards in a peer-reviewed process. The Council of Higher Education Accreditation and US Department of Education do have the final say though.

Be sure to check if your selected program has national, regional or specialized accreditation. You will find that in general, graduate education programs only have regional accreditation. Reputable online schools who offer a master's in education program will display their accreditation proudly.

Look out for diploma mills - these are schemes that pose as schools where you will receive a diploma in exchange for cash. A tell tale sign of such a scheme is the fact that they give little or no schoolwork. Also look out for scams that offer you course credit for work experience - this is indicative of dodgy practices.

Again, any school that has poor admission standards or offers regular courses in a shorter time. You should think twice in any situation where your course can be completed in a single semester without prior qualifications. Some scam artists even go so far as to set up false accreditation agencies to garner confidence.

Even though doing your master in education online can be incredibly helpful, you always need to exercise caution. To avoid being scammed, pay attention to the website URL because some bogus schools use sophisticated websites or imitate the website layout of some popular schools to lure their potential victims. Take note, all legit academic institutes use the ‘.edu’ suffix on their URL.


When in need of reliable info about masters in education programs, do not hesitate in hitting the links.