EarnMyDegree.com Reviewed

Editor’s Note: Hi Tech Criminal Justice was compensated for the review of the following website.

EarnMyDegree.com is well constructed website and very easy to navigate. The website is clearly commercial in nature, but that is actually a strength of the website. Any college or university that you ultimately attend is a commercial enterprise and the quality of your education and their business plan drive their success. EarnMyDegree.com is driven by the same market forces and has created a well though out portal to the world of higher education. Now, you are not going to find your local state university or community college listed here – but you know where those are anyway.

What you will find is a host of alternative forms of higher education. As the editor of this blog (and fourteen others), as well as many other websites, two books and scores of magazine articles, my undergraduate degree is from alternative learning, adult focused, university (You can review my CV at www.hitechcj.com/id55.html). In other words, my undergraduate degree is from a university similar to the ones you will find listed on EarnMyDegree.com. On the hand, my graduate degree is from a mainstream state university. That means that gaining a degree from an alternative form of education can be found acceptable by mainstream academics.

EarnMyDegree.com is laid out so that you can navigate and search the website by subject as well as degree level. As an example you can search educational opportunities from business to religious studies. Or, you can explore university degree offerings by academic level – from certificate programs to doctorate degrees. EarnMyDegree.com also has a “learning center” that answers typical questions. As a university professor, many of these questions I answer all the time. So, there is some value in browsing this section. If you do go to that page, make sure you scroll complete down to see the questions and answers.

I have two criticisms of this website. First, its strength is also a weakness. As a portal to alternative forms of higher education it is necessarily brief in its descriptions of programs and answers to prospective student’s typical questions. On the hand, once you request additional information from a university you will likely be contacted by a human being who can assist you in further exploration of that opportunity. Second, the accreditation of different educational opportunities is not fully explained.

Yes, every program listed on their page is accredited. However, some of the programs are nationally accredited by others are regionally accredited. The type of accreditation is critical to your future success. Regional accreditation is more accepted than national accreditation. That’s right – its somewhat counter intuitive. As an example, if you look at the requirements for employment by State of Colorado and the City of Chicago, you will see that they require their police candidates to have a degree from a regionally accredited university. Furthermore, if you complete your undergraduate degree at a nationally accredited university you will very likely find out that it is not transferable to a regionally accredited graduate program at your state school. My advice is to pursue your education at a regionally accredited university – be fully informed on issues like accreditation.

Despite these criticisms, EarnMyDegree.com is a good place to visit and explore educational opportunities. If you are interested in a criminal justice degree, you should visit their section dedicated to that field.