Online Masters Degree - What are your thoughts?

[tcloud]

I completed my masters program online - and am considering doing another. For my program, the classes were synchronous (and recorded, so I could revisit the lectures), we had group projects (meeting in virtual classrooms, when necessary), proctored exams, a bulletin board for questions/collaborations, and access to our professors via email/phone. Pretty much everything it would have been in a traditional program - except it was virtual. For me, it was a great decision. If I had waited to enter a traditional program, I'd probably still be waiting.

Btw...I found doing a synchronous program to be most beneficial. I had previously taken an asynchronous course, and found it really difficult to stay motivated.

[rubysoho]

Btw...I found doing a synchronous program to be most beneficial. I had previously taken an asynchronous course, and found it really difficult to stay motivated.

I could see this with myself as well so I will try to remember it while I look at my options.

The whole going into debt part still bothers me. I want to make sure that on the other side of this I will truly benefit from having an MBA. I think I will look at part time options since it would be easier to pay for as I go along rather than rushing to complete 33-35 hours in 18 months/2 years.

TrekDianna, thank you very much for your offer. I will definitely be in touch after this weekend (my mother will be in town).

[pumpkinpony]

Franklin University in Ohio has a Marketing & Communication degree.
http://www.franklin.edu/degree-progr...-communication

I did the general MBA with them online. It's an 18 month program but it took me about 3 years, partly due to cost and partly due to my work schedule.

My experience with it... Different schools have different methods of learning, so look into that too and figure out which method works for you. I chose Franklin because it isn't all team based. Yes there is some team work, but a large part of your grade is from individual assignments. I took one class from a different school, and it was 100% team work. Sucks when you have someone on your team who never does anything!

Some, like Daniel Webster, give you your syllabus week by week, which really didn't work for me. Franklin gives you the entire class syllabus 10 days prior to the class starting which is great. I could look ahead and if I had a busy week at work coming up, I could double up on the work the week prior for example. One class I wrote almost all the papers for the class during one week!

Usually there is some sort of online 'classroom' to use. For team meetings we all got together once or twice a week and chatted about assignments. Most interaction was done via email or a message board.

Does your employer offer any tuition reimbursement? I was able to get about $5500 per year reimbursed. Don't forget FAFSA - I applied there and was able to get a loan to cover the cost of tuition, some was interest free and some wasn't. That was before I knew about the tuition reimbursement - once I figured that out I was able to pay the loan off rather quickly.

[lovelygamer]

My other half got his MLIS degree from PITT and although it's considered to be the same as a traditional degree, he did it online. He did, however, have to travel to the school occasionally. That is a question you have to ask your school. Will you ever require be required to present yourself in person during this degree? I have another friend taking the same MLIS program right now through a school in California. You can bet she won't be traveling from coast to coast, so I imagine that they don't require her for their program.