"After playing  the pundit role for a few years, I have  not seen such a comprehensive catalog of 2-year programs  available online or via distance learning.  The “Statewide & Regional Search Sites” page contains a treasure trove of state-specific information.  Out of 5 stars,  AboutEdu  may deserve 6.  It’s that good.  A fantastic, highly informative  site."

Unsolicited Website Review of AboutEdu.org
(June 2009 - http://elearningpundit.com/?s=aboutedu)

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 "It is our responsibility as lawmakers and as educators to make this system work, but it is the responsibility of every citizen to participate in it...So tonight I ask every American to commit to at least one year or more of higher education or career training. ..But whatever the training may be, every American will need to get more than just a high school diploma"   

President Barack Obama - February 24, 2009

AboutEdu is a tax exempt 501(c)(3) public organization  whose mission is to  inform, and educate  unemployed, displaced, disabled, and other workers with job-market disadvantages on how to use online education to retrain themselves to new job opportunities. 

Key to our mission is  providing  these workers  with consumer  guidance on how to best  identify, evaluate, and  choose the  online educational  program that is best for them, and their families.   We  believe that  a well-informed online educational consumer is  the best  defense  against internet fraud, diploma mills, and other unethical industry practices.  

Why a "Non-Advertiser Supported" website? 

To better understand the mission of AboutEdu, we suggest you do a simple online search on the topic of "Online Education".  

In our daily  repeated searches on the topic, we keep finding the same results:  A very long list of websites with  impressive  Educational  sounding  names  that are either advertiser-supported or  advertiser-created.  While there are some of these sites that provide a good service, AboutEdu has found the information provided by many of these sites to be confusing; not unbiased, and not always in the best interest of the potential online student seeking guidance. 

AboutEdu's  goal is to be  one of the leading  web-based resources of "unbiased" consumer advice and guidance on online education.   Due to the high demand by unemployed, and displaced workers on information about short term retraining programs, our current focus  has been  on "accredited certificate / retooling  programs" of one year, or close to a year.   While some of these certificates may articulate into associate or bachelor programs upon completion, our  emphasis at this time is not on multi-year degree programs. 

If you:

• Are unemployed and  looking to "retrain" to  job opportunities in growth industries

• Have been displaced from an industry you have worked most of your life; had no intention of leaving, and are not sure of what to do next,

• Are "employed to survive" and meet your financial obligations, but looking for a future  in  industries  with a brighter employment forecast, and career opportunities.

• Are having to  postpone retirement, and  need  to get  retrained to qualify for  new job opportunities

• Unsure  of what type of entry-level positions exist in the industries with forecasted job growth, or how you can train for them, 

• Have no time  to  get to  a campus-based program,

•  
  = Need accredited short term  retooling programs that can get you the entry level  skills and credentials you  need within a year , and upon completion provide you with "options" that give you credit for the work you have already completed - Allowing you  to, if  you  choose  to,  to  continue for your associate or bachelors or graduate degree. 
   

• Cannot afford to  pay high tuition fees, and  unwilling  to get yourself & your family into another mortgage - "an educational mortgage" that you  will not be able to afford upon program completion.  

• Confused on which of the hundreds of websites with "educational sounding names" that fill your online searches and email inbox daily are legitimate,  

• Confused about what you should be looking for, asking for, and expecting from online certificate programs and their providers:  pre-enrollment; while enrolled, and upon completion?

Then AboutEdu is AboutYou, and about helping you, and your families  to follow President's Obama challenge  for each of us to  participate in making the system work for each of us.