| are online degrees available for as little as $200 | | | | considerations such as course content, faculty, |
| offered by such entities as Rochville University or | | | | number of enrolments, whether they include |
| Belford University under the rubric life experience | | | | internships or other forms of practical training, |
| degrees. These are not recognized nor are their | | | | whether the programs are fully online or are hybrids |
| accreditations recognized. Such degrees are not | | | | etc, you should look into the cost factor and find out |
| worth the paper they are written on. | | | | from each of the short listed schools what they are |
| As a general rule online degrees offered by public | | | | going to charge you for the particular program for |
| colleges or universities are cheaper than those | | | | which you want enroll in. |
| offered by private schools. But among the for-profit | | | | This is the only reliable way to find out what the |
| online universities or colleges, the cost of a degree is | | | | costs are really going to be. Also be careful to find |
| more or less the same because of the intense | | | | out all the hidden costs other than tuition costs |
| competition for enrolments. | | | | – such as cost of text books and study |
| The problem with most for-profit schools offering | | | | materials, cost of examinations, cost of getting the |
| online degrees is that they do not make public any | | | | degree and transcripts etc. There may also be costs |
| information on their official rate charts. Their rates | | | | with regard to any specific software that you may |
| vary from year to year and from program to | | | | be required to use and so on. |
| program. If criminal justice is more in demand in a | | | | It is always good to remember however, that there |
| particular year, the rates for criminal justice degrees | | | | is nothing called a free lunch. Always be careful about |
| will be higher that year than for years when the | | | | schools offering online criminal justice degrees at |
| demand was less. | | | | rates that are way below what most other schools |
| Rates also vary across programs. For example, in a | | | | are charging. You can be pretty sure there is some |
| particular year some school may charge higher tuition | | | | scam involved. It is generally safer to base |
| fees for criminal justice than even for technology | | | | one’s choice of school to such factors as |
| programs if in that particular year the demand for | | | | reputation, number of enrolments, accreditation, |
| criminal justice programs is more than that for | | | | course content, faculty etc than on costs. The cost |
| technology programs. This rarely happens but this is a | | | | factor should be considered last after you are |
| possibility. | | | | satisfied about all the other more important factors. |
| Due to the lack of transparency, absence of public | | | | A general guiding principle is that for associate level |
| information on rates and the fact that schools rarely | | | | degrees the cost will be around $10,000, for bachelor |
| stick to a single rate chart year after year, it is very | | | | level degrees the cost will be around $ 20,000 and |
| difficult to say which is the cheapest online criminal | | | | for master’s level degrees the cost will be |
| justice degree available. Once you have short listed a | | | | around $ 15,000. |
| few schools from other more important | | | | |