The Checklist For Selecting an Online University

Written by admin on November 21st, 2010

The internet has revolutionized the way we live and how we learn. You have an alternative option to obtain your degree online. Thanks to the enhanced internet technology that makes our learning more comfortable and convenient. There are many online universities offering your desired degree program. You can easily get the degree program information online or request those universities to send the details to you by email or mail. At the same time, when you are searching for an online university, you need to beware of the diploma mills who offer fake degrees just to cheat your money.

Here is a simple checklist, which you can use to select an online university that offers legitimate online degree programs.

Checklist #1: Is the online university accredited by legitimate accrediting agency?

Accreditation information is important indicator on the legitimate of an online university. Look for the organization that performs the accrediting process of your selected online university. The rule of thumb, always select an online university that is accredited by one of the six regional accrediting associates (Middle States, New England, North Central, Northwest, Southern, Western).

Checklist #2: Is the online learning system easy to navigate and user-friendly?

Ask for the university whether you can try its online learning system, either with a guest account or in demo mode to see how good the system is in term of navigation from one page to another and how user-friendly the system is when you want to download the learning materials or upload the completed assignments.

Checklist #3: What others have said about it?

Check from online forums that discuss online education. You may find some discussion about the online university you are interested in pursuing the degree. What others have said about the university can be used as your reference in deciding whether to sign up its degree program. If you know the students or alumni from the university, try to contact them to see whether they are satisfied with university.

Checklist #4: Are their online instructors certified for online teaching?

Some online universities may just recruit classroom-based teachers to be their online instructors. These instructors are not certified for online teaching may have a problem to teach in online setting. Therefore, try to ask the online university to send you the extra information about their instructors’ qualification besides the course details. Make sure they are certified to facilitate online classroom.

Checklist #5: What are the admission requirements?

You will waste your times and efforts in applying a degree program from an online university you are not qualified for. Before you start an application process, you should read through the admission requirements to ensure you are qualified to apply the degree program offered by the university.

Checklist #6: Does the online university offers financial aids to its student?

Most universities do offer some sort of financial aids to their students either in term of student loans, grants or scholarships. Unless you don’t need it, else try to access the financial aids information from their website, or call the admission officer of these universities to find out the details and to ensure you are qualified to apply them.

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