The 21st Century has seen the number of online colleges virtually explode. Where once there maybe a few dozen there are now several hundred. This is a good thing for the shopping student. The greater the selection, the better one’s chances of finding a school that fits one’s particular needs.

This is a good thing. If the number of internet institutions is on the increase, so are the odds of finding one that best suits your particular needs. Still, with that many operations offering online degrees, what are some tips to help find that one? Here are some tips to help you narrow the field.

First, make sure the college is truly accredited. By that, what’s meant is whatever credits you earn can be transferred to another university, on or offline, without any loss. The best way to double check is to go to the U.S. Department of Education and see if they recognize the school. If the DoE recognizes it, then the school is truly accredited.

Second, check out the resumes of the teaching staff. If you are taking a creative writing course, find out if you’re teacher is a steadily-publishing author and what she has published. If you’re taking a computer course, what’s your teacher’s programming experience? How long have they been teaching and where did they get their educations? Next, find out how accessible the teaching staff is. The more accessible, the better.

Third, don’t forget financial aid. Not only as a way of helping pay your way, but as a way to weigh the legitimacy of the school. The more financial aid options the school provides, from federal funding to private grants, the more recognized the school is in the outside world. Another thing to consider is if the school offers tuition installment payment plans. If it does, that takes some or the pain out of the paying.

Remember you are going for an online education so that you aren’t restricted by schedules. Therefore make sure make sure the classes they offer are available at times convenient to you. In fact, some of the materials, such as educational files and videos, should be accessible 24-7. You should be able to start a course anytime, but still be able to complete it within a certain time limit.

Will the course load involve any offline/field research? While the internet has become a good substitute for an average library–and that’s fine for a lot of disciplines–getting a medical or nursing degree of some type should involve actually putting one’s hands on a patient. See how the online university handles such a situation.

Attending college courses online is not like it was ten years ago. Back in those hoary old days before the 21st Century, there were only a handful of online schools, and the offered very little graduate school scholarships , so they could set the agenda. Today, there are hundreds of schools online. This means you, the student, are much more in control. Remember that when you make your final decision and you’ll do well.