So you have decided to pursue an online degree, and narrowed your preferences to a few online training courses! At this point, you will have a few concerns like, ‘how is this going to reflect on your resume?’ or ‘will this be acknowledged by employers in the market’ or ‘is this online degree recognized internationally?’

There are quite a few pros and cons to securing an online degree, and you need to be careful that your course is offered by a legitimate distance learning college. Why? In 2003 a report by USA Today revealed four hundred businesses that catered to online training and profited by selling fake degrees. While there were a few legitimate distance learning schools that offered degrees but provided poor quality of education that did not surpass the conventional learning environment.

To this effect, employers were skeptical about the knowledge acquired in an e-learning environment. Some were concerned about the content of the courses, curriculum and even with the outcome of the learning in an online environment.

To assist students that wish to pursue an online degree and ensure that the online training is valid, the National Education Board of the U.S. government has approved six accreditation agencies. These six agencies evaluate and accredit institutions that impart distance education and online degrees. This ensures institutes provide online corporate training courses and degrees meet a certain quality standard and distinguish them from fake educational schools.

Today, all institutions covet to be top providers of distance education and provide access to virtual classrooms, modern online testing methods, online libraries and much more. They have courses accredited by the accreditation agencies and other renowned international agencies that evaluate online training.

There are other specialized accreditation agencies that only accredit particular online course programs. These agencies ensure that the online training meet a superior level of training excellence with major focus on course curriculum.

To most employers, accreditation from recognized agencies is a seal of trust and guarantees that the quality of education meets basic requirements. To parents and graduates, a degree from an accredited institution is an assurance that the online training qualification acquired is justified.

An important point to remember before you sign up for an online degree is to verify if the institution providing the certification is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. In addition to this, you can also check with Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). CHEA is an NGO which recognizes agencies that accredit online training programs in the US, organize policy and research on issues concerned with accreditation.

When you list your online certification on your resume, you need to make certain that the learning outcomes, relevance and course accreditation are included. Eventually, it is the decision of the employer to evaluate the validity of the online program. They might be cautious with the rise in fake online course certification but would definitely be at ease to see an accreditation by an agency recognized by the US Department of Education. Doing this is a great way of avoiding prospective employers from trashing your application and clearing any doubt regarding your online training degree.

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