how to tell if an online course is legit

by Austen Thompson 6 min read

  1. Accreditation Accreditation is the first thing you should check. Is the online university accredited? Some go as far as faking their credentials. ...
  2. Is the Program Realistic? Some people have the gall to claim you’re getting a degree in a year. Others blabber nonsense such as promising employment right out of school. ...
  3. They Try too Hard to Sell their Courses This is a massive red flag. Yes, most universities try to sell their courses. That’s fair. ...
  4. They Have a Suspicious Name Often these fake online universities will borrow their name from more reputable sources. ...
  5. Non-existent Professors and Locations This is by far the funniest part about online university scams. They use fake teachers. ...
  6. Are there Credible Reviews about the Program?

Legitimate online programs should have a host of resources available to students, including technology support, academic advising and library services, experts say. If prospective students don't see evidence of those resources, or if they can't speak to other staff members, then they should be suspicious.Jul 3, 2019

Full Answer

How do I know if an online degree is legit?

Apr 29, 2020 · A good course will put you to work, and you must be motivated in order to fully finish. One downfall of online learning is that you physically work alone and have little accountability. If you are excited by the course, you will most likely …

How do I know if a distance learning school is legit?

Sep 12, 2017 · How can you tell an online course is too good to be true? GrowthLab CEO Ramit Sethi, who’s helped tens of thousands of students through his own courses, shar...

How can you tell if a college program is legitimate?

Nov 25, 2019 · Reputable online colleges will be accredited. If you enroll at a school that’s not accredited, your degree won’t be worth the paper it’s printed on. Accreditation shows that a school meets the educational standards set and enforced by a review board of university-level educators and administrators.

How do I know if my online school is accredited?

Oct 04, 2021 · Avoiding Online Course Scams. Fake check scams have existed for decades, and most people are savvy enough to spot them. If you’re selling an item for $10 and the buyer gives you a check for $100 and asks for $50 back, you’d probably guess it was a con and the check would bounce, leaving you out your item and the $50 you gave to the buyer.

Location of the facility

On the university’s website, there should always be a street address and zip code of the city. If only a post box is available, that definitely indicates a non-legitimate school.

Never pay big amounts beforehand

If they are requesting for you to pay tuition or a membership fee before even knowing if you are enrolled yet or not, never oblige. This type of behavior and requests can indicate a scam. Normally, institutions and universities charge tuition fees at the end of a semester or at the end of each year, whether that be online or in-person education.

Avoid schools with the same name as big universities

If you have a feeling that you might have already heard the name of your faculty in interest, do more research on the university. Chances are, you probably have heard or seen the same or similar name somewhere else. For example, if you see an Oxford related name, it makes you think it’s part of the actual university when in reality it’s a scam.

The road to a degree seems too easy

The first red flag you should notice is the promise of a fast and easy way to getting a degree. It should be a known fact that diplomas and degrees don’t come around so easily, at least not without hard work. Legitimate courses and schools require you to complete an application process.

No student services

Enrolled students should be able to have services such as online libraries, technological support, the ability to contact staff members for any needs or help. If the school does not offer any of the mentioned services, you should be very concerned about the school’s legitimacy. It’s a very big red flag that should not go unnoticed.

Read reviews online

It might not sound as much help, because reviews can be easily bought, you can still come across real and legitimate reviews. If you see repetitive comments, those are usually fake. Try looking for long and detailed reviews that cover everything from point A to Z.

Why are online degrees so popular?

And it's no wonder online degrees are so popular! They allow you to work at your own pace, set flexible schedules for study, and save money by eliminating all costs associated with staying on campus . Unfortunately, the popularity of online degrees has also led to a negative side effect.

What does it mean to be fully accredited?

This means that the school or programme has been reviewed by its peers in the education field and validated or verified.

Is online education a scam?

Some online degrees out there can actually be a scam. The so-called diploma mills are the most common type of internet education scam. By posing as a legitimate school, some websites are able to cheat you by providing essentially worthless online degrees at an apparent bargain.

Is online college legit?

If the institution requires a lot of money upfront before you even know you were admitted, it is surely not a legit online programme. Universities don’t require to pay the entire tuition fee, that is strictly optional; usually, tuition fees are paid in instalments, each year or each semester.

Is online degree more flexible than on campus?

If getting a degree seems too fast and easy, that should make you reconsider. Online degrees may be a little more flexible than the on-campus ones, but they still require the same amount of effort and coursework.

Is an accredited university valid?

Accredited online universities have available resources on their websites related to student support services, or libraries. If you don’t find this information available, most likely, the institution is not valid.

Is a university a scam?

Sure, there are universities that are exclusively online and might not have a campus address, but they should still have some business contact details.

How to Tell if an Online University is Legit or not

The scammers are getting progressively better at hiding their wrongdoings. They have websites that look legit, and some even fake things like accreditation. It’s not that hard to believe them. They sound legit on the surface. They are preying on your good faith.

What if You Are already Enrolled?

You can be the most attentive person in the world and still fall prey to the dishonest tactics of these people. That’s unfortunate, but it is what it is.

Are Fake Degrees Problematic?

Yes. Not only they tarnish education’s reputation, but you’re also worse off for having them. If an employer finds out your degree comes from one of these fake institutions, they’ll question your integrity. You can say goodbye to your job.

Conclusions

Falling for an online university scam is easier than it sounds like. I know plenty of people who thought they wouldn’t have fell for one in a million years. And then they did. Poor little souls.

How to check if a school is accredited?

Department of Education maintains a Database of Accredited Post-Secondary Institutions and Programs. Just type in the name of the school you’d like to check. Click on the school name to view accreditation.

What to do if you can't find a school?

Your takeaway: If you’re unable to find a school in the database, or if the accreditation does not appear to be current, find another school. If you’re already in the admissions process with a school that doesn’t have a current accreditation, be wary of promises that they expect to have it soon or that it's in-process.

What is the ECA?

Education Corporation of America, a company that ran a chain of for-profit “career focused” schools, recently lost its accreditation and closed its campuses. Some of the colleges under the ECA umbrella were Brightwood College, Brightwood Career Institute, Ecotech Institute, Golf Academy of America and Virginia College.

How is accreditation determined?

For online-only schools, the accreditation agency is generally determined by where the school’s headquarters are based. Schools with many locations may have accreditation from several different accrediting commissions in various geographic regions.

Who is Trish Sammer?

Trish Sammer is Nitro's managing editor. Her work has appeared in Woman’s Day, Redbook, Huffington Post, TechCrunch, and Forbes. She has also written for various corporate clients, including the tech giant SAP, The Franklin Institute, and PSE&G. When Trish isn’t busy acting as a writing ninja for other people, you can find her … well, writing about other stuff, like divorce and blended family life. She lives outside of Philadelphia with her husband, their combined brood, and the world’s laziest dog. Read more by Trish Sammer

Is Walden University accredited?

Here, we can see that Walden University was accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and will need to be re-accredited by 2022. Clicking on the accrediting institution’s name will show us a little more about the evaluating body.

Is SNHU a bad school?

SNHU is close to average at 58%. Not bad. However, remember that these rates are for full-time students only. Most online students only go part-time. Tip: The graduation rate is still a useful metric even if you're not full-time, in that it can give you an idea of how the institution operates in general.

How long does it take to teach yoga?

Make sure it’s a full 200-hour training if you are serious about teaching yoga. If you’re just dabbling in continuing education or not really sure if you’re ready to teach, then maybe a cheap training that’s only a dozen or two dozen hours is fine. But if you want an online yoga studio experience and an in-depth understanding of yoga, ...

What are the different styles of yoga?

In a comprehensive program, you’ll also examine each yoga asana and the different styles of yoga, like prenatal yoga, power vinyasa yoga, hatha yoga, or Iyengar yoga . You will also study ancient yogic texts, like the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali and the Hatha Yoga Pradipika. There’s A LOT to be covered in a yoga intensive course, ...

Can you post yoga classes online?

It’s never been easier to post and share classes online, so if the teacher or school behind the training doesn’t have any public yoga classes available for you to test out and try, that is another red flag.

Is yoga a scam?

There’s A LOT to be covered in a yoga intensive course, so if an online yoga school promises an RYT certification without fulfilling the full 200 hours of study, then it’s a scam.

Is Yoga Alliance online?

Right now, Yoga Alliance has temporarily sanctioned online teacher trainings in 2020 (for the first time in history) via a temporary COVID-19 provision. The temporary provision offers no guidelines or accountability for online training formats. The result is new, unmonitored yoga teacher trainings flooding the market each day stating they are “Yoga ...

What does a scammer say?

At the simplest level, a scammer could say you’ve won a prize or a place in a publication, but you have to pay to claim . These scams are very common, but generally easy to spot. More complex scams could say they need to verify your identity in order to present you with an award.

Why do people fall victim to scammers?

Some people fall victim because the scammers don’t ask for money at any point. What they’re interested in is your personal information. Make sure whenever you’re providing sensitive information to anyone online you’re certain of the organization you’re dealing with, and the reason why they need it.

Why do my checks bounce?

Their checks bounced, because the payments were made using stolen or fraudulently obtained credit cards. You might offer a 30-day cancelation period for your online course, but credit cards offer users 60 days from the date of the billing statement to dispute charges, or longer if a card is obtained fraudulently.

Who is Ryan Kulp?

Startup founder Ryan Kulp fell victim to one, and detailed how he discovered his course content had been stolen, and how he beat the scammer, on his blog. Content scrapers can be hard to spot because they’re usually single actors who act just like a real learner.

Can you guarantee sales on Amazon?

The truth is, the best ad campaign in the world can’t guarantee sales. No legitimate marketer can or will offer you a guaranteed number of sales . This is true of selling places on your online courses, ebooks on Amazon, and everything in between. The only way to guarantee sales of anything is to be the one making the purchases, and that means perpetuating some kind of fraud.

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Know What to Look For

  • Even if a school says they’re accredited by an official-sounding organization, this so-called accreditation could be meaningless. You want to make sure that the program is accredited by an organization that is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and/or the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). The latter provides a full list of accredited institutions on its we…
See more on greatvaluecolleges.net

Avoid Programs That seem Too Good to Be True

  • Legitimate online programs have admissions and completion requirements that should be fairly similar to comparable traditional programs. If you can enter the school without an application process, if you’re given course credit for “life experience,” or if the school claims you can get a degree by mail in an incredibly short time, the program is typically not legitimate. Also, avoid tho…
See more on greatvaluecolleges.net

Where Is It located?

  • A fake online school’s website will sometimes have only a post office box and no legitimate street address. Along the same lines, the school may have moved addresses, meaning that it started in one state and then moved to another state (or two or three). This movement doesn’t indicate an expansion of campuses, meaning the college has campuses in several states. Rather, it often m…
See more on greatvaluecolleges.net

What’s in A Name?

  • For best results, look for online programs that are managed by reputable brick and mortar institutions. Existing colleges and universities offer many online programs that are comparable in scope and prestige to their traditional programs. Find the schools that are tops in the field you’re interested in studying, then do some research to find out which have online programs. Also look …
See more on greatvaluecolleges.net

Look Up The School’S Accreditation

  • As mentioned above, this document is proof of the school’s legitimacy and validation. If you are unfamiliar with this document, it is essentially a type of verification from the state’s Ministry of Education and the document should be displayed on the faculty’s website, visible for anyone. However, there are two types of accreditations, one for specialized courses that only offer and t…
See more on istockanalyst.com

Location of The Facility

  • On the university’s website, there should always be a street address and zip code of the city. If only a post box is available, that definitely indicates a non-legitimate school. Also, if the facility has multiple addresses in different states and most of them are not active anymore, that usually means they have been forced to move locations because they were caught with fraud.
See more on istockanalyst.com

Never Pay Big Amounts Beforehand

  • If they are requesting for you to pay tuition or a membership fee before even knowing if you are enrolled yet or not, never oblige. This type of behavior and requests can indicate a scam. Normally, institutions and universities charge tuition fees at the end of a semester or at the end of each year, whether that be online or in-person education.
See more on istockanalyst.com

Avoid Schools with The Same Name as Big Universities

  • If you have a feeling that you might have already heard the name of your faculty in interest, do more research on the university. Chances are, you probably have heard or seen the same or similar name somewhere else. For example, if you see an Oxford related name, it makes you think it’s part of the actual university when in reality it’s a scam.
See more on istockanalyst.com

The Road to A Degree Seems Too Easy

  • The first red flag you should notice is the promise of a fast and easy way to getting a degree. It should be a known fact that diplomas and degrees don’t come around so easily, at least not without hard work. Legitimate courses and schools require you to complete an application process. Though this process varies from one school to another, it’s usually a must. If the facilit…
See more on istockanalyst.com

No Student Services

  • Enrolled students should be able to have services such as online libraries, technological support, the ability to contact staff members for any needs or help. If the school does not offer any of the mentioned services, you should be very concerned about the school’s legitimacy. It’s a very big red flag that should not go unnoticed.
See more on istockanalyst.com

Read Reviews Online

  • It might not sound as much help, because reviews can be easily bought, you can still come across real and legitimate reviews. If you see repetitive comments, those are usually fake. Try looking for long and detailed reviews that cover everything from point A to Z. If the student experiences from the institution are positive, they will most likely mention it in the reviews and also mention the dif…
See more on istockanalyst.com

How to Tell If An Online University Is Legit Or Not

  • The scammers are getting progressively better at hiding their wrongdoings.They have websites that look legit, and some even fake things like accreditation. It’s not that hard to believe them. They sound legit on the surface. They are preying on your good faith. The Federal Trade Commission has an entire articleabout college degree scams. That’s how bad it’s gotten. But the…
See more on ownyourownfuture.com

What If You Are Already enrolled?

  • You can be the most attentive person in the world and still fall prey to the dishonest tactics of these people. That’s unfortunate, but it is what it is. What should you do if you enrolled in one of these schools? First, if you are an excellent negotiator you may attempt to get at least part of your money back. You never know. Some people will give you something back if you say you can’t att…
See more on ownyourownfuture.com

Are Fake Degrees Problematic?

  • Yes. Not only they tarnish education’s reputation, but you’re also worse off for having them. If an employer finds out your degree comes from one of these fake institutions, they’ll question your integrity. You can say goodbye to your job. In fact, it’s illegal to lie about academic credentials. Your employer could sue you. Don’t run that risk. It’s already hard enough to get a job and live a …
See more on ownyourownfuture.com

Conclusions

  • Falling for an online university scam is easier than it sounds like. I know plenty of people who thought they wouldn’t have fell for one in a million years. And then they did. Poor little souls. Getting scammed results from ignorance and negligence. You have no excuse for either. The internet gives you all the information you need. If you have been scammed, immediately end you…
See more on ownyourownfuture.com