Geteducated.com

GetEducated.com, LLC, is a Web-based company, founded in 1989, that focuses on distance education and online learning, and rates, ranks, and verifies the cost, quality and credibility of online colleges and universities.
Media, reference source
GetEducated.com and its founder and CEO, Vicky Phillips, have been cited by national media as sources for online and distance education topics. Newsweek magazine called GetEducated.com “a great source for weeding out phony colleges.” . Other notable references have appeared in: CNN.com , the Wall Street Journal , CBS Marketwatch , Time , BusinessWeek , WIRED , Fortune , The New York Times , U.S. News & World Report , Forbes , Fast Company , and others.
The site is listed as a reference source by ResourceShelf,
, Microsoft’s Encarta Encyclopedia , and the Encyclopedia Brittanica Online
GetEducated’s Google Knol article, “National Survey of Online MBAs,” [http://knol.google.com/k/vicky-phillips/online-mba-rankings-national-survey-of/1oreu3w9mgsai/3#] has been awarded a “Top Viewed Knol Award” and been named a “Top Pick Knol” by Google reviewers.
History
GetEducated.com LLC was founded in 1989 by Vicky Phillips, a psychologist and online educator, as America's first online counseling center for adult distance learners. The site was originally part of America Online’s experimental education forums in partnership with the entrepreneurial Electronic University Network of San Francisco, California .
In 1996, when the Electronic University Network was discontinued as an AOL project, Phillips ported the distance learner’s counseling and advice center to the World Wide Web where it operated briefly under the name The Adult Education & Distance Learner’s Resource Center, before being renamed and launched on the domain GetEducated.com.
In 1998, GetEducated.com published the first print guide specific to accredited online graduate schools, Best Distance Learning Graduate Schools: Earning Your Degree without Leaving Home (Princeton Review) followed by the print guide for non-traditional undergraduate students: Never Too Late to Learn: The Adult Student’s Guide to College (Princeton Review).
In 2001, GetEducated.com began publishing its research as a series of free downloadable college guidebooks, beginning with Best Distance Learning Graduate Schools: Business, Management & Online MBAs. Other free college guidebooks followed, including volumes on the best online graduate schools in engineering, education and library science, psychology and human services, criminal justice and law, and healthcare and nursing.
Free undergraduate companion college guidebooks followed, beginning with Best Distance Learning Undergraduate Schools: Business, Management. Additional titles covered the best online bachelor’s degrees in psychology and human services, criminal justice and law, and healthcare and nursing.
In March 2009, GetEducated converted all its free PDF college guidebooks to an online directory search system, adding consumer degree comparison filters and the ability for verified students and the general public to comment on and rate and rank online college programs.
GetEducated.com began offering a diploma mill verification and accreditation service, called The Diploma Mill Police (a trade-marked name), in 2004.
Services
GetEducated.com provides consumers with filters and tools to compare and rank online colleges by affordability, public acceptance and student satisfaction. Only colleges accredited by agencies recognized by the Council on Higher Education Accreditation or the U.S. Department of Education are eligible for listing or advertising in GetEducated’s online college directory and rating and ranking system. GetEducated.com also provides The Diploma Mill Police, a publicly accessible database that chronicles consumer alerts on more than 300 fraudulent online colleges and universities.
• Most Affordable Online Colleges - Best Buy Online Degree Rankings
GetEducated.com surveys accredited online degree programs nationwide and ranks them for affordability. The company publishes biennial “Best Buy” lists of online school degree programs rated and ranked for affordability using an index of tuition costs plus fees, including technology and distance learning fees (which can significantly affect overall college cost).
The pricing information for each degree is based on public information. All pricing data is verified by GetEducated.com’s independent editorial staff. Advertising by any school on the GetEducated site does not affect college affordability ranking placements . Only online schools with regional accreditation are considered for the biennial Best Buy rankings, though GetEducated also collects and analyzes data on the comparative affordability of distance learning degrees offered by nationally accredited colleges.
Each Best Buy ranking list is updated approximately every two years. Categories for Best Buy rankings include:
• Online MBAs, regionally accredited
• Online MBAs, AACSB-accredited
• Online Master’s of Public Administration and Public Affairs
• Online Master’s of Management/Administration
• Online Master’s in Leadership
• Online Master’s in Healthcare
• Online Master’s in Human Resources
• Online Master’s in Psychology & Social Science
• Online Master’s in Computer Science & Information Technology
• Online Master’s in Engineering
• Online Master’s in Criminal Justice
• Online Master’s in Education
• Online Bachelor’s in Business & Management
• Online Bachelor’s in Justice Studies
• Online Bachelor’s in Psychology/Human Services
At present, the site does not calculate affordability rankings for the following types of programs: certificates, associate degrees, and doctoral degree programs. It also does not rate or rank online high schools or online trade/professional certifications offered by non-degree granting schools.
• Best in Student Satisfaction - Online College Rankings
In March 2009, GetEducated launched a user-generated comment system that allows verified students who are enrolled in online college programs or who are alumni of these programs to rate their online schools. These student comments, once verified by GetEducated’s staff, are posted to each school or degree program profile. An online college Report Card system allows students to “grade” their online schools and degree programs. The company anticipates releasing its first Best in Student Satisfaction national ranking lists in late 2009 or 2010.
• Best in Public Perception - Online College Rankings
GetEducated’s user-generated comment system (launched in 2009) also allows any member of the public, a college faculty member, or a potential employer to comment on and rate or grade any online college or degree program profiled in GetEducated’s college directory. The company anticipates releasing its first Best in Public Perception ranking lists in late 2009 or 2010.
• Searchable Database of Accredited Online Schools and Degree Programs
GetEducated.com provides a searchable college database of more than 3,000 online or distance degree programs. Schools listed include for-profit, non-profit, public and private colleges and universities chartered in the United States that are either regionally or nationally accredited.
A consumer filter system allows site visitors to search for and compare schools on the basis of level, location, subject matter, accreditation, admissions tests, prerequisites, for-profit versus non-profit and public versus private status.
Advertising is not required to obtain a free basic listing in the GetEducated directory. (Only about 10 percent of the online colleges listed in GetEducated’s directory are advertisers or sponsors.)
The database continues to grow as new degrees are added by GetEducated.com staff. GetEducated CEO and founder Vicky Phillips expects the database to hold more than 8,000 degrees by 2010.
• Diploma Mill Police (Online Degree Authentication and Verification Service)
GetEducated.com began offering its trademarked “Diploma Mill Police” service in 2004. This free service lets consumers check online schools to see if they have been reported to authorities as being diploma or degree mills. Consumers can search about 300 schools listed on the GetEducated website. They also can submit requests to GetEducated.com staff for other schools they are suspicious about. GetEducated staff tracks state consumer boards for information about suspected diploma mills or degree mills. In 2005, Newsweek magazine’s consumer tip sheet cited GetEducated’s Diploma Mill Police tool as “a great way to weed out phonies” among online colleges.
• Online MBA Database - National Survey of Online MBAs
In 2001, GetEducated began publishing the results of its National Survey of Online MBA programs. The fall 2008 survey resulted in data on 390 online MBAs offered by 168 accredited business schools.
GetEducated’s Online MBA Survey includes data on the least expensive online MBA and the average cost of an online MBA. The site includes tables showing distance MBAs that do not require the GRE or GMAT admissions tests. These lists are broken down into three categories: those that are regionally accredited ; those that are nationally accredited ; and those that are AACSB accredited.
• Consumer Articles
The website includes consumer-oriented articles about topics such as general information about distance learning; an overview of the various types of college accreditation; cost-cutting and borrowing tips; questions and answers about online education; and fraud-avoidance tips.
Articles are available as an RSS feed .
• Student Scholarships
GetEducated.com earmarks a percentage of its profits to fund a distance learning scholarship fund. GetEducated.com offers $1,000 Excellence in Online Education Scholarships each year to U.S. students who have a 3.0 or higher grade point average, demonstrate financial need, and who submit an essay documenting what an online education means to them.
• Online Education Resource Center
GetEducated.com maintains a free service for online teachers, administrators, and others seeking jobs in distance education. The site provides a Help Wanted job board and a Talent Available job board . Both are free resources. If a company or school wishes to post a job opening, or if an online educational professional wishes to announce he or she is seeking a position, the website will run 50-word ads for up to three months.
Funding
The site is a privately held, LLC corporation. Ninety-five percent of its funding comes from sponsorships from non-profit college systems.
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Links
GetEducated.com can be accessed on Twitter and Ning (http://geteducatedcom.ning.com).

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