Competing with Online

Competing with Online GED Scams

by Jason Guard

If it weren’t already difficult tial available from any other source. enough for adult learners to find • Notify the above state offices to ac- our GED and literacy services, cept only official GED Transcripts, matters are made worse by the sharks which are difficult to forge, instead in the muddy waters of adult educa- of a certificate or diploma. tion. Seemingly, every kind of educa- • Work with your state department of tional and professional certification education to create a list of credible can be obtained online, with almost accreditation bodies and, if possible, as many kinds of alleged accredita- programs that are recognized as ac- tion propping them up. Ultimately, credited by your state. our learners need to consider what • Monitor the legitimacy of onlinede- they plan to do with their creden- gree granting programs and take ac- tial and determine the admission or tion as appropriate.application requirements. Unfortunately, they often find out too late A Story and a Suggestion that their online “diploma” is good In March, Rondel Hensley from for everything except getting a job or Page County got laid off from his job enrolling in college. of 14 years at a textile plant and figured

In an effort to address the prepon- things couldn’t get worse. Then, he was derance of dubious certificates, the GED offered a similar position making more Testing Service has been garnering press money than he’d ever made before in attention for a new report titled Online his life. However, just before starting his Programs Offering Unauthorized GED new job he was informed that his high Credentials (available from GEDTest.org school equivalency credential was from at http://www.acenet.edu/Content/Nav- an unaccredited diploma program. Ron- igationMenu/ged/etp/pros/NAAG_File. del couldn’t believe it. Severalyears prior, pdf). However, aside from protecting the he had spent a good deal of money and copyrighted name and GED logo, there class time, and he had thought for years are few regulations to prevent companies that he had earned a GED diploma. The from charging $200 to $1200 for mini- job offer was rescinded – unless Rondel mally useful educational certificates. The could pass the GED Tests in two weeks. responsibility falls on legitimate adult Rondel looked online at sites adver- education programs to educate potential tising the term “GED” that would use learners, agencies, and their surrounding the “bait and switch” tactic of denigrat- communities. Here are some of the sug- ing the value of a GED credential and gestions offered by the GED Testing Ser- promoting their own online “diploma” vice, adapted from the list in the above- at a premium price. After looking at referenced report: the gamut of seemingly well-meaning • Notify partners, stakeholders, and online credentialing companies, Rondel state and local offices (e.g., the De- asked for guidance from his unemploy- partment of Education, Office of ment agency. He was quickly referred to

Workforce Development, and De- Amy O’Shell at his local adult education partment of Social Services) to the program. Rondel took the Official GED threat of dubious online high school Tests at the next possible dateand passed credentialing programs. everything but math while achieving a • Inform the citizens in your region passing battery average. With the clock that there is only one GED Testing ticking on his employment future, he

Program, that the GED Tests are was willing to do anything to bring his

NOT available online, and that the

GED Tests are not a generic creden390 in math up to a 410. Amy matched him up with eLearn Virginia, and Rondel

Rondel Hensley’s story of getting educationally swindled is all too common.

got to work online in no time. Over the course of four days (including aweekend of beautiful weather), he put in over 23 hours of online math preparation. That Monday, Rondel scored 450 on the GED Mathematics Test, and he started his new job two days later.

Rondel Hensley’s story of getting educationally swindled is all too common. Not only is the cornucopia of dubious online credentials and misrepresented “GED” services giving people phony cer- tificates, the ubiquitous advertisements are giving our client base an expectation that education is something that can be purchased, that an investment of prepa- ration time is not necessary, and that they won’t have to wait for classes or test- ing dates.

State-funded adult education pro- grams have good news for learners with regard to the price of services and strate- gic ways to approach test prep efficiently. Addressing the issue of expedience can also keep our learners from looking elsewhere. In addition to spreading re- sponsible information about legitimate credentials, Virginia’s adult education programs need to find ways to meet im- mediate needs that may not be satisfied by closed enrollment classes. Compiling and distributing credible resources for independent study (including websites) can help educate our potential learners and testers about their options while holding their attention and giving them a chance to improve their skills. By in- creasing accurate GED awareness among our potential clients, we can combat the misinformation that is so widely available online. .:

Jason Guard is GED Specialist at VALRC and manages eLearn Virginia.