Beware of fake online degree scams

With modern technology, the internet offers students many opportunities to study for online college degrees. Students can also find a wealth of information regarding their online education ambition, for instance like how to apply for college student loan, how to find the right online college degree program for a wide variety of other online education information.

Since many prospective online students are usually working adults, more and more people are turning to the internet to obtain a college degree education program, studying completely from the internet.

However, do be careful when you choose an online college to study with. Beware of fake college degree scams. What many students fail to do is to research the online collegess accreditation process. This is a vital process and is done to make sure that the online college you chose to study from is genuine and creditable.

Since the benefits of an accredited college degree are plentiful, potential students need to ensure that the online college they study with offers fully accredited degrees. An accredited college degree is an endorsement and recognition that you have received a certain level of standard and quality in your education.

However, in the online degree industry, scams abound. There are many so called "degree-mills" on the internet which promise that you will receive degrees in half the time that is normally taken to study for a degree and some even to go as far as to claim that you can earn a college degree even without studying or taking examinations.

These scams and fake "colleges" only want your money and when you are done with them, you will be left with a degree that has not been through a proper accreditation process or worse, you will receive a fake college degree which is completely worthless. So you must beware of them.

A properly accredited online college degree program ensures that a student is receiving a high quality education that is the standard among colleges and universities both online and offline. By being accredited, it holds the online colleges and universities accountable for their performances and this auger well for employer's confidence in the degree's credibility.

By having a fully accredited online college degree by the proper governing boards ensures that your hard work is rewarded. Employers and other learning institutions will accept your degree as being credible.

Students who wish to apply for college financing can only do so if their college is properly accredited by the proper educational boards. No banks will give any college student loans to students who are intending to study with a college without accreditation.

Furthermore, in order to transfer your credits to another educational institution that is accredited, you have to receive a degree from an accredited college or university online.

While the internet is a good medium where students from all over the world with internet access can obtain get a college degree education, you should by all means avoid being a victim of such ruthless scams. Proper accreditation ensures that your online degree will be respected by your employers and other colleges and universities should you wish to go for your post graduate degree.

It is therefore imperative that you research your chosen college's accreditation process thoroughly before committing to any online college degree program. This will make sure that the accredited online college degree you will obtain is properly accredited through the proper state or regional boards. By doing your research well, you will avoid being a victim of fake college degree online scams may cost you lot of money, time, hard work and heartache.

The cna in today s nursing field

Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs) fill an important role in today’s healthcare industry, providing the most direct and daily care many patients will receive. Depending on the employer, the CNA may also be known as home health aides, personal caregivers, nurse aids, patient care technicians, or other titles, but the basic job description is the same. They are employed almost everywhere inpatient healthcare is provided, including hospitals, long-term care facilities (nursing homes), assisted living facilities, and in the patient’s home, either as self-employed in-home care workers or as employees of an agency that provides such services.

Job Description

Working under the supervision of a nurse, CNAs take care of the most basic daily needs of a patient. Because the CNA has the most daily contact with the patient, she plays in important role in keeping the supervising nurse apprised of a patient’s condition. The CNA is sometimes the first to see conditions that may indicate changes in the patient’s health status. The primary duties of the CNA usually include but are not limited to the following:

•Bathing the patient regularly

•Changing patients’ linens

•Feeding patients

•Dressing and undressing patients

•Assisting with the patient’s hygiene, such as brushing teeth, shaving, and grooming

•Assisting with the patient’s toileting, including changing bedpans and urinals, and inserting or changing catheters

•Turning immobilized patients

•Helping with basic exercises

•Monitoring the safety conditions and cleanliness of the patient’s room, and cleaning or organizing as necessary.

•Keeping accurate and appropriate records

As you can see from this short list, the CNA plays a vital role in today’s healthcare system. They do not perform medical procedures, but are indispensable parts of the healthcare team caring for a patient.

CNA Training

A 6 to 12 week training course is required in order to become certified; these courses are usually available at local colleges and at some medical facilities. Because CNAs do not perform medical procedures, their training is necessarily less medically intensive than that of RNs or LPNs. However, some medical training is required—it is a medical career, after all. CNA training includes courses in anatomy, physiology, safety (including handling infectious biowaste), nutrition, and basic techniques for taking vital signs. Other topics covered will vary from program to program and may include such topics as age-specific needs of patients, communication skills, first aid (especially CPR and the Heimlich Maneuver). A good CNA program will also include lots of hands-on experience as classroom instruction is no substitute for the real-life situations CNAs face daily on the job.

Training for LPNs and RNs, by contrast, is medically intensive because these nurses perform medical procedures. Nursing programs can run from two-year programs for an Associates of Science degree in Nursing to six years or more for a Master’s or Doctor’s degree in Nursing. After completing a nursing program, candidates must then pass the NCLEX-PN licensing examination in order to be employed. CNAs are eligible for employment upon completion of their training program and passing the certification exam.

CNA work is not easy work; in fact, it is physically and emotionally demanding. But CNAs who love their jobs recognize intangible benefits in the form of personal relationships and the satisfaction that comes in caring for other human beings.

Shades of red

From time to time, I would like to write about colleges and universities from the perspective of studying Rutgers University, my alma mater and school I know best. I have earned two degrees from Rutgers and formed successful professional relationships with university administrators.

According to the latest U. S. News America’s Best Colleges, Rutgers’ flagship campus in New Brunswick ranks tied for 20th among publicly-supported research universities. This is impressive, considering Rutgers ranks ahead of universities that have much larger endowments and longer histories as public institutions. I know alumni who are disappointed in Rutgers’ ranking; they believe Rutgers is closer to a private Ivy League school than a “Public Ivy” such as the University of Virginia or UC-Berkeley.

When I entered Rutgers in the fall of 1978, the university’s football schedule included Penn State, but also Colgate, Yale, Princeton, William and Mary and other schools that are part of the NCAA’s so-called “Championship Subdivision,” a silly name for programs with small stadiums (less than 40,000 seats) that play-off for a national championship. By my senior year, Rutgers had played not only Penn State, but also Boston College, Pittsburgh and Syracuse; this was the only season we lost more games than we won while I was in college. I attended the last Rutgers-Princeton game play in “our house.” I still meet alumni who say they were at that game --and they miss the rivalry, which has been over for 27 years.

When I hear these comments I wonder who college football programs belong to: the students or the alumni. However, I also ask myself, are we really the equal of the schools we played? Having an Ivy League school on a football schedule didn’t grant us equal status by association. At the same time, Rutgers’ academic reputation has not fallen because our chief rivals in football are now Louisville and West Virginia.

Rutgers, like other large state universities, has its athletic boosters. However, it’s rare to see students, alumni and faculty organize an initiative to oppose them.

Rutgers professor William Dowling was an academic leader of the Rutgers 1000, a group dedicated to an ideal: that Rutgers drop scholarship football and invest in top-performing academic candidates, the high-SAT and academic achievers who would ordinarily choose an Ivy League school. The Rutgers 1000 campaigned for ten years, from January 1993 through December 2002.

It’s rare to see a group like the Rutgers 1000 within a state university community, and rarer still, for such a group to have had so much staying power. Student leaders graduate, alumni move on as work and family responsibilities dominate more of their lives. It’s safe for me say that faculty support and alumni memories kept the Rutgers 1000 going, but the Internet brought the news coverage necessary to advance their cause. Professor Dowling wrote Confessions of a Spoilsport, a recently released book chronicling Rutgers’ entry into major college football and the birth, rise and fall of the Rutgers 1000.

As a Rutgers alumnus, and a former board member of the business school’s alumni association, I was familiar with the Rutgers 1000. They made some valid points: football has no connection to the intellectual climate of a university; the sport is costly and rarely profitable, even for the major powers; and, the desire to win becomes a dangerous obsession when athletes, coaches, athletic directors and boosters run uncontrolled.

Dowling also mentions that the campus newspaper and alumni magazine suppressed the group; the magazine refused to accept an ad from them. I agree with Professor Dowling’s position here, too: dissenting opinions on college campuses must never be suppressed. Colleges exist to encourage people to think and form their own ideas, not tow a party line en masse.

However, the Rutgers 1000 shot themselves in the foot; they weakened their case, stating that big-time football would corrupt and degrade the university—because schools of lesser academic stature would be on our schedule. They used the University of Nebraska as an example of how Rutgers could be "lowered" to the academic standards of a "football school."

To be fair, I believe the Rutgers 1000 was quite concerned about the character and academic backgrounds of the athletes recruited by major college football programs. I do not believe that they meant to imply that the “bad apples” reflected badly on the academic reputation of another university.

However, someone in the Rutgers 1000 came up with the Hubie Cornpone Award, using a caricature of the Nebraska Cornhuskers’ mascot, to present to the sportswriter who was most likely to bring Rutgers down to the level of the University of Nebraska. That’s when things got out of hand, at least to me.

After reading Professor Dowling’s book, I got curious. I wanted to make some non-football comparisons between Rutgers and Nebraska. It was interesting on one level: both Rutgers and Nebraska have the same school colors, red and white, and fans wear red on game day. However, Rutgers says scarlet is the official color, while Nebraska says Big Red. Therefore, I’ll call this comparison The Shades of Red.

I went to published sources: the Yale Daily News College Guide, U. S. News and the Chronicles of Higher Education. Here’s what I found:

+ Endowment (university system): Nebraska $1.2 billion, Rutgers $550 million

+ In-state tuition (main campus): Nebraska $5,867, Rutgers $9,958

+ Out of State students (main campus): Nebraska 14%, Rutgers 7%

+ R&D Expenditures, Science and Engineering (university system): Nebraska $333 million, Rutgers $310 million

+ National Merit Scholars entering in 2006 (main campus): Nebraska 60, Rutgers less than 30

+ Yield rate (percentage of admitted freshman who accept offers of admission to the main campus): Nebraska 65%, Rutgers 33%

+ Number of undergraduate students (main campus): Nebraska 17,000, Rutgers 24,000

It appears that Nebraska fans bleed red on game day, but their university is fiscally speaking, less red than Rutgers.

In his book, Dowling ignores that in 1989, under former president Francis Lawrence, a man he consistently vilifies, Rutgers became a member of the prestigious Association of American Universities. The University of Nebraska had been a member for 80 years before Rutgers got the call!

These comparisons are remarkable, considering there are about 1.8 million people living in Nebraska versus 8.7 million in New Jersey. The Garden State has a much larger tax and corporate base to support a flagship state university than the Cornhusker State.

The Rutgers community has much to be proud of in their flagship university; very few research institutions attain top 20 rankings in football and academic performance at the same time. Rutgers is new to this lofty perch, but the university community must act like it belongs there, instead of ridiculing comparable institutions.

Otherwise, we fall further behind Nebraska in the games that really count.

How should parents evaluate the charlotte schools

School choice isn’t always an easy thing to have. I sometimes wish that my kids were born and raised in one district where we had never had to make the tough decisions about where to live, whether to use the magnet systems, if private schools are worth the money…But one thing I’ve noticed about the Charlotte Mecklenburg schools system is that there are a lot of northern transplants - like myself. And being a newcomer to the Charlotte Schools, or any other district can be overwhelming. Especially when choosing your home has an impact on your child’s education. I’m an advocate of the school listings that different web sites put out for that reason. But even with a list of public school rankings in hand, I recommend that parents look for these specific traits when visiting the Charlotte Schools.

Attitude in the Charlotte Schools

When I talk about observing the attitude in the Charlotte Schools, I’m not talking about the students. I’m talking about the office staff, the faculty, the janitors, and the principal - everyone. I can tell you from years of experience that a poorly run school is obvious in the stress level and demeanor of everyone. School offices will always be busy places - don’t get me wrong. All Charlotte Schools should have a certain amount of controlled noise and chaos. But a principal who is in charge and highly effective will show in a friendly, effective, and organized staff. I’ve had experiences where the secretary has welcomed me with a smile before the door swung shut and others where I was clearly little more than a problem to be tolerated. If you have a choice of Charlotte Schools, definitely pick one where the general attitude is helpful and pleasant.

Now here’s an uncomfortable truth of the Charlotte Schools. Money matters. I know everyone likes to think that magnet schools and desegregation have somehow equalized education. But the better Charlotte Schools still tend to be in the most affluent parts of town. It’s not just the money. It’s better educated parents, moms who can afford to stay at homes, and parents who aren’t so stressed out working minimum wage jobs that they don’t have the time and energy to help their kids with homework. Does this mean if you’re not well off that you are going to be stuck with substandard Charlotte Schools? No, but it does mean that you need to know what a good school looks like.

Teacher Retention in the Charlotte Schools

One important criterion to look at when evaluating Charlotte Schools are the teacher retention rates. Good schools keep good teachers for the long haul. In fact, I read a parent review from a woman whose child attended J. H. Gunn and one of her chief complaints was that a change in school leadership had led to teacher turnover. Now a new principal may intentionally weed out some teachers when he or she takes over in a new school. But look at the long range records of the Charlotte Schools you’re considering. If it’s a school with a lot of teachers leaving in less than five years - something is amiss. Overall, your best bet is to listen to what other parents say and get your own feeling for Charlotte Schools.

Portland schools seek direction

In Portland Schools a recent consolidation bill has officially been penned into legislature. The bill affects the entire state and will reorganize Maine’s 290 school districts into 80 new ones. Now districts in charge of Portland Schools are looking carefully at the choices set before them. Portland Schools are examining partnerships, mergers, and loopholes under the new law. Costs associated with the restructuring are at the forefront of everyone’s mind. Many administrators in the Portland Schools have said that the law is too vague, too unreasonable and that enacting the terms it describes will be extremely difficult.

There are a limited number of Maine school districts that will be able to continue on as they are now. If a school district meets the minimum requirement of 2500 enrolled students then it will be permitted to remain intact. No official numbers yet exist on how many Portland Schools will remain intact. These district rearrangements are being made in response to the need for budget tightening. All districts, whether or not they manage to avoid being merged, must have a plan to cut spending. There has been a statewide cut in funding and the ramifications are being felt everywhere.

To add to the confusion and uncertainty, Portland Schools are experiencing a transition in leadership. The Portland Schools are without a permanent superintendent. And they are still trying to find a suitable recruit as the interim superintendent handles the post. While Portland Schools have been given $2 million to fund arts education at the high school level, the uncertainty over the current bill and new leadership make many nervous. Arts teachers in the Portland Schools have emphasized the importance of the arts on academic success for years in vain, and hope the current funds will be well used.

Amidst the turmoil, Portland Schools experienced some good news relating to an ongoing litigation initiated by the janitors of Portland Schools. In 2002, a suit was filed on behalf of the janitors who had lost their jobs when the district decided to contract workers out of Portland Habilitation Center. Portland Schools made the cuts to adhere to new statewide budgeting constrictions. A possible settlement was announced after years of feuding in the court systems. This is a relief to many in the Portland Schools. The proposed deal will offer compensation to almost 300 of the laid-off janitors through a fund that will also cover the costs of their lawyers and legal counsel. Those affected have the opportunity to return to work for Portland Schools, and about half of those involved in the suit have chosen that option.

Portland Schools face a bumpy road ahead due to the uncertainty that new leadership brings. The success or failure ahead rests in large part on the new administration, and what it does with the current budget.

How to accelerate your reading speed

Speed reading as a technique was developed by Mrs. Evelyn Wood in 1959. Impressed by her professor who read and graded a term paper of eighty pages in ten minutes she went on to observing reading methods of fast readers and developed the first ever speed reading technique.

Speed reading is a method that aims at improving the speed of reading and comprehension. The need for speed reading is obvious, as the volume of texts to be read on an average has been increasing since the invention of the printing machine.

And, increasing your reading speed can make a significant change in your life.

So, what can you do to accelerate your speed of reading? To get started, you can pick up a non-fiction book. Why? Because the fiction one contains lots of dialogues which means contains many breaks in the text. Those breaks might slow down the speed of reading.

Also, don’t pick a thick book. Three hundred pages would be the most. Get a book that you are interested in. It will help a lot.

Don’t practice speed reading while you feel tired or not in the mood. To get the best out of it, you’d better try it while you are in a good mood. You can try a pleasant morning or mid-day. Get yourself sit in a comfortable couch in a cozy corner. Choose a quiet spot where you can fully concentrate.

Then, what are the techniques?

Here are some techniques you might need to try to increase your speed of reading:

• Try to read down the page rather than left to right

• Read groups of words or complete thoughts rather than one word at a time

• Avoid involuntary rereading of material

You only need 15-minutes-a-day of practice. Doing it everyday will naturally increase your speed of reading.

Since now, the kids read more material than we did back then, it would be a great thing to include your children in the practice.

Make it a fun family activity. Each family member grabs a book and a timer is set. Once the reading begins, each person uses their speed reading skills to read as many of the pages of their book as they can until the timer sounds. The one who read the most will get prizes such as a trip to the library or a new book.

The result of speed reading skill will not only help them now but also in their future.

And remember, this skill is not limited to certain age. No one is ever too old to learn new things. Yet, a strong will is necessary.

Have a nice speedy reading.

Learn italian it really is a great deal

While there are many who have enjoyed learning and speaking the Italian language, there are still people who are hesitant to continue learning Italian no matter how badly they really want to learn it. The Italian language is just one of the many international languages that need to be learned with dedication and pure interest.

There are people who just think too much of the disadvantages or ‘what if’s’ in learning the Italian language before even doing the real work first. But the real problem here is that, with this kind of attitude, there is really never going to be any work done, lesson learnt or even a single Italian word spoken.

Instead of wasting time thinking about what could happen or the difficulty of learning the Italian language, its best to break the myths and surpass the hesitations. Learning Italian could bring you interest you never thought you’d have and even the desire to visit the Italian speaking country at its best – Italy!

Now that it has been mentioned, the thought of not visiting Italy or visiting it for a just short time is one of the hindrances which most people think of right away and also the reason why learning Italian is never a top priority. But there is a purpose why you should learn the language. Many Italian lessons today offer survival conversational phrases which most likely can become useful if ever you find yourself under the shadows of the leaning tower of Pisa or inside a restaurant with staff and customers speaking Italian and Italian alone.

Another common reason why people refuse to get involve in learning Italian is because they think they don’t have the time to sit down and read on the texts of the language. Again, there are more sources now than before. It isn’t only getting to a language class where one can learn Italian but also online, movies, audio aids and immersion are tops for learning this language or even any foreign language for that matter. It’s everywhere and anyone can read through a 10 key point article about Italian basics each day. That could only take about 10 to 20 minutes.

The idea here is that there are certainly no limits to how a person can learn a foreign language. Italian is just one thing out of the other hundreds of foreign languages. It’s great to learn new things everyday and you don’t even have to lose anything. When you think you can’t, it could only be because you really don’t want to or just too lazy to do it.

Columbus schools score national rank

Students who attend the Columbus School district may rest easy knowing that they study in an area that is doing all it can to ensure they receive an excellent education. District leaders are striving to make their schools top notch; from opening new schools to offering a plethora of programs throughout the Columbus School district. But how close are they to meeting the district’s mission statement?: ‘Each student is highly educated, prepared for leadership and service, and empowered for success as a citizen in a global community”.

While there is still work to be done, some great results are starting to show. Newsweek’s Top High Schools annual report shows some evidence of this improvement. Two of Columbus Schools’ high schools, Columbus Alternative High School and Centennial High School remained in the magazine’s top five percent nationwide for the second year in a row. In addition, the Ohio Teachers of the Year in both 2003 and 2005 were Columbus Schools’ teachers, and the Columbus Schools’ district leads the state with more than 100 National Board Certified Teachers on staff.

The Columbus Schools’ district also provides special education services to approximately 8,700 students; that’s 15.5% of the district’s total student population. The Special Education Department for Columbus Schools provides academic and behavioral support to disabled students in order to enable them to achieve academic excellence in the general education curriculum. The department also strives to help its disabled students acquire independent life skills that will prepare them for work or college, as applicable. In addition to these goals, Columbus Schools’ students with disabilities may receive related services, such as: Adaptive Physical Education, Attendant Services, Audiology Services, Braille Services, Counseling/Guidance Services, Medical Services, Occupational Therapy, Orientation/Mobility Training, Parent Involvement, Physical Therapy, Reader Services, Sign Language Interpretation, Special Transportation Services, Speech and Language Therapy, and Supervisory Services.

Columbus Schools are implementing many other innovative programs. Among them is a centralized Pre-Kindergarten program, which will provide school readiness activities for students close to entering kindergarten. Also, the creation of an Autism Program in Columbus Schools has been recommended by the Autism Task Force. It would consist of six classrooms which would serve students at the preschool and kindergarten level. The program would be served by an “Autism Team” consisting of a school psychologist, a speech & language pathologist, an occupational therapist, and a physical therapist. Also, the Columbus Children’s Hospital of Behavioral Health would provide consultation, professional development, and other resources.

Mainstream students are not left out of these improvements in Columbus Schools. Middle school students can benefit from the “Summer Discovery Academy” which strives to meet individual needs in reading, math, science, and social studies. The STAR (Science, Technology, and Algorithms) Academy is a Math/Science focus program that is also available. The HOTS program (Higher Order Thinking Skills) is a regularly scheduled class within the STAR academy for sixth and seventh grade students.

The Technology and International Studies School for grades 6-12 is another program that Columbus Schools hope to adopt. This program would immerse both students and teachers in the use of technology for learning and teaching. Also available within the district are single-gender schools. The possibilities for excellent programs abound throughout the Columbus Schools’ district. The only difficulty may lie in which one to choose!