Online College Degrees

[surgtech1956]

Anyone have a degree from an online college/university? What about any fast track degree programs? I really don't know anything about these online degrees. I have an Associate's Degree but want to work on a Bachelor's in Business/Computer Information - I don't think alot of my credits will transfer(too career specific).

[Tuckervill]

If University of Phoenix gets your number they will haunt you to the ends of the earth! I also found out their tuition is twice as expensive as my local community college.

John Brown University, in my hometown, has an online degree completion program. You might look them up.

I didn't get a degree online, but I took all my classes online in 2005. I enjoyed it, but ultimately decided I didn't need college. I was very impressed with the technology that even my CC was using. It's probably come a long way since what they promised in the '70s with "satellite TV" teachers.

Karen

[Crankin]

One of my colleagues finished his degree from University of Maryland on line. He had been to a few schools and his degree is worth every bit as much as if he had been on campus. I would suggest looking for on line programs of regular well known state universities, not at private schools that are only on line schools. Most employers value those bit more.

[Di bear]

I had some online courses through the college I was going to and loved them. I actually think online learning is more productive than classroom lecture when done right.

ABOVE ALL ELSE

Pick whichever institution of higher learning floats your boat but make sure the program you enroll in is accredited or it may come and bite you in the butt. Accreditation is key.

[Mr. SR500]

Try to stick with a brick and mortar school. Most have all sorts of regional programs. No offense to anyone with an online degree, but IMO they don't come close to a well known school.

[RedNBlondies]

I've looked into teaching at some online schools. I did some research on them and have spoken to other instructors.

I found that there are huge differences in schools that are exclusively online and existing "brick and mortar" schools that have online programs.

The online universities seems to sell their degrees. Students pay a lot of money, and the instructors are highly motivated to make sure that students make good grades. Instructors are not hired back if the grades of the students are too low!!

The programs offered by traditional colleges and universities seem to offer quality programs and degrees.

Good luck finding a school and a program.

[crazybikinchic]

I have taken some online courses for my current degree program. They were the support classes, not the critical classes for my program. I have taken them through 2 different community colleges. At the first one, it was great, it was self paced and very well put together. At the second school, the courses were not self paced and were not as well put together. When I start my Master's degree, there are 2 colleges that offer the program. One is in class and would require my to move which I am not prepared to do. The other is completely online. They have said I might have to go to the campus maybe once a semester. I am all for that.

[shootingstar]

I had some online courses through the college I was going to and loved them. I actually think online learning is more productive than classroom lecture when done right.

ABOVE ALL ELSE

Pick whichever institution of higher learning floats your boat but make sure the program you enroll in is accredited or it may come and bite you in the butt. Accreditation is key.

+on accredited institution. You want some basic value out of your educational dollar investment, at least. I don't know the U.S. but probably there must be a national organization on the internet accreditation process.

To me, the differences between online vs. in-class courses, depends on what the core subject matter of the course is, followed by the instructor's teaching capabilties that effect how I would benefit best from online vs. in-classroom course. Or split time.

For instance, I saw a online course on presentation skills.. well, nothing beats the rigor and lively, learning challenge (I almost said "stress") of live in-class coaching, trial and error presentation exercises and automatic critiquing by instructor and classmates.

However if it was course on online instructional skills for distance learners, that's diffferent...

I know for myself, most of my learning AFTER UNIVERSITY, seems to thrive best in-class because I learn more quickly from interaction with others, live discussion, in addition to the course content. I need the slight competitive edge of others around me, to push myself further and stay discplined.

[uforgot]

As a flip side to learning from interaction, I completed my physics certification at home. Having no one to ask around here, I had to dig and dig and think it through myself to understand some things. I found that I learned so much more when I had a struggle. As a teacher, I also find that students tend to remember and learn more if the answer doesn't come easily through friends or the teacher. I give a hearty thumbs up to online learning, but only through accredited institutions. Mine was through the University of Utah and I'd do it again through there. It was a terrific experience.

[short cut sally]

I started one of those programs. Started it say 7 years ago. I bought into their whole deal of "if you sign up with us, we don't do any homework or projects, and it's really easy". They said that and I along with several other people signed up. I didn't realize it was a series of prerequisite "clep" books that they sent me, you read these books on a subject, go to a local college and take a test. They didn't explain that was how it was going to be. They made it sound like one reads these small books, there was participation, and you won't be alone and can get help anytime, and its a highlight of your course and you just test out, easy as that. I am a horrible test taker and I need that actual class structure. I was under the impression everything was online and the books that were being sent were on line stuff and it wasn't at all. It was a do it yourself home study to attempt to get out of classes. I passed my first exam in ethics, attempted government but didn't pass that, and that's where all my interest stopped and that was the end of getting my BSN. I got suckered by the salesman point blank. IT cost me a small fortune to get these manuals as they called them. Which were xerox copies stuck in a notebook. AND that wasn't even the cost of the actual college courses that had to be taken online. ( The college was accredited and similar to Un. of Pheonix but a tad cheaper). I never made it that far so I can't comment on the online courses at all. I was very disillusioned by the whole thing. The other girl that I know that signed up with me, she never completed one exam, as she didn't realize how it was going to work also. I do know another lady that is getting her BSN online thru U of Pheonix and seems to be doing okay with it.

[uforgot]

I had to go to a certified testing center also. It was a long time ago, but that's the reality in class or at home. You have to take tests. I can't imagine it has changed much, though, because they have to verify WHO is taking the test. If it was really easy to get a degree, they really wouldn't be worth much. We all struggled through our Bachelors, etc.

[PrincessAna]

I teach at a brick and mortar uni, and we do offer a couple of programs totally online. I would not have any problems recommending a person to one of those programs, but then, I know the teachers :) We also offer an assortment of online courses which can be a part of a regular degree. I'm teaching one myself in the fall. We also have an adult degree program, which is accelerated and offers courses in the evening and on Saturdays. Many schools have something of that nature now, and it's a great way for working adults to get an education.

I recommend people think about their learning styles before taking an online course. Without the usual "check-ins" of in-class attendance, the student has to be all the more motivated to complete work on his/her own. Interactions are also very different online. Some people totally gel with it, some need f2f communications.

+1 to finding an accredited program. Also any degree from a traditional university is going to be a different animal from a degree from a tech school, even if they both say "Bachelors of whatever".

Anastasia :)

[KSH]

I would suggest looking for on line programs of regular well known state universities, not at private schools that are only on line schools. Most employers value those bit more.

Great advice there.

Many of those private schools that promise a degree in 6 months are VERY EXPENSIVE! You can get a degree, for less money, from a local college that is well respected.

Good luck!

[GLC1968]

My husband has two online degrees. One that he started at Univ of Maryland when he was in the airforce that he finished at University of Phoenix not long after we were married. That one is a bachelor's degree in IT. His master's degree is from Norwich University that he earned through a distance learning program a little over a year ago. The experiences between the two were vastly different and they weren't solely the normal differences between undergrad and graduate school. The quality of his education from Norwich was vastly superior to the UoP education. The Norwich program also included a week long 'residency' where he was on campus, did some group final projects, took some intensive electives and did other 'live' learning programs. It was required that he work with his classmates (one of which was in Japan) and each graduating class in the program was kept intentionally small to encourage interaction. He had a ton of contact and attention from the professors and his 'participation' requirements were much higher than any that I had when I got my "brick and mortar" master's degree. It was a tough and intensive program.

Based on what I saw him go through and how these two degrees have been treated by the corporate world, I would highly recommend what a few others have said and suggest selecting a respected University that has a good distance learning or online program.

Oh, and one of the major advantages to distance learning is that he was able to get a specialized degree from one of the most respected programs in the country - from our small town location in NC. It's a great opportunity to get an education that otherwise might be unobtainable for many people due to location and work schedules.

[surgtech1956]

Thanks for the info. I've found 3 local universities - a community college where my degree is from offers a 3+1 BA in management(I would transfer to a 4 year for the last year), another college thats about 40 miles away has an online accelerated program. I'm interested in management or health service administration. I made the mistake of requesting info from Phoenix - they sure are pushy - I tried not being rude, but finally had to tell them I wasn't interested. I should have posted before requesting the info.

[Tuckervill]

I first called Phoenix in 2004, and I received a call from them again LAST WEEK!

Karen

[Red Rock]

Surgetech-I am currently in the online program through Weber State University here in Utah. I have been doing this for two semesters now going on to my third.

My basic impressions are this: For me online seems more difficult because I feel like I am having to figure everything out, or teaching myself. There is not the direct contact, or immediacy, that you would get if you were on campus. I like to actually speak with the prof. in person.

It is nice since I do not have to move locations for an education.

I am amazed at the people that I have had class with through time. The Bahamas, Wyoming, SLC, Oregon...etc. That in itself is intresting. I wish I could meet these people in person and actually get to know them.

I have a BS plus already so I am going back for the 2nd or 3rd time for more education.

When I sign up for a class and "go to the bookstore", if there is an optional text, for an online student it is mandatory. That is how I feel at least. I would rather not guess at what I have to know.

If your intrested in Health Service Administration, you might want to check out Weber. They are accreitied, and they are brick and mortar. I am in their Clinical Laboratory Science section.

I hope this helps.

Ellen

[Tuckervill]

Contrast to me, where I absolutely LOVED my online classes--the way the worked, the amount of interaction with others, being able to do it while in bed. I don't really like being around people a lot, and I don't like having to compete for time to speak or ask questions. So, online works GREAT for me.

There were some drawbacks--like having to do group projects with people who could not function online. But for me, the online experience was the best.

Karen

[crazybikinchic]

I agree with the group project stuff. I am one that wants to get it done and move on with life, while I have had groups that are the last minute type. Again, it depends on how well the online class is set up. I did have an issue with a computer crash and losing all of the completed work to that date. Fortunately, it was only about 2 weeks into classs, and she gave us 100's for redoing the work (I had done really well on the work anyway). The other online classes I have had were a lot of busy work. That really annoyed me because I was taking a full load. If it were not for that, it would have been fine but I still had 3-4 other classes to deal with. I would stay away from U of Phoenix.

[TahoeDirtGirl]

I echo what someone else said about traditional schools with online programs as well, it's the way to go. Schools that are primarily online are sometimes sketchy.

I have two degrees from bricks n mortar- A.S Physics and B.S. Mechanical Engineering. I was going to get an MBA but I wanted to do something different and wanted to be a little diverse so I pursued Sports Management with an emphasis in Fitness and Wellness. I will say it was easier than engineering but that's about it. You still had to take tests that were timed (there was no way you could go flipping through the pages to figure out the answers) and had projects. It took 3 years and I graduated this May. I can say I was glad when it was done, the coursework was just like you were in normal classes on campus but you could be doing it at 1 a.m. or 6 a.m. didn't matter. Still had deadlines.

I would say if you have a degree already and are working, it's great.

[uforgot]

Contrast to me, where I absolutely LOVED my online classes--the way the worked, the amount of interaction with others, being able to do it while in bed. I don't really like being around people a lot, and I don't like having to compete for time to speak or ask questions. So, online works GREAT for me.


Wow, there is someone else out there like me? That's exactly how I feel!

[Tuckervill]

I thought I was alone, too! :)

Karen

[TahoeDirtGirl]

Not to mention fighting for parking spaces and library materials that people keep checking out on you. I think the commuting part and not having to be 'on campus' for class was a big seller too. Ha, count me in on not wanting to have to elbow out people on questions. Very laid back. You got some nitwits that would post some bad stuff in discussion but the profs I had quickly squashed that.