Since online learning is making its footing in the education industry, enrolling in an online course could be a challenging step for new students. Students who have decided to earn a degree online should cautiously understand how online education works and details about every institution offering online programs and courses.
To make things easier for potential online learners, here we have listed some questions that every student should ask the institute before enrolling for an online course or degree.
5 Crucial Questions to Ask Before You Enroll in Online College
1- Are you accredited, and by whom?
Accreditation can be defined as a process of reviewing and approving an educational institute for particular subjects or programs by a third party agency. It proves the authenticity and credibility of an institute to make sure they offer quality education. It is essential to quality education everywhere. That’s why; you should ask the institute for accreditation and verify the third party accreditation agencies on your own to make sure they are recognized by the local or national authorities.
2- What degree programs are available?
When you are considering an online education institute for distance learning, you should ask them for degree programs available for enrolment. In this modern world, you can learn basic distinctions such as graduation, postgraduate, research programs, and certificates, you can also find a huge variety of professional degree programs. Set your online learning goals and then find out the right fit to choose the right path for ultimate success.
3- What kind of career opportunities do you offer?
There are a lot of educational institutes that offer their students personal assistance and resources to help them find the right job after successful degree completion. They may offer their students internship opportunities or job interview preparation. That is the reason, you should ask and always enroll with an institute that provides career opportunities or resources to help you choose the right career path.
4- What learning resources are available?
Just as traditional schools and universities offer a variety of resources for students, so many distance education institutes do the same. Ask them what type of support or resources they offer to their students. There might be access to online or offline learning materials, access to their own publications database, technical support for non-tech savvy students, one-on-one learning resources, access to online learning communities, and course instructions delivered via email, etc.
5- What are the admission requirements?
Admission requirement for online course enrollment vary depending on a variety of factors like type of online program, culture of the institute and native language etc. For instance, as a non-US resident if you want to earn a degree from a US university online, they may ask you to pass English language course like IELTS or TOFEL to prove your English language skills. That’s why, experts always suggest potential online learners to ask institutes for their admission requirements to not face problems at the time of admission. Basic admission requirements may include proof of secondary school graduation, entrance exam, competitive test score, proof of residency and national identity etc.
