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Important things to look into before choosing a Distance Degree Program

First you need to: After you look at the programs and see ones you like, write down as much information on the college/university such as name, address ie city and state, phone number, program name and such then called the accrediting agency of THAT particular state/region to make sure the college is accredited (make sure you find out if it is regional or national depending on where you wish to use your degree upon graduation). Once you know that it is accredited in that state, it is a good idea to ask if it is regionally accredited and how to get in touch with the regional or national accreditation agencies.

There are legitimate programs out there that are not accredited. However, I always feel more comfortable when I am looking at a program if it has regional accreditation or is accredited by a recognized government agency. Remember to look to see if the accrediting agency they are using is recognized by the US Department of Education as linked to here and from both from my Disclaimer and my Links of Interest pages for your convenience. Further, there are counseling programs that often need to be accredited by either the American Psychology Association (APA) or the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP), so please keep those locations in mind for counseling and psychology related programs.

Another thing one might do regardless of whether you think the institution is legitimate is to go to the Better Business Bureau website, and see if such an organization is listed as having had bad dealings or otherwise contact the BBB to see if they have heard anything bad about said schooling institution.

Then you need to: Once you know the program is accredited and are satisfied that it is a legitimate school, you can look more into the program without wasting your time and energy on a fruitless search. There are several things you need to ask the college/university about concerning their distance degree programs, and you need to know ALL of these before enrolling:

#1: What kind of requirements does the program have for on-campus time?

i.e. Does it require a one-time weekend orientation, an orientation weekend then a weekend visit per semester, etceteras.

#2: Does the distance degree program provide course work that is eligible for federal financial aid? Is the school Title IV qualified with the federal government for financial aid and loans? This is another thing that I look for in my colleges to make me feel more comfortable with it. It is not a fail-safe safeguard against a college/university or proprietal school shutting down, but at least it had to meet the guidelines necessary to be eligible for federal student aid for their students.

i.e. To further explain this, some distance degree programs do ALL correspondence courses and the federal government will not provide financial aid for such courses UNLESS they are mixed with 6 semester credits of semester based courses to reach 3/4 time or full-time status.

**Make sure you know what financial aid or payment programs they have before you enroll!! You may want to consult your employer to see if they will reimburse you for some education expenses if it is education you are pursuing for your current employment.**

#3: How much does it cost per 3 credit course?

#4: Do the books and supplies come through the college/university or another company?

#5: How are the classes set up? Do they come with videotapes to watch, is it just reading, is it fully online, do you have an instructor you can contact, etceteras.

#6: What kind of support systems do the college/university have for the distance degree program?

i.e. Library support through mail such as with Washington State University, distance office support staff, etceteras.

Thirdly you need to: Once you know all you can about the program as well as the college/university, and have gotten information from the college in the mail with an application, you need to get all your previous colleges to send transcripts to the college/university as you apply to the college/university to get into the program.

**Remember if you have not had about 60 semester hours of college credit or an associates degree that colleges/universities require that you get your high school transcript or GED copy from the official agency to them.**

Finally you need to: Once you have done all the application procedures keeping in mind the priority deadlines for application and financial aid, paid for the transcripts to be sent (as necessary with some colleges/universities), make sure you have filed the FAFSA with the college listed on it so that you can get any federal financial aid if available then sit back and wait for the college/university to reply to your application that you sent in by mail. It usually takes about 4-6 weeks or more to process the application AFTER the college/university has received all official transcripts from your colleges/universities, high school, GED, Advanced Placement, CLEP, military training record and so forth. So, make sure you request and pay for the transcripts that are necessary out to the college/university you are applying to about a week before you send in your application as it helps speed up the application process many times.

**Ask your admissions counselor what they think you should do, and when you should contact them after you send in the application and have not received a reply in a long time.**

REMEMBER: If you for some reason feel that a program is too good to be true, be very cautious and double-check on that school/college/university prior to spending your hard earned money on the program. There are many good programs out there, but there are still scams and diploma mills so be careful!

Well, I hope that you all find programs that are good for you, and that this distance degree page has helped you in some way or form. Please bookmark this page, and let others know about it so as to help them in their search for legitimate distance degree programs also. Thank you for visiting, and again...Good luck!!

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