Kennedy, Joyce Lain - Careers Now

DEAR JOYCE: I must have landed on an Internet marketing list, because I receive so many e-mails pitching my chances to win a scholarship to an online college. Like: "Hey, mom, apply for a full-tuition scholarship, earn your degree and have a career!" Are these scholarships for real? -- B.R.

A few people will win these scholarships, but the advertised financial-aid awards are really hooks cast by companies in the lead-aggregation industry. They're marketing ploys.

Notice that virtually all the schools offering these scholarships are for-profit colleges. Higher-education experts tell me that on average, online for-profit colleges cost three times more than online nonprofit colleges.

Here' the inside story. Lead-generating marketers require scholarship seekers to provide their personal information on a scholarship application -- in reality, a "lead form." The marketers aggregate the forms and sell them to participating schools at a price of up to $100 per qualified lead. It's little wonder that you're receiving so many scholarship pitches.

The next step happens when scholarship hopefuls are contacted by sales reps under the guise of following up on a "scholarship application."

You know the rest: The marketers aren't matching students to free scholarships; they're collecting and selling leads for educational enrollments. This is the way almost all online college-directory companies work.

Upshot: Hundreds of thousands of people fill out so-called scholarship application forms, hoping to win. Most of them will be rewarded with telephone marketers attempting to enroll them as paying students.

OTHER ONLINE ED ISSUES. Interest is growing in renewed education as a tool to improve job security in a changing economy. That's why would-be learners should be aware of a related development -- the robust return of degree mills.

Degree mills are run by people who hawk worthless degrees and certificates -- such as, "Get a law degree from Harvard by return mail." Today's rash of phony educational documents are mostly being sold online. (Yes, employers usually discover the fakes later, if not immediately, and people do get fired for falsifying their educational backgrounds.) Anyone with the cash qualifies for a degree-mill award. Even pets qualify.

Chester is a cute little pug dog in Vermont. His owner, Vicky Phillips, one of the nation's leading experts on educational fraud, paid $499 on the pug's behalf to an online university. As a result, Chester was awarded an MBA (master's degree in business administration).

Chester's alma mater is one of many online universities operating from foreign post office boxes, advertising fast diplomas for a flat fee.

Accreditation? The pug's university says it is accredited by two agencies that, unfortunately for Chester's future outlook, are not recognized as an accrediting agency or association by either the U.S. Department of Education, or by the Council of Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA).

So what? For a number of reasons, proper accreditation is a very big deal in choosing where you'll study. Accreditation assures you that the institution meets at least minimum established standards of quality.

Proper accreditation isn't foolproof, but without it, you risk an outcome of gaining neither an education nor a usable credential. The issue is complex, but here's how to get it straight before sinking into shady educational offers: Visit the CHEA site, chea.org. On the left part of the screen, click on Degree Mills and Accreditation Mills. Although the reading's a bit dry, the information can save you a world of regret.

So, how did Chester do as a college student? His degree came with a grade point average of 3.19. Had Phillips paid the online university an additional $100, the pug could have graduated with honors.

Chester's educational whirl is detailed on GetEducated.com: "Pug Dog Gets Online MBA."

(E-mail career questions for possible use in this column to Joyce Lain Kennedy at jlk@sunfeatures.com; use "Reader Question" for subject line. Or mail her at Box 368, Cardiff, CA 92007.)