Recently I was browsing the net for some courses of vb.net and came across this:
http://www.homelearningcollege.com/
at first I was quite impressed. All their listings, such as course outline, actually matched my requirements. I filled an online application with my details such as phone number and shortly was contacted by one of the lecturers. He required a meeting at my place to discuss further details. But before that I had to clear some doubts on whether the course was really suitable for me.
But this is where things began getting a little dodgy. Since there were no details on their site of their tuition fees, upon asking him he seemed quite hesitant and refused to give me the details. Since I wasn’t comfortable with his tone and approach I cancelled the appointment.
Soon after I researched a little more on the college and found very interesting results. One commentator stated that the accreditation claimed to accompany some of the courses where actually falsely claimed. Meaning after you complete your course the degree might actually not be recognized! Moreover, some courses tutors, after providing the course material and obviously taking payments didn’t provide the degree and simply disappeared. Although these are claims that cannot be fully verified, however through my experience I was convinced that this is a potential scam.
If anyone has more details please be kind and fill us in.....
here are some other interesting articles publied for further review and research:
ReplyDeleteOn distant learning:
http://www.nightcourses.com/distance/distance_learning_investment_or_scam.html
On fake degrees in the UK:
http://www.nightcourses.com/fake_degree_certificates/index.html
Whislt researching i als spotted ways in which you can prevent yourself from being scammed. Here are some tips by Sammy Stein (available on www.helium.com)
ReplyDelete1) Check their web site and that they are approved by the QCDL (Quality Council for Distance Learning). Even if they say they are, check them out on the QCDL website.
2) See whether you can actually speak to a person rather than always go via on-line forums or email.
3) Look for student feed back and comments on their site but take these with a generous pinch of salt - they are going to put only positive comments there and you have no way of checking if they are real.
4) Check they offer continuous support. It is not good if the distance learning provider simply supplies the course, allocates you a tutor and then has nothing to do with you. You will have enrolled with the college - not the tutor so make sure they take responsibility.
5) Make sure there is a cooling off period. If you receive the course and find it is actually unsuitable or too difficult to follow you need to be able to send it back in the condition you got it for a refund within a reasonable time period (say 21 days).
6) If the course is for a professional reason , make sure the qualification you will get is recognised by your industry.
7) Ask how long it takes to complete the course - you need to know whether you are taking on a 3 year or 6 month commitment.
8) Ask how they assess - is it assignments after each unit, an exam, or do you take a professional exam at the end of the course?
9) Be careful if they offer miracles - distance learner providers who promise you a career in your chosen profession guaranteed or that you will be respected by all your colleagues are neither realistic or practical because they do not know you and even with the best qualifications, there are lots of other factors to consider.
(http://www.helium.com/items/851351-how-to-spot-distance-learning-scams)