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A wonderful resource has surfaced for men and women of the U.S. military armed forces.

Military Advanced Education has released the top 30 military-friendly colleges in the United States based upon information gathered from 100 schools that applied for the distinction. The top colleges and universities were selected based upon criteria such as number of military students, availability of financial aid, number of military contracts and more.

A significant number of online schools showed up among the winners, along with educational institutions that offer both accredited online degree programs and traditional on-campus classes.

Those selected are institutions that open their arms to active duty and non-active duty military. Many of these schools are either located in close proximity to military bases, are distance-learning schools, or offer courses directly on military installations.  Others provide special scholarships and financial  aid to the troops and their wives. But almost all bend over backwards to offer additional support and consideration to members of the military and their families.

The top 30 military-friendly colleges are as follows:

1. American Military University
2. Central Texas College
3. Coastline Community College
4. Colorado Technical University
5. Excelsior College
6. Saint Leo College
7. Thomas Edison State College
8. University of Maryland
9. The University of Oklahoma
10. Webster University
11. American InterContinental University Online
12. Bellevue University
13. Capella University
14. Central Michigan University
15. Colorado State University-Pueblo
16. Columbia Southern University
17. Duquesne University School of Leadership
18. Florida Community College
19. Grantham University
20. Hawaii Pacific University
21. Jones International University
22. Kansas State University
23. National University
24. Olympic College
25. Southern Illinois University Carbondale
26. Strayer University
27. TUI University
28. University of Mary
29. The University of North Carolina at Pembroke
30. Western Governors University

online schools, distance learning, online degrees, financial aid, colleges and universities, military education, military students, education

Popularity: 100% [?]

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The Thomas Jefferson School of Law in San Diego has trekked into the wilderness of ABA-approved online law degrees. It has created the first online law degree to be offered by an ABA-approved school – ever.

As online schools change the landscape of college options, the American Bar Association (ABA) has watched from the sidelines, carefully considering whether any online law program is worthy of its approval. Until recently, none has met the ABA’s tough standards. This has concerned those who feel that student entry into law school has become elitist, with a lack of adequate representation of women and minorities.

But now, the Thomas Jefferson School of Law (TJSL) offers an online degree — the LL.M., or Master of Laws degree. The focus of this advanced law degree is on international tax and financial services, with a line-up of distinguished law professors and an interactive format designed to intertwine the latest educational technology with top legal talent.

Thomas Jefferson School of Law seeks to be a pioneer in utilizing faculty excellence and a well-engineered multimedia program to bring the training of lawyers into the technology forefront, introducing the opening up of new options for those who wish to make a difference by extending justice and legal expertise where it is needed.

Although TJSL’s online degree is pricey at roughly $1,000 a unit, the school has constructed a successful model for future online law degree programs.

This taming of the online law school wilderness by TJSL and others will hopefully lead to an opening up of online legal education to those who are qualified and motivated to make a positive difference in their communities and the world.

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Popularity: 53% [?]

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Complaints about diploma mill scams are rampant, including this report by the Better Business Bureau (BBB) in Fort Wayne, Indiana, regarding Belford University.

“Belford High School/Belford University sends e-mails offering a diploma based on life experience. The problem? The diploma is worthless! Belford is what is referred to as a diploma mill. This Texas company has the BBB’s lowest rating. Tell-tale signs of a diploma mill: No need to study; no attendance required; a flat fee is charged; guaranteed degree; you will receive your diploma in days, weeks or months; and they are typically through e-mail.”

The deceptive ads of these fake degree mills entice consumers to fork over their hard-earned money for a worthless product — a useless piece of paper that looks impressive but is easy to verify by vigilant employers. With the current spotlight on diploma mills, the informed consumer should have no problem distinguishing between an accredited online degree program and a fake degree.

It is important for potential students to research any distance-learning institution before writing a tuition check based upon hype or sales jargon. A number of reputable educational websites, like Directory of Schools, offer huge databases of accredited e-learning schools from which to choose, along with simple forms to contact the selected online colleges, universities and industry-recognized vocational schools.

Rather than playing Russian roulette with a future career by falling into the diploma mill trap, consumers can use their heads to come out ahead in the game of life.

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Popularity: 38% [?]

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Once again, the heroic men and women of the U.S. military forces are armed with a great resource to help them pursue higher education classes and earn a college degree.

Military Advanced Education magazine, along with KMI Media Group, has released their 2nd annual compilation of military-friendly colleges and universities.

Last year’s list was gathered from 100 schools; and this recently honored group was selected from a pool of 2,000 schools at the end of 2008. The top schools were chosen by an independent group of judges from both military and education sectors.

These higher learning institutions provide consistently great service to military students, with many offering special scholarships, financial aid and designated counselors for active-duty personnel, veterans and their spouses. The list includes accredited online colleges and universities, as well as traditional schools that offer online degrees and online certificates. (The 2 extras on the list resulted from a tie with other schools.)

1. American Military University
2. American Sentinel University
3. Capella University
4. Central Texas College
5. Coastline Community College
6. Columbia College
7. Columbia Southern University
8. ECPI College of Technology
9. Excelsior College
10. Grantham University
11. Kaplan University
12. Park University College for Distance Learning
13. San Diego City College
14. Southern Illinois University Carbondale
15. State University of New York Maritime College
16. Strayer University
17. Thomas Edison State College
18. TUI University
19. University of Maryland University College
20. University of Oklahoma
21. University of Phoenix
22. Western Governors University

The complete list in Military Advanced Education offers 60 accredited military-friendly schools — including Ashford University, American InterContinental University-Online, Baker University, Colorado Technical University-Online, DeVry University, Ellis University, Globe University, Jones International University, Jacksonville University, Saint Leo University and Stratford University.

See the complete list of 60 military-friendly schools.

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Popularity: 18% [?]

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Summer has arrived; and adult learners may be wondering how to take a cheap vacation without skipping a beat in online classes.

Thankfully, the travel industry is happy to oblige by offering great deals on just about everything. Still, cruising may be among the best ways to save money on a vacation while continuing with online degree studies.

For the price of gas, food, a couple of nights in a mid-range hotel and activities, e-learners and their families or friends could sail away on the vacation of a lifetime.

Just check out these facts about cruising to an online degree:

1. The costs for a 4-day cruise this summer begin as low as $184 per person (before taxes and fees) from Florida, New Orleans or Long Beach, according to today’s 90-day ticker from Vacations to Go, a  website that lists the best cruise deals, especially last-minute bargains. Additional special discounts may apply for past passengers and those over age 55.
2. Cruise costs cover a bundle – ship transportation to exotic ports, 24-hour food, some beverages, lavish entertainment for adults and children, room service, twice-daily cabin cleaning and more.
3. For 4 people staying in the same cabin, the 3rd and 4th persons pay just a fraction of the full fare, generally between 40-60% less. This is a kid-friendly deal for families, but also works well for family gatherings, friends and co-workers.
4. Onboard credits are free money that is offered by travel agents, credit card companies or the cruise line. These are valuable because they are applied to the onboard account and may cover tipping fees, excursions, alcoholic drinks, shopping or other additional costs. A good travel agent can help explore this option.
5. Most ports can be explored without purchasing expensive excursions from the ship. A good guide book from the library can give excellent tips about saving money while seeing the sights on your own.
6. Most ships offer onboard Internet cafes and designated public WiFi hotspots. Some ships, like the new Celebrity Solstice series, offer data ports for Internet access in individual cabins, which is great for online students. Some Princess ships offer the use of individual laptops for the duration of the cruise on a first-come, first served basis. Discounted Internet plans offer cheaper rates then paying by the minute.
7. To save money on Internet rates, online students may opt to gather web research ahead of time. Then on the ship, they can work offline and connect to the Internet only to turn in assignments or email instructors.
8. Tipping is generally not mandatory on the ship; although there are suggested amounts per day to cover cabin stewards, waiters, head waiters, and other staff. Even when the tipping fees are automatically deducted from the onboard account, passengers may raise or lower the tipping amount at their own discretion. However, after observing how diligently the staff works on their behalf, the suggested tips — totaling about $10 per adult passenger per day — often appear to be reasonable to most cruisers.
9. The 3,634-passenger ship, Independence of the Seas, not only provides extensive Internet access, it also offers rock-climbing, a water park, a surf park, ice skating, youth clubs, a full-size boxing ring and sports court, miniature golf, a fitness center, a casino, shopping — plus a multitude of other diversions for those who need extra study time to devote to online classes while family or friends literally dive into the fun onboard.
10. Retirees, homeschooling families and others may find deeper discounts in the fall and winter, as vacationers return to school and jobs. And most cruises that are more than 90 days off usually require only a modest down payment, with the balance due at a later date. Also, bargains extend to world cruises and, amazingly, an online student could travel the world by sea while earning an online degree.

Of course, it is important to ask questions during booking about cancellation policies, passport requirements, taxes, port fees, the minimum travel age for an infant, and what is covered or not covered in cruise fees.

Still, cruising is a wonderful opportunity for online degree students to enjoy a vacation and stay on track with online school, In fact, it may be the perfect way to enhance one’s career while making loved ones happy.

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Popularity: 18% [?]

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In an economic climate where all news appears to be bad news, it is refreshing to learn that positive job reports do exist.

According to USA Today, jobs are available in specific states and careers. And stimulus or no stimulus, employment forecasts reveal that more people should begin working by the end of the year.

Six states expect to lose only 1% or less of their workers in 2009, according to Moody’s Economy.com, and may even do some hiring. Those states are:

1. Colorado
2. Nebraska
3. New Mexico
4. North Dakota
5. Texas
6. Washington, D.C.

And though 2009 may end with a loss of 2.8 million jobs in the nation, the situation should begin to turn around by the end of the year. It may take several years for employment to match pre-recession numbers; but job growth is imminent, according to economic experts.

In the midst of today’s job losses, at least three employment sectors are expected to show positive hiring gain in 2009:

• education
• health services
• government

Many who have lost jobs are enrolled in online education classes for study in these and other hot careers, including accounting, dental assistant, nursing and other health care, business, computer science, criminal justice and more.

Online schools continue to roll out the red carpet to welcome the newly unemployed who want to be ready for when hiring picks up speed. Through these schools and traditional colleges and universities, unemployed workers hope to be at the front of the line for the influx of new jobs, whenever they appear.

Workers are cautioned against packing up their families to start a new life in a new place, unless proper research, planning and preparation reveal the presence of adequate work and economical housing.

But while staying put, it is advisable for individuals to utilize free monies and low-interest student loans to improve job skills, learn the ropes of a new career or earn an online degree or professional certificate.

Read full USA Today article

careers, dental assistant, economic climate, employees, government jobs, health care, health services, hiring, jobs, no stimulus, nursing, online education, online school, Texas, work, life, news, new jobs, online degree, certificate, Washington D.C.

Popularity: 17% [?]

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Diploma mill abuses in a New Jersey school district may lead to tighter restrictions on the use of fake or unaccredited degrees.

In a recent New Jersey case, three administrators in the Freehold Regional High School District used tax dollars to purchase fake doctoral degrees from Breyer State University, a now-defunct Alabama-based diploma mill. Those ill-gotten advanced degrees garnered substantial pay raises for the three state employees over the past couple of years.

New Jersey taxpayers criticized the wasteful spending of the school officials. Yet the New Jersey Education Department ultimately found no criminal wrongdoing by the administrators; because no law was in place at the time prohibiting the use of fake degrees.

But N.J. state regulations are currently being tightened to prevent similar college degree abuses. In the future, the use of fake degrees should be prohibited in the Freehold Regional High School District as a means of obtaining employment, a pay raise or a promotion.

Diploma mill cases have become more prominent in the news since the release of tens of thousands of names of fake degree purchasers following a high-profile Washington case. Dixie and Stephen Randock, of Washington, were convicted along with their daughter and several others following a lengthy investigation headed by the FBI. The Randocks raked in over $7 million operating their illegal business.

Following publication of ‘the list’, many of those named were fired, demoted, reprimanded or investigated. New federal legislation continues to move forward in Congress to further strengthen legal avenues of action toward those who sell fake degrees or those who use diploma mills to obtain employment or job promotions.

Fake college degrees are particularly harmful when they are used to secure jobs in the health or medical fields, aviation, counseling, engineering, and homeland security.

Potential college and university students should thoroughly check out both the traditional and online schools in which they are interested. It is important to utilize the resources like the U.S. Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) in order to insure the choice of an accredited online degree or on-campus degree.

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Hopefully, New Jersey taxpayers will soon be able to trust that education expenditures for fraudulent college degrees are a thing of the past. 

Popularity: 16% [?]

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Tuition-free college may be on the horizon for students in Racine, Wisconsin.

The program is being considered as a way to increase the education level of its community and to provide incentive for high school students to stay in school and graduate.

A similar program is already working in Kalamazoo, Michigan, where it has increased minority graduation rates by 15% and created over 5,000 new jobs.

But one of the greatest success stories is the long-standing Georgia Hope Scholarship and Grant Program, which was established in 1993 to provide tuition-free college to the state’s resident students who graduate from high school with a ‘B’ average and maintain that grade point average throughout college. The program is fully-funded by the Georgia Lottery for Education and has already poured over $3.8 billion into helping more than 1.1 million students attend its public colleges, private colleges and vocational schools.

A few online schools, like Western Governors University, also offer hefty scholarship programs that target students pursuing specialized career areas, like rural teaching.

If Racine gets its way, it will join the ranks of an elite group of education innovators.

And then the tuition-free baton can be passed on to other forward-thinking communities.

tuition-free colleges, tuition-free, college tuition, college costs, colleges, free_tuition, minority graduation, Racine, Kalamazoo, online schools

Popularity: 15% [?]

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There is only one way to take the General Educational Development (GED) test — in person at an official GED testing center.

Yet the American Council on Education (ACE) is warning the public that fake GED testing services are increasingly popping up, generating complaints from a number of people who have paid hefty fees to take the bogus exams.

The GED test measures the test-takers’ knowledge of high school subjects — language arts, social studies, science and mathematics. A successful score on the test leads to a certificate which can be used in place of a high school diploma. In California and some other states, a GED certificate is sufficient for enrolling in an accredited online degree program or traditional college. It can also be used to meet the qualification for jobs with a minimum educational requirement of a high school diploma. 

In order to take the official GED test, the ACE has provided a testing center locator for potential test-takers to use to locate the nearest test center. The test is available in locations throughout the U.S. and in a number of places all over the world.

So again, watch out for those that are peddling the online and correspondence GED test; it is a scam.

GED, high school diploma, online degree

Popularity: 15% [?]

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There is another side of the coin regarding diploma mills. And that is the accredited colleges that have been mistakenly lumped in with diploma mills through rumor.

It is important to research potential college possibilities — not just to avoid diploma mills, but also to avoid disregarding possible higher education choices simply because of a rumor that has been passed along as fact. Below is one such example regarding the accredited school, Westwood College.

A reader wrote the following e-mail to us at DirectoryofSchools.com after reading our website article, Fake College Degrees: An Epidemic:

“ . . . this article . . . does get its point across about the colleges that are scamming students. However there is one really big problem with it. The paper goes to tell about how these colleges are stealing money from students but for some crazy reason, on the right side of the screen you have one of these colleges that are considered to be fake advertised. I am referring to Westwood college. This is one of the most notorious fake colleges out there. This entire website is considered to be a joke with that still on there.”

Our reply was as follows:

” . . . . We are glad you found the article helpful and informative; and we appreciate your comments. Also, we are happy to address your concerns about one of our featured schools, Westwood College.

Westwood College is a reputable, highly-accredited school with over 17 campuses located across the United States — including Los Angeles, Chicago, Denver, Atlanta, and Dallas. The accrediting agencies of the college are approved by the U.S. Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). Westwood College Online, which is part of Westwood College, is based in Denver and is regulated and approved by the Colorado Department of Higher Education. Westwood College Online is also approved by all branches of the military for its commitment to academic excellence for military students. Students who attend Westwood College are eligible for federal financial aid, a benefit not available to substandard colleges or diploma mills.

DirectoryofSchools.com lists only accredited colleges and universities and reputable vocational schools on its website. We take the time to research each institution of higher learning, so that potential students may avoid becoming victimized by diploma mills and substandard schools. We continue in our mission to illuminate the problem of fake college degrees and their negative impact upon the society at large. Yet we are also advocates for those accredited higher-learning institutions whose excellent reputations are harmed by the misinformation and rumors that abound on the Internet.

Thank you again for taking the time to write us; and we hope you will continue to find our website useful for your educational needs.”

diploma mills, fake degrees, higher education, military, students, Westwood College, accredited colleges

Popularity: 15% [?]

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