The answer is yes and no, to both questions. Some schools are legit with no catches whatsoever, while others are illicit and have warning signs written all over them that can be easy to miss if you do not know where to look. We want to help our readers to prevent them from falling into these traps by highlighting some glaring red signs to save your time and, more importantly, money.
Diploma mills, or degree mills, are online schools that award fake and unverified degrees to students. They trick people into enrolling in educational programs that are entirely phony and swindle people into paying a large sum of money for something that has no value. At the end of the “education,” students will receive a paper, nothing more. No accredited document or certificate of any kind to help you land a job, just a meaningless sheet of paper. We will list some of the ways to spot these alluring “online schools” and steer away from them.
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1. No or Dubious Accreditation:- This point is the first for a reason – it is the most important! A university that has been accredited is one that is recognized by the national department of education, known as the Education Department (ED) in the US. Universities across the country must be accredited to grant verified degrees but there are some unaccredited ones. The same can be said for online degrees. Online degrees must also be accredited and if you come across one that is not, that is a telltale sign that it is bogus. If you read the entire website of the school and do not find any indication or mention of any accreditation, then you surely know that the school is fake.
Even if the school or degree is accredited, these can still be just imitations. These “accreditations” may seem legit on the surface but they are just made up. Please do your research on the accreditations any university claims to have. A good example is “The Accrediting Council for Distance Education”; sounds normal, right? However, according to the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA, the nation’s accrediting body governed by the Department of Education), that accreditation does not exist. Many unsuspecting applicants are duped by these accreditations when all it takes is just a little bit of research to verify the validity of them.
2. Lack of Campus and Duration is Too Short:- A typical Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree lasts 4 years. It is very comprehensive, with loads of theoretical sessions and a ton of practical lab work to put your skills to the test. Every online school should have an actual campus where lab sessions can be held for students to conduct tests. Otherwise, all you will have is theoretical knowledge but no idea how to apply it. A nurse works with patients, real people who are suffering, and there is no way to treat them as lab rats and test your classroom knowledge on them. If you notice that an online school or program lacks a physical address, then this clearly indicates that they have no office and cannot be trusted. A digital footprint is not enough; a physical footprint is paramount!
In addition, nursing education is very exhausting and requires years of studying to master the craft of treating patients and understanding ailments of all varieties. Many online degrees can be obtained in under a year. Do not trust them! Far too many fall prey to these tactics. When it comes to nursing, there are no immediate results. It takes a lot of time and a ton of effort. Those claiming otherwise are lying straight to your face, and many online schools do so.
1. No or Dubious Accreditation:- This point is the first for a reason – it is the most important! A university that has been accredited is one that is recognized by the national department of education, known as the Education Department (ED) in the US. Universities across the country must be accredited to grant verified degrees but there are some unaccredited ones. The same can be said for online degrees. Online degrees must also be accredited and if you come across one that is not, that is a telltale sign that it is bogus. If you read the entire website of the school and do not find any indication or mention of any accreditation, then you surely know that the school is fake.
Even if the school or degree is accredited, these can still be just imitations. These “accreditations” may seem legit on the surface but they are just made up. Please do your research on the accreditations any university claims to have. A good example is “The Accrediting Council for Distance Education”; sounds normal, right? However, according to the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA, the nation’s accrediting body governed by the Department of Education), that accreditation does not exist. Many unsuspecting applicants are duped by these accreditations when all it takes is just a little bit of research to verify the validity of them.
2. Lack of Campus and Duration is Too Short:- A typical Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree lasts 4 years. It is very comprehensive, with loads of theoretical sessions and a ton of practical lab work to put your skills to the test. Every online school should have an actual campus where lab sessions can be held for students to conduct tests. Otherwise, all you will have is theoretical knowledge but no idea how to apply it. A nurse works with patients, real people who are suffering, and there is no way to treat them as lab rats and test your classroom knowledge on them. If you notice that an online school or program lacks a physical address, then this clearly indicates that they have no office and cannot be trusted. A digital footprint is not enough; a physical footprint is paramount!
In addition, nursing education is very exhausting and requires years of studying to master the craft of treating patients and understanding ailments of all varieties. Many online degrees can be obtained in under a year. Do not trust them! Far too many fall prey to these tactics. When it comes to nursing, there are no immediate results. It takes a lot of time and a ton of effort. Those claiming otherwise are lying straight to your face, and many online schools do so.
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3. Poor Reputation:- Over the past several years, there has been a growth of forums and communities where people discuss their experiences of these degrees. We urge all hopeful students to check reviews of these online courses and testimonials from former students. It may not be 100% perfect, but a vast majority of the reviews and testimonials should be positive and encouraging. If there are a number of negative reviews and complaints about the quality of the education and the service offered, then the schools are definitely deceiving students. They put up this front of being cooperative but after you enroll, you almost never hear from them and the education is extremely lacking. They only want you to pay tuition fees every semester.
We have tried to highlight important telltale signs that indicate when an online degree is not worth your time and money. Some other signs of a sham include being admitted only because you possess a credit card, sending only a resume to get in, and a poor website design and domain name, just to name a few. We urge everybody to inquire thoroughly about the school and degree in order to make a conscientious decision. Research, research, research!
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