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Greeneyes
Citizen
Username: Greeneyes
Post Number: 720
Registered: 8-2001
| | Posted on Monday, January 30, 2006 - 11:20 pm: | 
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I am a SAHM who needs to do something to keep my brain from turning to mush. I was thinking of earning an online degree. Has anyone ever done it or know someone who has earned a degree this way? Are online degrees as valuable as a degree earned in a classroom? I sleep about 4 hours a day if I'm lucky, so I have plenty of time to devote to classwork. I may want to return to the workforce in a few years. Will an HR person laugh at my degree earned from St. Leos?
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Gatica™
Citizen
Username: Katracho
Post Number: 250
Registered: 11-2002
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 31, 2006 - 12:53 am: |
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First, you have to be very careful about your school selection. You have to make sure that the school you go with is an accredited institution, and not a fly by night operation. Otherwise, your degree might be worthless. And yes, an HR person may laugh at it.
Second, once you have selected a school, it will probably cost as much to take online classes as in-person classes.
Third, because it is online does not mean it is going to be easier than in-person classes. If anything, it will require more dedication and focus from you.
That being said, my employer honors degrees from the University of Phoenix and the New England College of Finance. I believe there are others on the list, but don't know them. They are listed as approved institutions for tuition reimbursement. Although I do not have any experience with either of these two, I am thinking of taking some finance classes though NECF.
Not too long ago (November maybe), the WSJ had an article on the difficulties some students had getting their credits transferred from some of these schools to other schools. Some of them were not honored at all. If I find it, I’ll send you a copy. Basically, though: caveat emptor.
Hope this helps.
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fiche
Citizen
Username: Fiche
Post Number: 74
Registered: 3-2002
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 31, 2006 - 8:28 am: |
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Thomas Edison College is a New Jersey State College which has the same accrediation as Kean, Rutgers, etc. I have earned approx 50 credits there so far and enjoy learning immensely. I can't say what employers will think of on line degrees. The tuition is approximately the same as the other state colleges. If you want to check it out, go to www.tesc.edu
Nevertheless, I think I would enjoy the actual classroom experience. Also, you have to be highly self-motivated, because in essence you are teaching yourself with only a mentor (not a lecturing professor, etc) to assist you.
Good luck.
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greenetree
Supporter
Username: Greenetree
Post Number: 6670
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 31, 2006 - 10:35 am: |
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If you are interested in an MBA, CARDEAN U is an online collaboration between Harvard, U of Chicago and a couple other similar B-schools. I'd checked it out a few years ago, but passed. |
monster
Supporter
Username: Monster
Post Number: 1978
Registered: 7-2002
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 31, 2006 - 11:17 am: |
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While it won't get you a degree, if you like to learn try out MIT's OpenCourseWare, everything is free.
http://ocw.mit.edu/index.html |
Greeneyes
Citizen
Username: Greeneyes
Post Number: 721
Registered: 8-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 31, 2006 - 1:20 pm: |
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Thanks All.
Fiche,
TEC sounds like what I'm looking for.
Greentree,
The MBA isn't for me. My sister in law may be interested. I'm passing that info on to her. |
sac
Supporter
Username: Sac
Post Number: 3085
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 31, 2006 - 1:28 pm: |
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I took a course at TESC last summer upon recommendation of my (then future) faculty advisor at Seton Hall and Seton Hall accepted the credit. The tuition cost was about $600 for a 3-credit-hour course. Textbook and other required materials added a couple hundred more to that cost.
I didn't love the online course experience (see my BLOG for more on that), but it was definitely an effective mechanism for covering the material. I think that the value of the online learning experience may vary widely depending upon the particular mentor/instructor and students enrolled as well as the nature of the course subject. You could enroll as a nonmatriculated student (as I did) and take a single course to try it out. |
CLK
Supporter
Username: Clkelley
Post Number: 1848
Registered: 6-2002
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 31, 2006 - 1:49 pm: |
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My sister has a degree from St. Leos and it got her a VP position in a major credit card company, fwiw.
If you like, I can put you in contact with her and she can give you the low-down on St. Leo. There were things she liked & disliked about the program. As a bit of an expert in the field of distance learning, I will go out on a limb and say that some of her classes were executed well, but some were not. (she described the classes to me.) She had no trouble with the administrative / paperwork side of things, though - and that can be a challenge with some of the smaller programs run out of residential colleges, which aren't really set up for distance learners.
Distance learning is my main field of expertise, so I could give you some ideas about what to look for, what to watch out for .... though my experience is more from the "running it" side than from the "taking it" side so might not be too useful to you. One thing I can say, though, is that the research is absolutely clear that students learn just as much if not more from online programs as they do from face-to-face programs. But as others have said, make sure the program is accredited.
There are tons of pages out there with recommendations for how to be successful as an online learner. Some even include quizzes to help you determine if you would be a good candidate for online learning.
Many of the local colleges & universities have at least some kiinds of distance-learning offerings. For example, there are several local opportunities for engineering & CS courses &/or degrees online. (including at my school.) There are also some opportunities for business programs done online and/or part-time. So if Thomas Edison doesn't have what you're looking for, keep looking.
If you go "local," you might want to check into the "hybrid" or "blended" types of classes, which meet fewer times per semester than a traditional class, with the remainder of the work being done online.
And if you don't have a BA, you may be interested in one of the local BA-completion programs offered at local colleges. Fairleigh Dickinson offers one that gives you credit for "life skills." Full disclosure: I work at FDU, but not for this program.
There are so many options out there these days, I am sure that you will be able to find something that works well for you. Good luck, and have fun - that's the most important thing.
don't panic
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Joan
Supporter
Username: Joancrystal
Post Number: 6965
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 31, 2006 - 5:02 pm: |
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It really depends on your field of study. In general majors like education, social work, clinical psychology, nursing, laboratory sciences, etc. require some form of hands on experience which you can't get from a computer class. For more theoretical subjects, computer classes should be fine but do check the accreditation of any on-line school of higher education you select. |
CLK
Supporter
Username: Clkelley
Post Number: 1849
Registered: 6-2002
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 31, 2006 - 7:18 pm: |
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That really depends, Joan. I know of lots of online classes in all of those disciplines, including laboratory classes (yes, really). I even know one art teacher who teaches drawing - totally online. I'm still not sure how she does it, but I hope to see a demonstration in the next couple of months. I'm not going to say that it's easy to teach these disciplines online, but it can be done, and even done very well.
don't panic
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