Some find that GEDs earned online aren't what they claim to be

Laurel Walker

Becky Ploense's job was eliminated in 2002, so she figured it was a good time to raise her chances of re-employment and get the high school diploma she never finished.

As the mother of a teenager, she liked the convenience of an online program that allowed her to work from her Hartland home. She enrolled with her credit card, was assessed monthly payments totaling about $500, was sent study materials by mail and completed her work online. It took her about four months to finish the courses in math, reading, social studies, science and English.

But she did not get what she thought she had paid for - her GED, or General Educational Development credential.

She went back to work for another seven years but, last December, lost her job as a team leader when Maysteel LLC in Menomonee Falls closed. Ploense, now 44, approached Anthem College, formerly High-Tech Institute, in Brookfield with hopes of studying massage therapy.

Posted by Jim Zellmer at December 2, 2010 1:11 AM
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