Online Degrees - Any one doing it ?

[franksoprano]

Has anyone here persued getting a online degree from one of the many online sources?? After looking over them and viewing the course curiculium they look tempting since they are to the point with just teaching what pertains to the field..

Whats everyones experiences with them? Pros / Cons?

Thanks

 

[CajunCenturion]

There are lots of people pursuing on-line degrees.

As to whether or not it's a good investment in yourself remains to be seen. The issue is about the perception of the quality of the degree and how the business community looks upon it, and what value the business community will assign to it.

Good Luck
--------------
As a circle of light increases so does the circumference of darkness around it. - Albert Einstein

 

[GlenJohnson]

Won't say if it's good or bad, but a certain web site I visit always leads me to the university of phoneix and I have to decline the on-line degree. I would be interested in hearing from someone who has finished and actually gotten an on-line degree. I personally, have taken dozens of classes, but the company paid for it, and there was not a degree offered. I did learn a ton though. (This was set up where you have an entire year to take whatever courses you wanted, and I took advantage of it big time.) Anybody out there get a degree?

Glen A. Johnson
Johnson Computer Consulting

http://www.johnsoncomputers.us

"The best fire does not flare up the soonest."
George Eliot (1819-1880); Englist novelist.

Want to get great answers to your Tek-Tips questions? Have a look at FAQ219-2884

 

[LesleyW]

I am starting with the Open University come November, working towards a degree (Bsc, modular rather than a named degree). This is all distance learning (not necessarily online) with tutor support.

The Open University is a UK institution, and I recently learned that they are regarded as among the top ten UK University's.

There is a Regional Centre just 5 minutes away from my office, and they have a library there with all the course materials for each course. I found this a fantastic resource, esp. where I was unsure what level I wanted to study at. You can just look at the course materials and assess for yourself. I was very impressed with the standard of materials.

Friends who have attended full time degrees/diplomas always seem to end up with at least one tutor who is substandard/mumbling/drunk/incompetent. At least seeing the material in black and white before you, you can make a judgement.

For further info see

http://www.open.ac.uk

 

[lionelhill]

LesleyW, I hope you have a lot of fun with it. I think things mostly depend on the reputation of the institution concerned, and as a UK resident I'm very happy to trust the open university. It's been around for years and has built itself a steady reputation for being a great deal more than a dodgy mail-order diploma shop. On the contrary: the few OU graduates I've met have shown real drive to learn a great deal by sustained effort over 7 years or more. I'd have no worries about studying with OU, but I'd worry a bit about some of the less firmly-rooted courses I get spammed about...

 

[BruceReed]

I think that Lionel is right on with his comment about dodgy shops.

The trick is how do you separate the great schools from the legit- but not so great, from the con artist shops? Is there a web site reviewing all of the web universities? Would this reviewer-web site be for real, or just another cog in the con artist's scam? If you are located thousands of kilometers away from the place, you just have to *trust* the school is what it seems.

At least with a "real" university you can visit the campus, & talk to real professors.

My 2 cents
Bruce

 

[fuziman]

Who has the time? I work for a small co. and our tiny crew has all we can do just keeping up on the day to day stuff. I too have been interested some *more* online courses,but to frank, the extra time/effort would certainly pay off for me, though not from my employer, who believes in understaffing at all costs.........

 

[BruceReed]

Fuziman
If your company won't help you, you will have to do in on on your own.

Might be expensive & time consuming, but worth it to you in the long run. Then you can tell your cheap company they can have their job back, when you get a better position with someone else.

2 cents

Bruce

 

[SQLBI]

Hi,

I'm currently doing an HND at a local college affiliated to DeMontfort University. It suits me perfectly, 2 nights per week and you pay as you sit the modules, so i pay GB£400 per year for 3 years, spread over the course.

I find being taught a lot easier than learning from a book or CD ROM, cos if you don't quite understand something, you just put up your hand.

Cheers,

Leigh Moore
LJM Analysis Ltd

http://www.ljm-analysis.co.uk

 

[onebigscot]

Hey Glen Johnson, I will be completing my BSIT degree from the University of Phoenix in December. Most of the time I was in a classroom and part of a "learning team". Each class lasts five weeks, with individual projects or papers due each week and a group project (and paper) due at the end of the course. However for the last seven months I have been on a "directed study" program where I swap emails with an instructor and work soley on an individual basis.

I liked most of the instructors as they are required to be currently employed in the field they are teaching. There have been a few bad apples, but most were quality. The group projects were enjoyable because they mimicked the workplace and we had the chance to get creative. Some team members were losers and others were dependable...just like the workplace.

I don't like the administration though, especially those surrounding the financial aid department. They are generally incompetent and uncaring. They automatically raise tuition every fall and it is very expensive. Fortunately the pace is brisk so I will graduate sooner than had I attended a traditional university.

Since going on-line, I have found that the student-teacher interaction is too limited and I miss the learning team atmosphere and projects.

As far as recommending this program to others...I have to say "maybe". I know that's a cop-out but it is decision each person will have to make for themselves. The good and bad points I listed above leave me in an ambivilent state. I am just happy this part of my eduction is over and I can go on to the next step: training myself...

 

[CajunCenturion]

onebigscot - but what about the real question:

What did you teach you, and what did you learn?

Good Luck
--------------
As a circle of light increases so does the circumference of darkness around it. - Albert Einstein

 

[unixtechie]

"However for the last seven months I have been on a '"directed study"' program where I swap emails with an instructor and work soley on an individual basis."

I would like to know the reason for this in the curriculum and what the student really learned. Is each class a "directed study" course that nets 3 cr. hrs.? Normally, in a graduate program (not sure about undergraduate) there is a limit to the number of independent study courses that a student can take for credit applicable to the degree of study. It seems to me that with such an emphasis on "directed study" the educational system of this institution is abusing, at the expense of a student, a valuable course of study.

There was an interesting article last week, I believe, in USA Today, focusing on diploma mills. It seems even the chief technology official at the Dept. of Homeland Sec. is on paid leave while her educational background is investigated. It seems that she received a PhD from a "University" in Wyoming that is on a list in the state of Oregon as not being a true accredited institution, aka, "diploma mill."

The article stated that the places, because of the tight economy have been having more "graduates," so the recipient can have an advantage in the marketplace. Some of these places even go so far as to issue class rings, transcipts and have people answer phones to verify the "graduates" academics when an employer or someone checks the background being claimed by said "graduate."

This fraud, I feel, is going to accelerate in the future as babyboomers retire. There have been two large articles in the past two weeks I have read stating that the highly-skilled and highly-educated will reap the rewards when the babyboomers begin retiring en-masse in a few years, due to the fact that there will be a labor shortage of educated, qualified workers to fill the void. Because of this fact the speculation is that salaries are going to be at a premium to attract and keep those educated, skilled workers because there won't be enough to fill the shortage.

Because of that, wanting a better job and higher pay, people will turn to ficticious and fraudulant means to gain economic viability.

 

[dogbert2]

Well, given the fact that college is no where near as hard as it was 20 to 40 years ago (the National Academy of Scholars estimates that the general knowledge level of a college graduate in 2003 (bachelor's) is NO better (or worse) than a high school graduate in the early 1960's).

Given that information, I wonder who is getting taken for a ride?, the student who enrolls in college, or the institution itself, for lowering requirements, grade inflation, student evals of instructors (absolute baloney on this one), and other things).

I would hope that people attending a place of higher education would go there to really bust the ole rear end studying until you have no brains left. The sad result of college life today is that it's way too easy to earn a college degree, if it was something someone REALLY had to work for, perhaps it MIGHT be worth more.

 

[DrGreen26]

I completed my degree online through the University of Phoenix. It was a great way to complete school and work full time at my job. I majored in Business Info. Systems. I am now preparing to go back and work on my Masters degree and will more than likely pursue a MBA with a concentration in Computer Info. Systems or Electrical Engineering through Bellevue University or some other accredited University.

Its worth it, however, the only killer is the cost. I will be paying for my student loans for the next several years as the cost for me was 2 to 3times more. But it is rewarding.



Mark C. Greenwood, CNE
m_jgreenwood@yahoo.com

With more than 10 years experience to share.

 

[unixtechie]

Explain the lengthy directed study that seems a large part of their curriculum, as stated by another UoP graduate, onebigscot.

This seems abusive of the intent of independent study courses in a graduate program, which limits how many cr. hrs. can be applied to a degree program.

 

[franksoprano]

Has anyone taken classes through AIUonline.com ??

 

[unixtechie]

I will be hit hard for this statement, however, if one lives in a large- or medium-size city there is most likely a college or university. And they probably offer accelerated degrees if that is your gig (paper not learning).

For one to take a purely onine degree, grad or undergard, I believe is a copout. Especially if a local college offers the same degree for less than half the cost of the online program.

If someone lives in the most rural area, then perhaps distance education is an answer, but I would look at a state universities distance education programs before online programs.

 

[dogbert2]

Well, the quality of IS/CS instruction at the local 4 year univ. leaves a LOT to be desired where I live, so for someone who has a ton of exp. and could probably learn the material on his own (if I were inclined), doesn't seem to be overly hard, but just a matter of going thru the motions is all.

Your Mileage May Vary, of course...

 

[franksoprano]

My problem is with working full time and working a varying schedule it would be pretty much impossible to tend classes, plus I would like to get it all over with instead of taking 2-3 years to get an associates..

Its tough..

 

[dogbert2]

I completed a associate's degree in Fall of 2002, and you are right, it's tough if you work full time, and try to squeeze a couple of classes in here or there.