Online Colleges are practically filling the internet right now. Why? It’s because the demand for distance degrees has been historically high, but add to this the economic downturn, and the fact that people now desire to add extra lines to their CV as unemployment rises and they feel like upgrading their qualifications could give them a small advantage in the employment game, and you can quickly begin to understand why online degrees have become the next big thing on the internet.

Why a Distance Degree?

People elect to take distance degrees for several reasons, the largest not being anything to do with geographical limitations (as one would immediately imagine) but actually to do with constraints on their time. People working on salaries jobs rarely get the authorization for unpaid leave from their employer in order to go off and get a full time bachelors degree. This means that they are forced to do any university work in their evenings, which are busy enough as it is.

This results in a situation where standard degrees are completely out of the picture for working adults.

Distance learning courses have been available through the giant national distance learning colleges such as the Open University in the UK, for quite some time. Indeed, these courses pre-dated the internet. The information revolution has changed the educational landscape however, and now these institutions and students alike are beginning to unlock the potential of the internet in delivering swift, stylish and informative courses including degrees.

The Dark Side of Online Degrees

Unfortunately, the first companies to move into this market niche were actually the unscrupulous fraudsters who began setting up what have become known as ‘Diploma Mills’. Diploma mills are like fake degrees but with a difference. A quick search on Google for ‘fake degrees’ will bring up many websites that openly, transparently and immorally sell fake degrees to people who desire to add a phoney qualification on their CV in a bid to land a job whatever the cost.

Diploma Mills on the other hand, actually pass off their degrees as fully accredited courses to their customers/students, who unwittingly pay out huge sums of money (up to $5,000) to partake in a course that will ultimately require little or no effort, and will provide the student with a certificate that is actually worth no more than the paper it is written on. These Diploma Mills are harming the online leadership degree and online college industry in the way that they undermine the trust that consumers place in the statements made by institutions.

How to Ensure Your Online Degree Is Accredited?

Visit a governmental website that lists either National or Regional accreditation agencies that will be able to verify the credibility of any website you may encounter. In the UK, one body exists for every UK degree available, however in the USA the regional bodies split up the country by geographical location and categorize the online courses in that respect.

With a fully accredited online degree on your belt – you will be giving your career a push-start and giving yourself a competitive advantage over your competition. This is a great decision to make, but ensure you verify the accreditation of an online leadership course provider through a government-recommended agency first!

Author Bio: Simon Oates advises thousands of visitors on leadership degrees and online leadership courses as well as online leadership degrees on his blog www.leadership-expert.co.uk.

Category: Education
Keywords: Leadership, Education, Internet, Online Colleges, Online Degrees, Qualifications, Courses, Promotion