Choosing a College

When checking on a college to undertake your studies you should check that they are genuine and fully accredited. It is important to check that they are not offering bogus qualifications. Some tips to help check these colleges out are shown below.

These are some of the warning signs which may indicate a diploma mill:

• It lacks accreditation by a nationally recognized accrediting agency, especially if it is accredited by an accreditation mill.
• Words denoting a legal status such as "licensed", "state authorized" or "state-approved" are misused to suggest an equivalence to accreditation.
• The address is a postal box or mail forwarding service.
• Promotional literature contains grammatical and spelling errors, words in Latin, extravagant or pretentious language, and sample diplomas.
• Degrees can be obtained within a few weeks or months from the time of enrollment, back-dating is possible.
• Faculty members hold advanced degrees from the institution itself or similar organizations.
• Academic credit is offered for life experience, and this features heavily in the selling points of the institution.
• Tuition and fees are paid on a degree basis rather than on a per-semester, per-quarter or per-course basis.
• Prospective students are encouraged to "enroll now" before tuition or fees are increased, or they qualify for a "fellowship", "scholarship" or "grant".
• It has no library.
• Doctoral theses and dissertations are not lodged with the Library of Congress or other national repository.
• The college’s website looks amateurish or unprofessionally made.

You may find further information from the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA).