It’s no secret that online education has become more popular than ever. It offers students a chance to finish their degree without the restrictions of campus visits and (speaking from personal experience) the quality of education is—not only comparable—but improving every year. Prestigious institutions of higher learning that are offering online education are: George Washington University, Villanova, Gonzaga, Regis University, Penn State, Auburn, and Boston University. The advent of high quality, online education has also ushered in the rise of parasitic entities that will take your money and leave you with nothing but a useless, yet official looking certificate. Enter the Degree Mill...

How to spot a Degree Mill
According to the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA), degree mills are a billion dollar industry that pose as legitimate schools or offer to sell transcripts outright for little or no work. If a student can earn a Bachelor’s degree in a year or less based only on “life experiences”, chances are you have stumbled on a degree mill. Some states such as Michigan and Oregon keep lists of suspected degree mills.
The best way to investigate whether or not an online program is legitimate is to check the school’s accreditation. There are six regional accrediting bodies* that oversees the educational standards of U.S. Colleges and Universities and is recognized by the Department of Education:

1. New England Association of Schools and Colleges, Commission on Institutions of Higher Education.
2. Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges
3. North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, The Higher Learning Commission
4. Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Higher Education
5. Western Association of Schools and Colleges, Accrediting Commission for Schools
6. Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities

*There are also numerous other national accrediting agencies recognized by the Department of Education. Please visit http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/Search.asp for more information.
 
If the prospective school is not accredited by one of these organizations, you should proceed with caution. Some institutions claim accreditation by official sounding agencies that have no backing by the Department of Education and are probably degree mills. Some recent sightings include Board of Online Universities Accreditation BOUA (Rochville University) and the American Council of Private Colleges and Universities (ACPCU) (Hamilton University).
It is free and easy to check the accreditation of any online program you are investigating. There is an abundance of information out there on legitimate online degrees from legitimate schools. Now more than ever, Employers and HR professionals are checking and double-checking the academic credentials of prospective employees. Careers sometimes hinge on whether or not a Candidate has an accredited degree.