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Information for the Press and Media

For Immediate Release

eLearners.com Helps Students Avoid Diploma Mills

Hundreds of Companies Offer Bogus Degrees; eLearners.com Offers Ways to Avoid the Trap

Hoboken, NJ (Marketwire) October 9, 2008 — eLearners.com, a Web resource of EducationDynamics, today announced its comprehensive resource to help prospective and current students avoid diploma mills. Diploma mills pose online as a legitimate university and then take advantage of unsuspecting students by offering programs. To help students, eLearners.com offers resources on how to spot a diploma mill program, located at http://www.elearners.com/resources/diploma-mills.asp.

The deceitful practices were alarming enough that President George Bush signed the "College Opportunity and Affordability Act" into law on August 14, 2008, which includes the establishment of a Diploma Mill Task Force. The task force will create a plan to help eradicate the sale and use of fake degrees, but until that plan is in action students need to watch out for deceptive practices.

"Diploma mills just want your money and don't care if you get the education you are looking for to advance your career," said Terrence Thomas, EVP Marketing Operations at EducationDynamics. "Online education is a perfect solution for many people, but you have to make sure the program you sign up for is accredited. In today's tight economy every dollar counts, so make sure you're spending money on a degree that's part of a legitimate program."

Although it is hard to determine an exact number of diploma mills, John Bear, an author and expert in the field of distance learning, said that in 2004 there were more than 300 unaccredited universities. To help spot a diploma mill and not pay money to a bogus institution, eLearners.com offers these tips:

• • Research the University. Many diploma mills will use names similar to popular colleges and universities. They will also often use .edu domain names, however anyone can register a Web site with dot-edu. Also, it is very important to make sure the college is accredited by a nationally recognized accrediting agency.
• • Check the Address History. A fake school will frequently change its address, often moving from state to state.
• • Check for Errors. Materials sent from diploma mills often have spelling and grammatical errors.
• • Be Wary of Quick Degrees. Diploma mills often overemphasize how quickly students can receive a degree.
• • Pay Close Attention to the Admissions Process. If there is no selectivity in the admissions process or any questions about test scores or academic history, you may be applying to a diploma mill.
• • Class Interaction. Accredited colleges and universities offer student and professor/faculty interaction. If there is hardly any interaction this should be a warning sign.
• • Vague Degree Requirements. Diploma mills often don't outline their degree requirements and are vague about class descriptions and credit hours needed to complete a program.
• • Tuition and Fees. Accredited colleges and universities generally charge tuition and fess on a per-class basis, but diploma mills will often charge on a per-degree basis.
• • Use Legitimate Online Resources. Sites such as eLearners.com do the legwork for you to determine what schools are phony and do not host information on unaccredited schools.

"No one deserves to be fooled by guessing about a school's legitimacy and we are committed to helping students overcome that obstacle," continued Thomas. "All colleges and universities offering online degrees on eLearners.com are fully accredited by an accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and/or Council for Higher Education Accreditation, so we are a safe source, giving people peace of mind while searching for an online degree program."

At eLearners.com, people can also test their diploma mill knowledge by taking the eLearners.com "Real or Fake?" quiz. The quiz tests to see if one can tell the difference between legitimate schools and diploma mills. The quiz is located at http://www.elearners.com/back-to-school/fun-stuff/player.html. eLearners.com also offers information on how to protect against a diploma mill and offers accreditation resources.

For more information on how to avoid diploma mills and to search for accredited online colleges and universities visit www.eLearners.com.

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About EducationDynamics

EducationDynamics, LLC, a portfolio company of Halyard Capital, is a leading interactive marketing and information services company focused on helping higher education institutions find, enroll and retain students. Home to some of the most visible education Web sites, including EarnMyDegree.com, eLearners.com, GradSchools.com, and StudyAbroad.com, EducationDynamics is one of the leading providers of qualified leads for colleges and universities. In addition, the company offers a full suite of Web-delivered products and services to manage a school's relationship with students across their entire life cycle from inquiry through enrollment to retention. For more information on EducationDynamics, please visit http://www.educationdynamics.com.

About eLearners.com®

The eLearners.com Web site is one of several high visibility, high-quality prospecting tools offered by EducationDynamics, LLC. Since 1999, eLearners.com has been successfully connecting learners to online education, including online degree and certificate programs, specialized career training, and a variety of online courses. For prospective students, eLearners® provides a powerful search engine for users to find thousands of online program offerings, as well as educational evaluation tools and financial aid resources. For colleges and universities, the eLearners.com Web site offers a low-cost, performance-based method to provide national exposure and increase enrollments in their programs. For more information on eLearners.com, visit www.elearners.com.

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