Nowadays, many people are turning to online universities and distance learning programs to earn degrees or improve their skills. With this, almost all universities around the world have started to offer such courses, making online degrees more popular. With the rise of online learning platforms, more students have started to recognize its benefits. People can now study at their own pace and save money by eliminating the costs associated with going to campuses. However, the popularity of online courses has also led to prevalent internet education scamming. This is why it’s important to verify if the online university you are enrolling in is legitimate.
If you’re planning to pursue online education, it’s always ideal to look for a legitimate university with marketable credentials. According to experts, one of the key indicators of an online program’s legitimacy is if it’s accredited by an authorized agency to confer degrees and has met certain standards of quality education. While it’s safe to assume that most universities offering online programs are accredited, it doesn’t hurt to double-check to avoid being scammed on the internet. So, if you’re wondering how you can find out if an online college or university is accredited, here are some tips that can help you:
Check if the Online University is Authorized by the National Ministry of Education
There are thousands of universities that offer online certification courses or degrees, and it could be difficult to check one by one if they are legitimate or just a scam. One way to make the search process easier is to confirm if the university is recognized or authorized by the National Ministry of Education, just like Utel University. Utel is authorized by the Ministry of Education of Mexico (Secretaria Educacion Publica), a federal government authority responsible for overseeing the development and implementation of national educational policy and school standards in Mexico, to confer degrees. To verify its legitimacy, here is a step-by-step instruction on how to find Utel University in the SEP database:
- Log in to the SEP website: https://www.sirvoes.sep.gob.mx/sirvoes/mvc/consultas
- Go to the search bar and fill out the questions with the following details:
Status: Mexico
Institution: LATINOAMERICANA
Type of Agreement (RVOE): STATE
After entering the above information, you can easily see the list of accredited universities in Mexico, including Utel University (University Tecnológica Latinoamericana en Línea). Utel ensures the validity and secures certification of its program offerings from organizations and institutions that set the standards for excellence and quality in higher education. So if you study at Utel, you can be certain that your degree is certified.
Verify if the University Can Be Recognized in Other Countries
When verifying a university’s overall accreditation online, you might want to check the levels of its accreditation. There are usually two levels of accreditation – institutional and specialized. Institutional accreditation applies to an entire university or college, while specialized accreditation refers to specific programs or universities focusing on certain disciplines. One way to easily verify if an online school or university is accredited and whether its accreditation can be recognized in other countries is if it displays the list of its accreditations on its website.
On Utel’s website, you can check its accreditations and recognitions and see that the degrees from this university are legitimate and can be recognized in other countries because Mexico is a party to conventions about education. Apart from that, Utel’s online degrees have equivalencies in the United States. Utel is also awarded by the agency Josef Silny & Associates, an institution affiliated with the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES), and it adheres to North American quality standards.
Contact the Online University Directly
If you’ve already done the first two methods above in verifying the university’s legitimacy and you’re still not convinced whether it’s accredited, it’s highly recommended that you contact the university directly. Check the number provided on its website to contact them and inquire if the university has been formally accredited. To ensure that they are providing you with legitimate answers and information, you may opt to request a copy of the documents that serve as proof of their accreditation.
When contacting the university, it’s ideal to take the opportunity to ask for other relevant information about its online academic programs and courses as well as the number of graduates. If you don’t prefer to inquire via phone call and you want everything to be documented, you can check if their website offers another way to contact them to ease the process.
Conclusion
In this day and age, where more and more universities and colleges are offering students a unique chance to study online, it’s important to remember that all online learning programs are not created equal. To guarantee that your chosen program will provide all the necessary skills and opportunities to start or boost your career, it’s essential to find out whether the university to which you are applying is legitimate. By following these tips on finding out if an online university is accredited, you can ensure that you’re investing your time, money, and energy in a reputable online education and have a better shot at building a successful career.