There are many reasons why some people choose to go to online schools. One of those is for them to get their degrees at their own pace. Another is for them to have better jobs.
However, there is a stigma attached to degrees from online schools. This is why some employers may not respect or honor them. Many online schools are running these days, and one of them is UMGC.
Its name is one of those that are usually brought up when people are talking about their online school options. Check if UCF Online is a Legit Accredited School.
Although it is quite well-known, some cannot help but wonder whether or not it’s a real school that is offering programs that employers will take seriously.
If you are one of those aspiring to obtain a degree from UMGC but you are still considering if the school will be good for your study, here are the things you know about the school, to enable you to arrive at your final decision.
Overview
UMGC was formerly Known as the University of Maryland University College (UMUC) when it was founded back in 1947.
Its name was changed to the current one in the middle of 2019. This took effect when Maryland Governor Lawrence Joseph Hogan Jr. signed the legislation to change its name toUniversity of Maryland Global Campus (UMGC).
According to the school, being referred to as the University of Maryland University College is not right anymore because it is no longer accepting students from Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC only, like it used to.
Being called the UMGC is more suitable as it also accepts people from various parts of the US. As a matter of fact, according to the school’s website, it is now teaching students from more than 20 countries and regions on the face of the planet.
Read on, if you are planning to send your applications to various schools, and UMGC is at the top of your list. You will find some of the most crucial matters that you need to know about this online school.
1. UMGC is Regionally Accredited
One thing about UMGC that may get rid of your doubts and fears is the fact that it is a regionally accredited school.
Yes, just like many traditional schools that employers respect, UMGC University has regional accreditation.
There are a couple of accreditation that a school, be it traditional or online, may get. They are regional accreditation and national accreditation. Different accrediting groups give different types of accreditation.
In the United States, there are a lot of national accrediting groups. On the other hand, there are only six regional accrediting groups in the country:
- Higher Learning Commission
- Middle States Commission on Higher Education
- New England Association of Schools and Colleges
- Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities
- Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
- Western Association of Schools and Colleges
Between regional accreditation and national accreditation, the former is regarded as the most widely recognized and prestigious accreditation type.
One of the main reasons for such is that credits earned from regionally accredited schools are transferable to schools that are regionally and nationally accredited.
Credits earned from nationally accredited schools, on the other hand, are transferable only to schools that are nationally accredited.
Since UMGC University is a regionally accredited school, it means that the credits you will earn from it will probably be honored by another school in case you decide to transfer to it.
This is good news because you will no longer need to start your college from scratch should you have a change of mind along the way.
Many other things make a regionally accredited school better than a nationally accredited school.
For example, the standards used by regional accrediting groups are stricter than those used by national accrediting groups.
This means that a school with regional accreditation was able to meet high standards. Such speaks so much about the quality of its education and degrees.
However, there are also a few downsides to schools that are regionally accredited.
For example, it tends to be more expensive than a school that is nationally accredited. This brings us to an important topic when it comes to online schools, and that’s the cost.
UMGC is a good school that is able to meet certain standards. It offers over 30 undergraduate programs and over 50 graduate programs, and it also has many locations in the United States and overseas for in-person classes. Most of its classes, however, are online.
2. A Non-Profit Online School
Because it is not a diploma mill, UMGC is offering legit programs. More importantly, the programs that the school is offering are respected by employers.
It goes without saying that the students who will graduate from UMGC will not have a hard time getting a job. The programs that they have completed are real programs.
There is another thing about UMGC that makes it a reputable school in the eyes of both students and employees. It’s the fact that it is not a for-profit school. So in other words, UMGC is a non-profit school.
Making money is the number one goal of for-profit schools. That’s because they need lots of cash for costly marketing and advertising, both of which are important for them to stay in operation.
Needless to say, very little to no money goes to the facilities and services for their students. This can cause the quality of education provided to suffer.
On the other hand, the money that non-profit schools make is spent on improving themselves.
Such can come in the form of creating new classrooms, buying books for the library, increasing the salaries of the faculty members, and more. Because of this, a lot of non-profit schools are admired for their high-quality education.
UMGC is a non-profit school and a public school, which means anyone who wants to go to it may apply. The application process for an undergraduate program is different from a graduate program.
Similarly, the application process for military personnel and veterans is different. For instance, they will have to present documents that show their status and date of separation.
For UMGC students who had to stop due to relocation, there is no need to go through the admission process. That is unless it’s been two years or more since they last went to it.
3. Not a Diploma Mill
On the internet, there are websites that people can visit if they want to get their hands on degrees. They are referred to as diploma mills.
Also, sometimes known as degree mills, these are businesses whose products are degrees in exchange for money. See How to Know If a College is a Diploma Mill.
There are a couple of things that you have to know about diploma mills:
The degrees that they offer are meaningless. Diploma mills offer degrees that sound legit. They also offer degrees that can make eyebrows rise.
No matter the case, one thing is for sure: most employers do not respect degrees coming from diploma mills.
The minute that an employer learns that an applicant got his or her degree from a diploma mill, it is likely for the person to be rejected without delay.
Thanks to the internet, it is easy to figure out whether or not the source of a degree is a diploma mill.
Getting a degree from them isn’t cheap. There is no need to study if you want a degree from a diploma mill.
All you have to do is provide your credit card number, and you can expect a degree to be on your way. Because employers do not respect degrees coming from diploma mills, paying for a degree is not worth your money.
This is especially true since you will have to shell out a huge sum of cash, which can range from $500 to $2,000. Sometimes you will have to pay more, like if you want to “graduate with honors”.
Many people are unaware of the fact that the online school they are going to is a diploma mill. That’s because many of them make themselves sound just as legit as accredited online schools.
For instance, diploma mills have bogus accrediting bodies that they work with. Most of the time, they themselves came up with these phony accrediting bodies.
It can be easy for diploma mills to sound like they are real online schools simply by placing the word “accredited” on their websites. Including “university” in their names makes them sound even more legit.
Sadly, in the US, there is no law that can stop diploma mills from using the word “university”. Although it’s true that back in the 80s a lot of diploma mills in the US were closed, many of them are still running these days.
It’s because of them that accredited online schools, such as UMGC, are not being taken seriously.
High Employee Satisfaction Rate
Earlier, we talked about the fact that UMGC is a non-profit school. It’s important to mention this once more because it is time that we put the spotlight on the employees of the online school.
For-profit schools are operating as businesses. College programs and diplomas are the products that they are selling.
These schools will not hesitate to do anything and everything just to make sure that they will keep on making money.
Such is perfectly understandable because, after all, money is what keeps businesses in operation. Check if Brenau University is a Good School
If it seems like their employees are the ones that are keeping them from getting rich, most for-profit schools are likely to cut the salaries of their teaching staff and other personnel.
They may get rid of some of their benefits, too. With low salaries and reduced benefits, it’s not unlikely for the satisfaction rate of the employees to be low.
Even though the majority of online schools are the for-profit type, UMGC is not one of them. As a matter of fact, just like what was mentioned earlier, it is a public school that is operating on the internet.
This is why the problems faced by employees working for for-profit schools are less likely to be encountered by the employees of UMGC.
For instance, when UMGC had a name change back in the middle of 2019, the contracts of all its employees had to end. However, the school gave all of them the option to simply reapply.
Additionally, UMGC told everyone that they could apply for a different position if they wanted. Such was possible because the school’s expansion opened new teaching slots.
The school’s website also says that its regular employees come with an assortment of benefits. They range from medical, dental, prescription, life insurance, to accidental death and dismemberment insurance.
Because of these many benefits, it’s not unlikely for UMGC’s employees to have high satisfaction rates.
Conclusion
UMGC is a good school and it is not a diploma mill, proof to that is the fact that it has regional accreditation.
We strongly believe that you found this article helpful, if so, don’t fail to share your thoughts with us through the comment box.
Last Updated on May 17, 2023 by Admin
