Five Considerations before Choosing an Online Degree

Transcription

1 Five Considerations before Choosing an Online Degree What you need to know before Signing up for a Degree Plan By Dr. Sandy Womack Director, EduPlan Website: 1

2 There are so many articles about the benefits of online degrees. If you look at EzineArticles ( and scroll to: Reference and Education and then to: Online Degrees, you will see that most of the articles tout the positive of gaining an online degree. There are many positives and that is why Distance learning (online, satellite, audio, streaming video) is the fasting growing area of education today. Over 4 Million students are taking online courses. Some of the positive about online degrees include: Online schools offer more degree options. If you cannot find a major or specialization or a particular type of degree at your local universities, it probably can be found online. Online schools offer more school options, especially prestigious school offerings. You can access online classes and degrees from such prestigious universities as Stanford University, Columbia University, Arizona State University and many others. Online schools offer access to top professors from all over the United States and even internationally. The Online Degree is the same degree as on- campus. The diploma will show MBA, Arizona State University (for example) with no differentiation between on- campus students and online students. Travel time is saved with online degrees. You can do your schools work at home, instead of sitting in traffic going to the local college. Some online colleges offer free mini- classes. The free mini- class is a good test to see if you like the online format and if you have the technology requirements to complete the classes. Online degrees provide a venue to meet with learners from all over the world. You will be able to meet learners from many other industries, regions and backgrounds. 2

3 The above are positives of online schools and online degrees, but there are negatives, as well. So here are the top Five Considerations before Choosing an Online Degree: 1) Accreditation Issues 2) Marketing Tricks 3) Costs 4) Credit Options 5) Learning Styles Accreditation Issues School accreditation is a difficult concept to discuss because there are so many different accreditations. The phrase this school is accredited means very little because the next question is what type of accreditation? For the majority of you reading this e- book, your school of choice should be Regionally Accredited. If you are an adult learner and/or have tuition reimbursement from your company, then chose an online school from one of the 6 regional accreditation agencies: WASC (Western Association of Schools and Colleges) NEASC (New England Association of Schools and Colleges) NWCCA (Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities) SACS (Southern Association of Colleges and Schools) MSASC (Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools) HLC/NCA (Higher Learning Commission of North Central Association of Colleges and Schools) Your company will require that your school preference be regionally accredited to receive tuition assistance. To find the list of regionally accredited schools, check 3

4 out the website of The Council of Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) at or purchase my article Accreditation in Simple Terms. This article will review the different types of accreditation and will provide a list of regionally accredited colleges in the US. See these articles at: If you have just graduated from high school or want a training program for a future job, then you might want to look at Nationally Accredited Schools. National accreditation is a misnomer. In the past, Trade and Technical Schools were accredited by National Accreditation of Trade and Technical Schools (NATTS) and the term national accreditation started being used for Career Colleges and Trade Schools. Today these schools are accredited by: These Trade and Technical Schools teach electronics, motorcycle repair, computer repair, construction trades, graphic design and many other programs. The credits you gain from a trade and technical college will rarely be transferable to a 4- year college. A few of these nationally accredited universities have been sued by former students because the students were told the credits were easily transferable. After spending money and time for the degree, the students found they could NOT transfer any of their credits. Distance Education Training Council (DETC) is a new accreditation formed during the fast growing popularity of online degrees. DETC accredited schools have quality standards, but are not the same standards as regionally accredited colleges. DETC school credits may or may not be transferable to a 4- year school. After the school gains regional accreditation, departments can apply and be granted Departmental Accreditation, based on stringent quality standards and reputation. The extra accreditation is generally preferred for graduate studies. Some of the popular departmental accreditations are: Business departments (AACSB Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business) Engineering departments (ABET Accrediting Board of Engineering and Technology) 4

5 Nursing departments (CCNE Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education) Education departments (TEAC Teacher Education Accreditation Council) Psychology departments (APA American Psychological Association) Social Work (CSWA Council on Social Work Accreditation) Marketing Tricks by Online Schools If you look at the websites of the top online schools, you will find a lot of marketing materials and very little information about curriculum, cost or admission requirements. (I m calling the top online schools those colleges that show up on searches the most frequently). For some of these top online schools, you have to give out a lot of personal information before you gain any information about the school. Get Education.com ( has written a great article called 7 Ways Online College Admission Reps Pressure Students to Enroll. The first trick is called You Tell me Everything I Tell you Bubkus. I m not sure what Bubkus means, but I think it mean Zilch. I recently experienced this trick when I was searching for a comparable cost of a certificate for a client. I contacted an online school that offered the certificate and all I wanted was the COST of the certificate program. I had to fill out the form and then go to chat with a rep of the school. I was transferred from undergraduate department to graduate department and no admission rep knew anything about the certificate. But, there was still pressure to sign up!!! Finally, I talked to a nice, young admission representative who got the information to me without any push to enroll. We ed a few times and he informed me that the online college was transferring him to another job because he wasn t aggressive enough bringing in the number of enrollments. 5

6 While I find this type of aggressive marketing to be distasteful, it works for the bottom- line of these for- profit online schools. All 5 of the top online schools have seen their stock prices rise, despite a down economy and a distressed stock market. Be prepared to get phone calls from these aggressive marketing reps and don t give out your mobile or cell phone number. Also, ask to be put on the DO NOT CALL list and the school must comply. Cost of Online Schools The least expensive way to attend college is our local, state university and your local community college. Taking General Education and Lower Division major classes at a community college and then transferring to a state university is a great way to gain an undergraduate degree inexpensively. The Community College and State University also work well for inexpensive graduate degrees. You can take your prerequisites (Foundation Courses) at a Community College and then take your major classes at the state university to save thousands of dollars, compared to an online degree. But perhaps your local state university doesn t work for you. The class schedule favors full- time day students with few evening and weekend courses for a working professional. Perhaps the state university doesn t offer the degree or the major or the concentration you want. Perhaps the state school is not prestigious enough for your educational goals. Perhaps the state university is too prestigious and the admission standards are too competitive. Adult students and traditional college students are moving to online degrees for all the positive reasons outlined in the first part of the e- book. But, are online schools more expensive? Online degrees generally are more expensive than comparable on- campus degrees. Even state universities charge extra fees for online. Some state 6

7 universities assume all online students are from other states (non- resident) and charge out- of- state tuition. Some schools have added a cyber- campus fee or a technology fee to the tuition. Private schools and for- profit online schools are generally the most expensive of all. When you search for online degrees on the Internet or look at education search sites, you will see the 10 same schools show up over and over. Those schools advertise on many sites and pay to have their school name show up on Search Engines. These schools are usually $1000+ per class for undergraduate courses and $1500+ per class for graduate courses. These costs add up to a total of $20- $40K for a Bachelor s degree and $30 - $70K for a Master s degree. You can find less expensive schools on listings from Get Educated. ( I do not support online schools that do not disclose their costs up- front. Usually you will be able to find the Tuition and Fees section on the website or can get that information by contacting the school. If you contact the school and have to put in all your personal information first, you might want to reconsider and move on to contacting another college. Also, DO NOT PAY for a degree that forces you to pay for the entire year or the entire program up- front. Reputable colleges are on the pay as you go plan, not a prepayment program. Credit Options Since online schools are more expensive than on- campus schools, in general, you need to find schools that allow for life/work experience credits. These life and work experience credits (also known as Prior Learning credits) can save time off a degree plan because they can be substituted for college credits. They can save money because you waive classes or only pay a small fee instead of paying for an entire class tuition cost. Here are some Credit Options you might be able to use: 7

8 Gain College Credits through Military Classes and Training. If you have served in the military and have a DD214 or DD295, you might receive some college credits from that military experience. Even basic boot camp may earn credits for Health or Physical Education at some online colleges. If you have taken classes, training or serviced as an officer, your military transcript will reflect these training courses. The American Council on Education (ACE) reviews the training classes and recommends college credits for classes, training and your Military Occupation Specialty (MOS). You may already have a transcript of the ACE military credit recommendation if you have been in the military recently. Check your AARTS (Army/American Council on Education Registry), SMART (Sailor/Marine ACE Registry, CCAF (Community College of the Air Force) or CGI (Coast Guard Institute) transcript to see the ACE recommended credits. If you need copy of this military transcript, contact American Council on Education website at: Gain College Credits through Licenses, Certificates and Corporate Training. ACE ( also publishes guides for credit recommendation for licenses, certificates and corporate training. Most colleges and universities, including online colleges, will accept ACE recommendation of credits. Some licenses and certificates have recommended college credits, including Dale Carnegie, Institute for Certification of Computer Professionals, American Management Association and Learning Tree, among many others. Training classes from American Bankers Association, Berlitz International, FAA, College for Financial Planning and many others are included in the guidebook or the website. 8

9 Gain College Credits through Corporate Courses. Some online colleges will review your corporate classes (those courses not listed in the ACE Guidebook) and grant college credit for those training courses. Schools use the rule one credit for each 40 hours in the corporate classroom, but can vary depending on the school. So, a corporate class that was 2 full weeks (80 hours) might be worth 2 college credits. Gain College Credit through the Portfolio Process. Some schools offer the Portfolio Process as a way to convert life and work experience to college credits. A class is offered to help students package experiences for credit. The student: 1) identifies the skills and knowledge he/she may have in volunteer work, work experience, life experience ; b)writes about eh skills and knowledge and how they are used in business, volunteer work or family life; c) documents how the skills and knowledge were acquired. Many adult learners can gain an average of units through the Portfolio process, but some adults, with many years of experience, can gain up to 30 units. Gain College Credits by Testing Out of Classes. There are several programs to help adult students gain college credits by testing. The most popular testing program is CLEP (College Level Examination Program ( Adult Students can test out of General Education, Foreign Languages, and Business classes. Cost is about $77/each test and the student can earn 3 6 units. Most colleges will accept CLEP units. A combination of military credits, certificates, licenses, corporate classes, testing and other prior learning will shorten the time to complete a college degree. Make sure you ask the online college rep if any of your prior learning could be evaluated to see if that learning could be converted to college credits. 9

10 Learning Styles The first consideration before choosing an online degree probably should be the first. Is Distance Learning right for you? Do you need a live classroom to motive you? Will you miss the spontaneous conversations of a live class? Many schools offer free modules to help you make that decision. A Free Learning Style Inventory (fairly basic) is found on the Internet at: More robust learning inventories can be purchased. You can find these with a Yahoo or Google search: Learning Styles Inventory Getting Started with a Degree I hope this e- book will help you get started with your Online degree plan. No school is perfect, just as no house or no spouse is perfect. However, with hundreds of online programs available, there will be many who offer the major field of study you need and is reasonable priced. Many offer ways to gain life/work experience to cut time and cost. Contact me at: sandy@eduplan.org or for more information. 10