e-learning

I came across a news report where a distinguished-looking professor from a foreign university was being interviewed regarding an online education program he established using the name of a prestigious university that he was affiliated with without it actually being accredited by the said university. By the time his fraudulent misrepresentation was discovered, tens of thousands of enrollees have already earned their certificates or diplomas.

Online degree programs have proliferated because there is a market for them. Whether they be a Bachelor's, Master's or a PhD degree, many are lured because they are quicker, easier and cheaper compared to the traditional education programs. The problem however is that there are fewer legitimate e-learning institutions than the fake ones. And while the bogus online degrees are clearly illegal, there seems to be some difficulty in policing them due to their virtual existence. If actual businesses could "fly-by-night", with more ease could online schools disappear without trace. How does an enrollee in Indonesia, for instance, make sure that an online university purportedly based in West Virginia actually exists; is affiliated with a real school; and endorsed by the education department? Even assuming proper accreditation of said institutions can be verified with ease, question remains as to whether the accreditation by one country's education department should be recognizable by another.

I know of someone who studied to be a yoga teacher online. When I was asking how the teacher checked on her, I became curious about whether it occurred to her that the teacher might not be a real "yogi". How could she know? She said it was okay since the teacher also had no way to know if she was a real yoga practitioner #%$@&. Even though what she obtained was not an academic degree, the same concerns arise from the other e-learning institutions. I guess online education thrives because for those who buy the idea, it serves its purpose. Whether or not they are legitimate becomes a secondary problem. But then again, what happens to the real academic degrees earned from the most prestigious institutions if we allow the procurement of bogus degrees to continue to exist with them side-by-side?

- Marichelle Recio