Online universities and other for-profit schools have had to deal with a load of bad press over the years. Since the initial creation of for-profit institutions in the nineteenth century, many people have been wary of any underlying goals of the company or schemes to take students’ money. This has not been an unwarranted worry, but has proven to be true in many cases over the years. There were Associate’s Schools in the nineteenth century that promised certificates in typing which in the end could not deliver as much to the students as they promised. Many legislators have remained hesitant to support the newer online for-profit schools because of similar issues concerning degree plans, but recent changes in online universities have led to the support of the majority of Congress as was evident by the passing of the 2006 bill which allowed federal funds to go toward online schools.
Online universities have still had a rough start due to the relative ease with which new schools can pop up. Because of the easy accessibility students have to enroll in schools, many for-profit institutions have taken advantage of students’ ignorance in this field and have paraded their degrees as worthwhile. However, many of these schools are simple diploma mill institutions which have caused many problems for students. These sites are relatively easy to discover: you should know by this point that online universities typically entail work and grades, something you cannot pay $200 for and receive a diploma. However, schools that are unaccredited almost have the same result as diploma mill schools because in the end, after paying for the degree, you are left with one which employers do not recognize.
However, there are many valid online universities out there which have served to shed light on the true process of online education. Many of these schools are the prominent ones which have acquired enough funds to advertise freely around the nation, such as University of Phoenix. Other online universities remain highly ranked and have administered many success stories for students who would not have had the opportunity to attend college classes. For-profit schools are not just an alternative to traditional colleges, but have created a new route toward landing a career since their implementation over a hundred years ago.
Online universities are only the newest phase in for-profit institutions and have continued to uphold the original intent of its creators. The bad publicity is slowly going away as more students have continued to receive valid degrees from online universities but many people remain skeptical of the process. This will slowly diminish over the years as online education becomes more acceptable, but until then, we expect to receive even more success stories from students who were able to earn degrees thanks to online universities and the ease of for-profit schools.