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How to Identify Distance Learning Scams

By Carl Street, Pupbrothers.com

When it comes to distance education and training, it can be tough to recognize a scam or a fake program. For as much good as the web has given us, it has unfortunately also become a breeding ground for scams and shady activity. We've all heard about how simply people are fooled by emails claiming there's a dilemma with their bank accounts or their credit cards and how fast some have become victims.

That same exact thing can occur with online education courses and lots of people who 'should have known better' have been tricked. Many distance education courses seem so promising and so legitimate and it's hard to tell the good from the bad. Here's some information you can use to help decide whether online learning resources are a trick or fake.

Keep in mind that you're reading a sales pitch

Whether you become aware of a distance education program online, from a TV commercial or after reading a newspaper ad, the information you read about first is intended to get you to take another step. In other terms, it's a sales letter and you shouldn't immediately trust everything you read. Fraudulent companies have enormous advertising budgets so don't be too impressed by elaborate websites and flyers. What's important is that you verify all the information that's presented.

If distance education colleges say they're accredited with a certain institution, verify that statement. Make certain the accreditation is up-to-date and the school is in good standing. And make sure the accrediting group is legitimate. This perhaps is the most important thing you can do before going any further. A course may claim to be the best online education program ever, but if it isn't accredited, that distance learning graduate degree you acquire probably will be useless when you're looking for a job position or a promotion.

Also be especially wary of distance learning centers that make too-good-to-be-true claims. Frequent ones made are 'accelerated' online learning courses. Also be wary of costs that are extraordinarily less than those of similar distance education programs.

Look for a physical address/telephone number

Even an online education university should have a physical address (a PO Box is NOT a physical address) and also a telephone number you can call that will put you in contact with a representative from that school. Use the many assets open to you to research the address to make certain it's legitimate. Call the number that's provided to be positive the number hasn't been disconnected and that it is really for that school. Beware if you get an answering machine!

Research the distance learning school

Verify the length of time the institution has been in this sort of industry. Ask about teacher credentials and testing criteria. Verify with the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and the consumer affairs agencies in the state where the school is located to see whether any complaints have been filed against the school. There's even a division of the BBB intended especially for online companies. Consider that any distance education business can obtain a top level domain such as .edu, even those that are in no way affiliated with educational institutions.