Education Articles from College Matching Service

Having a four-year college degree might seem expensive. However, the long-term benefits of earning a bachelor’s degree generally outweigh any temporary financial setbacks. If you worry about paying for your degree, don’t forget that colleges and universities offer dozens of ways to slash college costs, from student loans to scholarships to work-study programs. In addition to a higher income, bachelor’s degrees can offer you a lot of other perks, such as exposure to other cultures by meeting international students, signing up for overseas programs, and reading books from across the globe. With experiences like these,  students can broaden their appreciation for today’s multicultural society. In addition to expanding your understanding of our society, research from the Education Resouces Information Center (ERIC) shows a strong link between higher education and greater personal health.  Let us not forget about the obvious advantages of a college education, job mobility. With advanced levels of knowledge, the prestige of a college degree, and relevant internship experience, a college graduate usually has more career options than an employee who does not have a college degree. Imagine having all the benefits of a bachelor’s degree at the touch of a mouse? Having an online master’s degree will certainly let you achieve these benefits and so much more simply because of the ease and comfort that comes with having an online bachelors degree. Another benefit of pursuing an online degree is the knowledge in the functionality of a computer and as we are all becoming aware, virtual communication, written emails, and social networking is an important aspect in business relations. These are just a few of the benefits of an online masters degree.

Why Online Degrees ?

There are so many reasons why Online Universities are a great option, not only for working adults but for those who want to save money as well. It is less costly because you don’t have relocate and you don’t lose out on money sitting in lecture halls for hours at a time. The added bonus is the Internet- it’s available just about any where so the trend towards distance learning is growing quickly.

A student can now achieve higher education through the use of the Internet from the comforts of their own home or choice of study location. An online college is essentially an online portal, or more commonly known as a website.  Through the use of the web, a student can interact with other students and their respective professors through online chat rooms, bulletin boards, virtual classrooms, conference calls, webcam conferences, and much more. These amenities essentially turns the campuses online portal into an online campus- one that is accessible from any Internet connection in the world.

Some of the advantages that an online college has to offer is the ability to hand in assignments easily and electronically- no need to print!  Campus-based colleges are starting to adopt the practice used by online colleges of uploading documents sent to professor with an online college assignment. This allows the student to simply log into their online college website, upload the thesis and report,and send off for a grade. Furthermore, exams and quizes are online as well.  Often times this means that grades can be immediately returned to the student after the exam is finished.

This first impression process occurs in every new situation. Within the first few seconds, people pass judgment on you – looking for common surface clues. Since Distance Learning is a new concept or idea to some individuals, it is possible that they may have some common on the surface ideas on what this kind of education is all about. However, just like first impressions, they might be able to pick up some common fictitious beliefs on distance learning. One fictitious belief that people usually have is that distance learning schools aren’t as good as traditional schools. Another common fictitious belief that people usually have is that if you come from a distance learning university, employers will not accept your degree. Let’s see why these two beliefs should be corrected.

A common mis-belief is that distance learning schools aren’t as good as traditional schools. Online universities can offer as good an education as any traditional school. You just have to choose the right online program. Many quality programs allow students to interact with expert teachers and learn through multimedia software. Distance learning can help students develop skills, build a portfolio, and advance in their careers.

One other mis-belief is that employers won’t accept degrees from distance learning universities. While this may be true of “diploma mills” and other fake schools, degrees from properly accredited schools are accepted by employers in the same way that traditional degrees are accepted. In fact, there is usually nothing on a diploma to indicate that courses were taken online.

Distance education has long had trouble with testing. The delivery of testing materials is fairly straightforward, which makes sure it is available to the student and he or she can read it at their leisure. The problem arises when the student is required to complete assignments and testing. Online courses have had difficulty controlling cheating in quizzes, tests, or examinations because of the lack of teacher control. In a classroom situation a teacher can monitor students and visually uphold a level of integrity consistent with an institution’s reputation. However, with distance education the student can be removed from supervision completely. Some schools address integrity issues concerning testing by requiring students to take examinations in a controlled setting.

Assignments have adapted by becoming larger, longer, and more thorough so as to test for knowledge by forcing the student to research the subject and prove they have done the work. Quizzes are a popular form of testing knowledge and many courses go by the honor system regarding cheating. Even if the student is checking questions in the textbook or online, there may be an enforced time limit or the quiz may be worth so little in the overall mark that it becomes inconsequential. Exams and bigger tests may be harder to regulate.

Used in combination with invigilators, a pre-arranged supervisor trusted with overseeing big tests and examinations may be used to increase security. Many Midterms and Final examinations are held at a common location so that professors can supervise directly. When the Internet became a popular medium for distance education many websites were founded offering secure exam software and packages to help professors manage their students more effectively.

Getting into an online course may be very simple; however, there are numerous educational aspects to consider that the enrollee should think about and ponder on.

Class size is as important in online education as it is in a traditional college classroom. Investigate average class sizes at the institutions you are considering.

Find out about the faculty in the program(s) of interest to you. What degrees do they hold and from what institutions? What experience have they had “in the field”? How long have they been teaching? Have they had prior experience teaching online classes? Get answers. And, if more than one or two faculty hold degrees from the college at which they are teaching, be careful. It is often a bad sign.

How easy does a college make it for you to contact your instructor or a tutor if you have questions or need help? The level of support offered to students varies considerably from college to college. Choose one in line with your needs and expectations.

One of the great things about online degree programs is that you can begin almost anytime. So, don’t let anyone (including a college admissions officer) rush you into beginning until you are ready to put in the time and effort required for success.

It is very important that you do the proper research and really think about what you want for your online course because it will dictate the way things will work out during the duration of your study. Taking into consideration the different aspects above will greatly help you in this endeavor.

Regardless of what some websites or online colleges ask you to believe, accreditation is very important because it ensures that an institution meets or exceeds an established set of educational standards. As a result, courses from an accredited online college are most likely to be transferable to other colleges and universities, and degrees from an accredited college are far more likely to be valued by both your current employer and prospective employers considering you for a position. Online education can move you ahead in your career, but only if you attend a credible, accredited college or university.

Beware of accreditation claims. Many questionable “accrediting agencies” exist. Some are outright frauds, offering “accreditation” to any institution willing to pay a fee. In fact, operators of some well known degree mills also run these so-called accrediting agencies. State licensure, by the way, generally means little more than a minimal investment in assets and/or registration as a business entity. While most colleges offering online education are wholly legitimate, beware of those that are not…many exist. Your safest bet is to trust only accrediting agencies approved by the United States Department of Education. Be sure that the colleges and the degree program(s) you are considering “fit” with your long range educational plans. For example, if you are thinking about enrolling in an online associate degree program and later hope to earn a bachelors degree (online or on campus), find out how likely it is that your associate degree coursework will transfer by asking for a list of colleges which have accepted such credits.

You have already found a fully authenticated, online accredited school, but it doesn’t stop there. There are still different aspects that you have to look into before enrolling in the learning program that you want to take up. Below are some points to consider:

The Kind of Reputation The School Has

It may seem simple — a good school will have a good online program. That may be true, but it is also probable that its online program is still too new to judge, so you’re left with nothing but the reputation of the school’s traditional programs. This reputation, however, may not be as straightforward as you think. You can look at the overall quality of the school and make a judgement, but there may be weaknesses in the program in which you are interested. It’s not uncommon for a great school to have a weak program or two.

The Way Students Are Evaluated

Earning a degree should mean just that — earning it. If students aren’t assessed properly and degrees are handed out with little or no verification that any knowledge has been transferred from the instructor to the student, then how can the program be rated? Students, particularly adult students, learn more by doing than by simply listening. For this reason, it is important to ensure that part of the program involves applying what has been learned.

The Kinds of Library Facilities That Are Available

Make sure the school has a good system for ensuring that reference materials and texts are accessible from anywhere. If a student is taking a course in another state (or another country), the online program shouldn’t limit that student’s ability to do assignments because of lack of electronic reference materials. Online references are extremely important and should be up-to-date and accessible at any time.

There have been doubts on the quality of education that spring from online degree holders. A lot of job-seekers who graduated with an online degree encounter having to defend the effectiveness of their education. A recent study has been made and the researchers have been able to come up with some advice and recommendations for those online degree holders who need help in getting a job.

Some of the comments and recommendations the respondents made might help online degree holders land a job even if the interviewer is hesitant about the value of the degree. Some of the those recommendations included:

Tell employers and potential employers that your degree was earned online. Fifty-seven percent of respondents said this should be a requirement.

Bring along transcripts and course study examples, as well as letters of recommendation or authenticity about the program and its accreditation.

Have industry experience to back the degree.

Traditional courses like public speaking, debate, public forum and group dynamics might be helpful to show that you have people skills. (This is probably more helpful if you don’t have a long work history behind you.)
Other sources, such as Thomas L. Russell of North Carolina State University, did studies that revealed that there is little if any difference in the quality of education received through online distance learning versus traditional classrooms. John Losak at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale found similar results in his own study. He analyzed graduation rates, time to graduation, and knowledge, as well as other elements. He found the students performed as well or better in online courses.

The big question in everyone’s mind is, “Is an online degree from an accredited college or university seen by potential employers as a lesser degree?” The jury still seems to be out on this. On the plus side, the IT fields appear to place more value on online degrees because of the nature of the work itself. As would be expected, human resources (HR) professionals tend to place more value on degrees from established universities rather than virtual universities they’ve never heard of. A career network Web site did a survey of 239 HR professionals and found just that. According to the results, which were released in February 2001, 77 percent of respondents believe that an online degree earned at an accredited institution like Duke or Stanford is more credible than one earned at an Internet-only institution.

Here are some other findings from Vault’s study:

Twenty-six percent believed that online bachelor’s degrees were as credible as traditionally earned bachelor’s degrees, while 37 percent believed that online graduate degrees were as credible as traditionally earned graduate degrees. This perhaps follows the idea that people seeking graduate degrees are doing it online because it’s their only or best option due to current job demands. These people may be seen as more driven and self-motivated.

The most commonly cited drawbacks of online education were the lack of social interaction with peers (61 percent), lack of data about the effectiveness or quality of the education — it’s too new to gauge (53 percent), and loss of real-time teacher/student exchange (39 percent).

The three industries most likely to embrace online degrees were Internet/New Media (70 percent), Technology (46 percent), and High Tech (44 percent). Media and Marketing (29 percent), Telecommunications (29 percent), and Consulting (22 percent) followed.

The three industries least likely to embrace online degrees were Medicine (68 percent), Law (56 percent), and Health Care/Bio Tech (52 percent). Academia (44 percent), Government (22 percent) and Finance (18 percent) followed.

With the advancement in technology we should be proud of what education has come out to be and that is to have convenience in it. Online graduate degree programs present an affordable online educational resource for working adults like you. The MBA program that are available out there that we have are in online programs teaches students critical thinking, how to analyze cases and pick ideas apart to come up with the best possible solution for businesses practices today. Experts who come from the world’s finest universities design a lot of courses.

An online program can offer opportunities for students to pursue their educational objectives when attending school in a traditional classroom is not practical. With the latest and greatest online program, a quality education is now available when and where it is convenient for the student. Students have the ability to read and re read lectures, discussions, explanations and comments. Often spoken material in the classroom passes students by due to a number of distractions, missed classes, tiredness or boredom. Students can “attend” a course at anytime, from anywhere. This means that parents can attend to their children, then sit down to class; working students can attend classes no matter what their work schedule might be, folks that travel for business or pleasure can attend class from anywhere in the world that has internet access.

Here’s a quick and fast peek and look at some jobs you can get with online programs. Masters in Business Administration, or MBA degrees, give graduates a vast education in the world of business that will greatly increase their skills and abilities. These educators often teach classes, prepare curriculum and give lectures on various subjects of interest. Additionally, an online program graduate degree in education is important because it aids in the licensing that all school systems require.