Avoiding Online Academic Scams and Shams

Online degrees generally get a bad rep: Employers may not trust a certificate from a school they've never heard of, the accreditation process frequently is viewed with skepticism, and most online degree programs are pretty new considering their more established, and prestigious, "bricks and mortar" competitors.

So just why are so many people doing them?

And amid a dramatic increase in the number of Americans choosing to study for an online or distance-learning degree in a down economy, what are the common online degree scams and shams -- referred to by one expert as a "national epidemic" -- online students should take extra care to avoid?