Why do online schools do this...?

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by JTNcarter, Nov 1, 2007.

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  1. JTNcarter

    JTNcarter New Member

    I recently read in ELearning Magazine that www.online-Colleges-and-degrees.com has taken it upon themselves to cleverly rank the top 20 online school according to…as I can guess…rate of advertisement on site.

    I say this because if you go to their website…http://www.online-colleges-and-degrees.com/index.html you will find that the only way to find out what school is behind each number is to click on the link that takes you to the “for more information” page.

    For those that are wondering…

    #1. WGU
    #2. Capella
    #3 Walden
    #4. Concordia
    #5 California Coast University
    #6. Ellis College
    #7. Touro
    #8. University Alliance
    #9. Thomas Edison State College

    Another claver tactic used by a resourceful spammer is the email some have seen claiming to be hiring for a work at home management position paying over 70k. This email appears to be from a recruiter at the company but when you apply you find out you are completing an application for the University of Phoenix.

    Has anyone been to careerbuilder lately? When you search for jobs the first thing you see when you hit enter is…an application to the University of Phoenix. Same thing when you try to submit your resume.

    My point is, it is these types of tactics that add to the negativity of online educators. They are no better than the thousands of spam emails for Viagra, adult material, and 0% interest loans. They are putting themselves in that category and my question is why?

    Why does the University of Phoenix, WGU, and all the others feel like they have to trick people into applying while at the same time ruining their reputation.
     
  2. sentinel

    sentinel New Member

    I am surprised to see Thomas Edison State College on the list of top advertised universities. As a student I receive maybe four (4) emails (1 continuing enrollment notification, 2 electronic bulletins, and another that I cannot recall off-hand) a year from them that were not initiated by myself. In fact, I learned about Thomas Edison State College from this forum not any advertising materials.
     
  3. eric.brown

    eric.brown New Member

    They take this approach because they think that the 'numbers' game is the best approach. They feel like if they can get their name in front of 100,000 people, then they could conceivably get 10 people to apply and/or attend the university (that ratio of "eyes to buys" is made up..I have no idea what their conversion ratio is). This is the same approach that every spammer in the world takes and it obviously works or else spamming wouldn't be as prevalent as it is.

    I don't think that they've taken into account the damage that they are doing to their reputation (and all Distance Learning schools) but perhaps they don't care about that...perhaps they only care about the 'immediate payoff' and not the long-term value that they are losing.
     
  4. JTNcarter

    JTNcarter New Member

    That's my bad. I was unclear about the listing. Their TOP 20 are what they are calling the top 20 online schools and they say it's based on the quality of education but as you can see by the list, it does not appear that way.
     
  5. Ted Heiks

    Ted Heiks Moderator and Distinguished Senior Member

    The top 20 online schools ranked by rate of online advertisements? Phoenix ought to top that list! :D
     

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