With the rising tide of layoffs and unemployment, a lot of people are looking to shore up their career skills to improve their chances of landing a job. Online education is an ideal way to prepare for satisfying work. And for people with arthritis, learning online can be a godsend. You attend “class” at your computer – without the hassles of commuting to campus, finding a parking spot and racing to your desk before class begins.

Additionally, many online courses are geared toward home-based careers and professions that can free you from the emotional – if not physical – stress of a 9-to-5 schedule.

To help you evaluate the options and narrow down your search, here are five factors to consider.

Accreditation

Accrediting agencies ensure that the course content, faculty and instructional quality consistently meet a set of high standards. As a starting point, visit the Council For Higher Education Accreditation Web site to learn about legitimate accrediting organizations. Then, check out which organizations are recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

Or, simply check to see if your school is accredited by the Distance Education and Training Council (DETC), which accredits online schools nationwide. According to the DETC, more than 130 million Americans have studied at DETC member institutions since 1890. Among them are such familiar figures as Franklin D. Roosevelt, Walter P. Chrysler, Walter Cronkite, Barry Goldwater, Charles Schulz, and many others.

Career Training vs. College Courses

Accreditation applies to schools that offer college degrees as well as those that offer career training courses leading to certification or a career diploma. If you’re looking to complete an associate’s, bachelor’s or master’s degree program, keep in mind that many schools won’t accept transfer credits that are more than five or 10 years old, and some credits may not be transferrable.

Online career training courses are efficient because you can upgrade your skills while holding on to your current job. And some hold promise for steady work and good pay, such as paralegal and medical transcription courses. Others may open the door to home-based businesses such as wedding consulting, tax preparation and Web design. But beware: Earning a career diploma isn’t enough to put you in business. Fields such as teacher’s aide, private investigation, real estate appraisal and home inspection may be regulated by state or federal licensing agencies, and may require that you have apprenticeship experience, take an exam or become certified before you can practice professionally.

Delivery Method

Online courses can be completely taught at a computer, or they may be combined with campus-based classes. At some schools, textbooks and instructional materials are sent to your home, and only the lessons, assignments and exams are taken online. In fact, if you are not comfortable doing lengthy reading at a computer screen, you may prefer books.

Online courses can be synchronous, which means you are required to sit through online study sessions and lectures on a pre-determined schedule; or asynchronous, meaning you can study at your own pace without meeting deadlines. If you’re in a hurry to complete your course, the latter option is best.

Pay close attention to the course description to ensure the study method suits you. Even better, some schools let you sample a course by taking a short trial lesson and test for free.

Quality of Instruction

Better online schools use the same textbooks used in brick-and-mortar and residential colleges. If the course is 100 percent online, make sure it includes videos and interactive capability, and isn’t just words scanned from a textbook. You should have full access to bios of the instructors, who should have practical, in-the-field experience related to the course they teach. It’s perfectly acceptable for online schools to employ faculty who work off-site. But they should be available to give support and advice.

Support Services

Studying independently can be gratifying – but lonely. And what if you can’t understand a concept and get stuck? More sophisticated online schools provide the opportunity to instant-message or e-mail instructors or subject-matter experts with questions – or at the least contact someone toll-free. There may be chat rooms or discussion blogs where students can share information around the clock. And you should be able to contact “real” people if you want information about the shipping of course materials, tuition payments, exams, grades and more.

Whether you have an entrepreneurial spirit or just want the freedom to work your own hours, you can benefit from online study. Just be sure to do your homework when researching the right school for you.