Online degree and certificate programs have come a long way since Colby Nolan, an actual cat, earned an executive MBA. They have grown substantially in numbers and enrollment. There are also many grants, scholarships and loans these days to help pay for them.
This money is available largely because of accreditation, a 2001 report from the American Council on Education Center for Policy Analysis and EDUCAUSE suggests. The federal government, which is considered the largest source of financial aid in the country, looks upon accreditation as a sign that colleges, universities and technical schools offer students a quality education that merits financial aid, according to the Council on Education-EDUCAUSE report. A U.S. Department of Education pilot program years ago apparently helped the government to realize the potential of online college, university and technical school programs.
Online colleges, universities, and technical schools can be accredited by national or regional agencies, but that doesn’t mean that the Department of Education recognizes these agencies. When accrediting online colleges, universities and technical schools, agencies with the nationally recognized Council of Regional Accrediting Commissions consider areas such as interactivity, student services and having trained faculty – areas that have studies have shown to be associated with quality and successful online studies. The U.S. Department of Education has also updated its guidelines, in part to ensure also that schools verify a student’s identity and make sure the student who enrolls is the same one who receives academic credit.
“Diploma” or “degree mills” that allow people to buy phony credentials have posed a problem and some, such as Wisconsin State Senator Fred Risser, say the problem is increasing. He drew up a law that would put more tools in place to prosecute operations and prevent the use of fraudulent academic credentials in Wisconsin, according to a news statement from his office. Many other states have taken similar action, the news release noted.
On the national level, Congressman Timothy H. Bishop of New York has proposed cracking down on diploma mills, a January report in The Chronicle of Higher Education noted. As early as 2005, the Federal Trade Commission released a guide that, among other things, recommended employers check credentials as a means of avoiding hiring job candidates with bogus degrees. The Department of Education offers a list of accredited schools and recognized agencies on its web site, making it easier for students and employers to refer to these institutions.
Only a few years ago, students might have been hard pressed to find financial aid for online college pursuits. Federal law until 2006 disallowed grants and loans to students in instances where they participated colleges and universities that had more than half of all students and programs online, a Chronicle of Higher Education article noted. The restrictions, part of what was known as a “50 Percent Rule”, were intended to curtail the growth of fraudulent diploma mills and correspondence schools, according to a 2005 Inside Higher Education report. The problem of offerings like these made news in 2004 when Colby Nolan reportedly earned an executive MBA online for less than $400.
The problem was apparently so acute that, for the bargain price of less than $400, Colby Nolan reportedly earned an executive MBA online. Colby, a pet cat, was accepted into the online degree program after investigators filed an application claiming he had attended community college and held babysitting and fast food jobs, according to reports. The online degree that the feline earned — with a 3.5 grade point average, mind you — was reportedly worthless. An attorney general’s office is said to have filed a fraud lawsuit against the company that awarded it.
At the same time, a five-year demonstration program launched in the late 1990s eased grant online restrictions for participating online institutions, improved access to higher education and caused online enrollment increases, according to an Education Department report mentioned in Inside Higher Education. Five of the largest institutions reported that nearly 80 percent of their 5,000-plus students in the 2003-2004 academic year qualified for college grants, the report noted. The Department of Education recommended that your online master be allowed to participate and that the 50 percent rule be eliminated, according to the article. Government representatives reportedly agreed.