How to check if the online university is not a scam?

Answer 1

Check the legitimacy of any online or distance learning school by making sure the school...

1. Maintains a real office address and not just a P.O. Box mailing address. Visit their head office and observe their facilities, personnel, environment, etc. Ask an employee, a student, or a local around. Evaluate the merits of the school based on your personal opinion and the interviews you gathered.

2. Is accredited by an agency recognized by the Education Department of the government of the country or state where it is operating, i.e. California Bureau for Private and Postsecondary Schools, Distance Education & Training Council, U.S. Department of Education, Royal Charter of the United Kingdom, Australian Ministry of Education, etc.

3. Is recognized or at least acknowledged by employers, graduate schools, and the people in its locale. Has the school produced graduates who have been hired by companies, admitted in graduate schools, or are serving in a public capacity? Does it have an alumni organization or an alumni placement office? Has it produced any well known alumni?

4. Is supported by faculty and staff with legitimate educational and work credentials. Are the teaching and administrative staff holders of legitimate graduate degrees? Have they taught or administered other schools and universities in the past?

5. Is paying taxes judiciously. Ask the Internal Revenue Service or the City Treasurer for information on this.

For additional help, google "fake universities" or "diploma mills" on the internet. You'd find useful websites on distance learning and the ways by which we can determine real vs. fake.

Answer 2

Check the accreditdation. A diploma is useless from an unaccredited school. Also, send an email to a normal university, or call a local one. Ask them if they accept graduates from the online school in their graduate programs (MA/PhD). If they don't accept them, the school is a scam (most are).