According to a study by www.vault.com 4 out of 5 hiring managers would prefer to trust an online degree earned by an applicant from an established educational college or university rather than from an internet-only university. This sentiment apparently reflects the guarded attitudes of H.R. professionals towards online degrees whose reputation may have been tarnished by the proliferation of so-called online diploma or degree mills whose only interest is the cash asked in return for an online degree.

Although there will always be people who knowingly search for the diploma mills which offer the fast-and-easy way out, of primary concern are those students intending to obtain their degree through legitimate hard work, but unknowingly end up enrolling in a legitimate-looking diploma mill as unwitting victims. Those who search online and are easily impressed by claims, which are usually written to mislead. Or those institutions who misrepresent themselves by creating a seemingly legitimate accrediting body, and then accrediting themselves.

In a meeting on that matter, the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) summarizes the situation with a definition of an online diploma mill as: 1) entities not having classroom instruction; 2) offering credits for “life experience”; and, 3) charge a flat fee for a degree. However, there seems to be no widely recognized definition that comprehensively addresses all the situations and characteristics of what a diploma mill is. And as time is taken in defining the problem, time may also be taken away which should already be used in creating solutions to address the problem.

Among the chief concerns is that the proliferation of online diploma mills unduly reduce the acceptability and credibility of online degrees offered by legitimate institutions. This in fact undermines the success, including the groundwork undertaken by those institutions in providing quality distance education. Another is that resources that should be allocated towards standardizing online educational institutions may have to be rechanneled towards activities geared to weed out those illegitimate institutions.

As a potential student, you have to really know your motivation when you pursue an online degree. If the intent is to be able to use it to further your academic credentials, or to increase your qualifications for future employment, then it is in your best interest to really search for the proper online institution that can issue the appropriate academic credit that will be honored when and where you decide to present it. And the safest bet is to get your degree from a legitimate institution.

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