Earning a degree without leaving your home is becoming widely accepted, as online universities are gaining students.  They are capitalizing on the popularity of distance learning opportunities and are using the Internet to recruit students into their programs.  Most of them are legitimate, but some are not, and are simply “diploma mills.”  Here is help to know the difference.

1.  How are students lured into enrolling into these fraudulent diploma mills?

Telemarketers follow-up on email requests & website visits . . . they advertise in magazines, Internet newsgroups & on impressive looking websites . . . prey on people’s lack of knowledge and confusion about accreditation . . .often advertise as being “fully-accredited,” “nationally accredited,” or “accredited world-wide” . . . if accredited -- unrecognized or bogus agencies.

2.  How can you tell the difference in legitimate online universities and diploma mills?

Red flags -- degrees that can be earned in less time than at a traditional college . . . list of accrediting agencies that sounds "too” impressive . . .  place heavy emphasis on college credit for life-time or real world experience . . . tuitions paid on a per-degree basis . . . little or no interaction with professors . . . names that are similar to well known reputable universities.

3.  Where can individuals verify if a school is operating legally?

Contact the Better Business Bureau at (409) 835-5348 or (800) 685-7650 24 hours a day for a reliability report, or check them out online at www.bbb.org.