Are online colleges worth my while?
Question:
Answer:
When you say "strictly online school", do you mean a school that doesn't have a campus or a school that is mostly online? In either case, I recommend that you avoid those types of degrees. However, you can get a good education from a public, state college or university online.
Some pitfalls with an online for-profit school are:
1. High cost, $450 per semester credit hour or more.
2. Stigma associated with an "online" school. Some employers will not give as much respect to an "online" degree as they would a degree from a traditional school.
3. High intensity sales pitches from enrollment advisors. In other words, some enrollment advisors may give you bad advice as to the proper course path making you take additional courses that you don't need, thereby costing you more money.
4. Overloaded, underappreciated instructors. Of course, this could also apply to traditional schools too.
5. Limited accreditations. Usually, a for-profit will only obtain a regional accreditation from one of the regional accrediting agencies or a national accreditation from DETC or ACICS.
There are some benefits with attending an online program from a community college or state university.
1. Degree conferred for online students is the same as on-campus students.
2. Many times, the same instructor teaches both online and on-campus classes.
3. Workload is sometimes higher for online students in order to cover material that is normally provided in a classroom setting, to cover it in the homework instead.
4. Work at your own pace for some schools and courses
5. State Universities will in most cases have regional accreditation but also have program accreditations similar to AACSB for business programs.
Some cons are:
1. Work at your own pace. :) It takes dedication to set your own schedule and finish a college course on your own time.
2. Sometimes limited interaction with professors.
3. Limited interaction with other students. Sometimes forums are setup for this purpose. In my opinion, student interaction with other students is less likely in online courses.
4. Workload may be overwhelming at times.
As I mentioned earlier, state colleges and universities are the best place to get an online education. If you are just starting your college education or have less than 60 semester credit hours, try your local community college first. They may have an online AA degree program. If they don't, try other community colleges in your state.
Once you have an AA degree, you can enroll in an online bachelor's degree completion program at one of the state universities. Many state universities now have online degrees. The following are some websites to get you started.
http://www.fhsu.edu/virtualcollege/...
http://www.peru.edu/offuttafb/degreeprog...
http://outreach.uwyo.edu/ocp/
http://www.distance.msstate.edu/...
http://www.distancelearning.ufl.edu/degr...
http://www.apu.apus.edu/index.htm...
http://www.online.uillinois.edu/...
http://www.depts.ttu.edu/ode/collegeover...
If you really feel the need to spend $400 per semester hour, at least attend Penn State (yes, Penn State has online degree programs). http://www.worldcampus.psu.edu
Finally, when you choose a school, make sure it is at least regionally accredited. You can check accreditation at http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/search.a... You can learn more about accreditation at http://www.ed.gov/admins/finaid/accred/i...
Edit: One last thing, when attending online courses, many times, you will need to take two to four proctored exams per course. A proctored exam doesn't necessarily mean that you have to go to the school's campus. You will have to find a suitable proctor that the school accepts. Usually, this will be the testing center at your local community college or a librarian from your public library.
Good luck,
The quality of online programs varies, so it depends on the school and type of field. With a subject like psychology or human services, interaction with people that is a critical part of the training that you can't get online.
Beyond checking accreditation, you need to consider how employers view the reputation of the program. Also find out whether they would hire candidates from those programs.
Ask the programs for information on the placement rates of graduates. Another option, regular universities that offer online degree programs. There are many in the California State university system, some private schools also offer them. Then your degree would most likely be considered a regular degree because you had to meet the same standards as other students. John Bear has written some good books about distance education programs. He critiques alternative & distance programs, the ones to avoid-diploma mills that charge money for worthless degrees He also discusses good quality distance programs.
Online colleges are very good.
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