6 signs you can trust an online school

To learn a new profession, it is not necessary to go somewhere now. A quality education can be obtained without leaving home, simply by using the services of an online school. But first you need to make sure it is reliable. Here are some signs that indicate that the school can be trusted.

1. Availability of an educational license

A license is a guarantee that an online school corresponds requirements of Rosobrnadzor and has the right to provide educational services. This document is required to have programs of primary, secondary, basic education, as well as additional professional programs - advanced training.

Here's what the license says:

• The online school has its own educational program that meets educational standards.
• School staff are qualified to teach.
• The educational institution is equipped with everything necessary for conducting classes. For online schools, this is computer equipment, and for the rest, it is also their own room, laboratory, desks, and so on.

The document is issued by several government agencies. Thus, Rosobrnadzor obtains licenses for work on programs of higher education, secondary education in the field of defense and security, as well as for work abroad. In other cases, it is issued by the executive authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation. For example, the Ministry of Education or the Department of Education of the region.

Usually this document can be found on the school website. Also, its availability can be checked on the website of Rosobrnadzor - in registry licenses. If an online school does not have a license, it exists outside the legal field. Therefore, it is better to bypass this option or, at least, take a closer look at the curriculum and reviews.

2. Availability of accreditation

This criterion is important only for general educational online schools, that is, for those in which children master the school curriculum. Accreditation is not mandatory, but it is testifies that the content of educational programs has been verified and complies with state standards.

Accredited online schools can conduct their own final testing and issue state certificates. That is, if you are looking for an educational institution for your child and are not ready to select an additional place for annual tests, you need to choose just such a school.

You can check for accreditation Online Rosobrnadzor.

3. High qualification of teachers and experts

Even having a license does not guarantee that all teachers, educators or experts in an online school are qualified to teach others. Therefore, it is important to independently evaluate its level according to the following criteria:

• The presence of specialized education and academic degrees.
• Teaching experience.
• Certificates of professional development, participation in grants, scientific discoveries and publications.
• Practical experience in the discipline.

It is not necessary to demand from teachers high performance on all counts. You may not have much experience in teaching, but be an excellent professional practitioner. And a software developer does not have to participate in scientific grants. You need to assess the qualifications of teachers as a whole, understanding how you can benefit from them.

Typically, the site contains minimal information about the experts or teachers of the course. For example, it may be written that this is the head of an IT company or a speaker at Skolkovo. Additional information can be requested on your own. Or search for them online. There you can find scientific publications, information about participation in conferences, as well as track your career path.

Another option is to find a teacher on social networks. Often, experts maintain expert blogs, where they share useful information.

4. Transparency

The online school should provide comprehensive information about how the training will take place, what results and documents you will receive in the end. Complete transparency helps avoid misunderstandings and conflicts in future.

The website of the educational platform should contain information about the following important points:

• Training program. The online school should indicate what subjects and courses are offered, as well as describe their content, objectives and expected outcomes.
• Platform usage rules. The site should contain information about how and where the training will take place. You should also have access to training materials and the ability to contact technical support.
• Course duration. This will help you plan your time and assess your learning obligations.
• Tuition fee and form of payment. The school must clearly state the amount, including any possible additional costs or payments. Information about available payment methods, their terms and conditions should also be freely available.
• Refund policy. There should be clear terms and conditions within which you can return the funds if you do not like something in the learning process.

5. Ease of learning

Each person has their own requirements for this moment, but we will focus on the most important:

• Flexibility and accessibility - the ability to choose the place and time of classes. If you have a busy schedule, and training takes place at certain hours, it will be difficult to adjust.
• Intuitive and understandable interface of the learning platform You should be able to easily find lessons and useful materials. And also quickly figure out where and how to send homework and where to track your progress.
• Ability to communicate with teachers at any time - it's good if you can always request help or ask a question, and you will be answered promptly. If communication is delayed, then the pace of learning slows down.
• Variety of teaching formats — texts, video, audio, live lessons and guides. We perceive information differently: someone likes to listen, and someone likes to read. And the more options a school offers, the easier it will be for you to learn.

6. Good feedback from graduates

Reviews can be attributed to indirect signs that allow you to evaluate the quality of training on the online platform. But only if they are true. We advise you to pay attention only to those that contain details and specifics. The wording “Great learning, I liked everything” does not create a complete picture of education. It is also easy to fake such a message.

In addition to reviews on the site, we recommend looking for them on special platforms on the Internet. For example, Otzovik or Profi.ru. There, each user has a reputation rating, which shows whether the opinion of this person can be trusted. And it's much harder to fake it.