
ARTICLE :- HOW TO GET DEGREE ONLINE.
About Online Degrees
Are you considering getting your bachelor's or master's
or other
degree online? It's a growing field that's receiving acceptance
and approval for all types of career and education goals.
The biggest advantage to online degree education is that
it's
a complete college degree program that is delivered via
the
Internet. All classes, materials, tests and lectures are
delivered online. This process allows the student to "attend"
class from anywhere at any time that is convenient to them.
According to educators from Cornell University, the
web
provides significant new functionality in transmitting
information to the student and providing forums for exchange.
The web is revolutionizing some areas of study through increased
opportunities for learning and alternative formats for
information. (Dwyer, Barbieri, and Doerr, 1995).
One of the ways it has done this is through enhanced student-to-
student and faculty-to-student communication. Students and
faculty can both benefit from using the communication and
assessment tools that are made available via online learning.
The technology also enables students to exercise more flexibility
in their approach to education, depending on what best suits
their personal learning styles and busy schedules.
In addition, the class material and program is continuously
updated for up to the minute, real world application. This
allows
the student to immediately begin applying their new knowledge
to
their existing work environment.
There are many different types of programs available. Students
can receive a bachelor's or master's degree in many areas
such as
accounting, marketing, human resources, e-business, information
technology, nursing and even elementary education.
The typical online program takes three years to complete.
A
master's degree program may take up to four years depending
on
the type of degree sought and the prior education of the
student.
Most programs are accredited and they usually accept the
transfer
of prior credits from other accredited universities. Some
of them
are also well-known off-line schools such as Duke, Stanford,
Jones International, and Capella.
While enrolled, a student typically takes just one class
at a
time for a five to six week period. This allows the student
to
concentrate solely on that material before moving on to
the next
module of information.
The price of an online degree education program is comparable
to
that of a regular college degree. Plus, many students are
eligible for financing in the way of a student loan. Sometimes
employer education programs can even reimburse a student's
tuition fees.
Keep in mind though, that you may have to be a little more
organized and self-motivated for this type of education
and you
will have to manage time demands in other areas of your
life.
Because you normally won't have set class times, it will
be up
to you to the time into your schedule. Then again, some
programs
require that you log on to the Internet at designated times
for
virtual class sessions.
Another potential disadvantage is that some employers still
prefer that their employees have degrees from traditional
colleges. However, these views are rapidly changing.
A recent survey of 1,300 graduates and 80 employers asked
supervisors to rate the value of the degree earned by their
employee compared to a resident school degree in the same
field.
Sixty-nine percent of the supervisors rated the online degree
"just as valuable" or "more valuable"
than traditional degrees.
This means that one out of three supervisors need to be
convinced
that an online degree offers the same quality and content
as a
traditional degree.
Plus, traditional brick and mortar universities who offer
online
courses often make no separation between their programs
and the
type of degree awarded. And transcripts do not indicate
whether
a course was done at a distance or on campus.