"Guaranteed Admission?" Well, not exactly

It seems as though education writers these days are re-writing press releases without asking too many questions. My attention was caught today by an article on About.com stating that Ivy Bridge College, a two-year school that's part of Tiffin University, now "guarantees" admission to a bachelors degree program to anyone who completes the Ivy Bridge College associates program. About.com got it's info from Diverseeducation.com, which cheered that Tiffin administrators "are taking the concept of online education to a new level: creating Ivy Bridge College, which offers an associate degree for general studies and guarantee admission to select four-year institutions for successful students." Really? Are graduates of Ivy Bridge actually guaranteed a spot in a bachelor completion program? Well, not exactly. Ivy Bridge's own website is a bit more circumspect. The school says it has signed agreements with a number of schools including Bowling Green University that will "make it easier – and in some cases – guarantee that you’ll be able to transfer to the four year college of your choice." Sounds a bit different that About's statement that Ivy Bridge graduates "are guaranteed acceptance to one of several universities." Read the Diverse story here.

What exactly is an online accredited course?

People in higher education have argued for years about whether or not there should be a single national board to give accreditation to U.S. colleges and universities. But a group of old, regional organizations which operate with little supervision decide which schools are valid and which are not. Their decisions are critical - as any job-seeker knows, trying to shop around a degree from a school that's not accredited won't get you very far in terms of employment. Here's a more in-depth article about how to figure out which online accredited courses are for real and which are fakes.