Questions about online schools?

When it comes to online schools, you want to check their accreditation. I was in an online program for my BSN through a local college (University of Delaware). It was nice because when I moved I didn’t have to change anything to finish my degree. If you know which field of study you want to go into, you can check local universities and colleges to see if they offer an online program for that field. I’m not sure about where things stand with University of Phoenix right now, but I remember hearing a big issue with places not honoring their degrees when people tried to continue on for further education. So you definitely want to look into what options you would have if you decided to continue your education in the future.

Online schools and degrees still don’t have the cachet of regular colleges and universities.

@marinelife yea, I was wondering about that. I don’t want to invest all that time, energy and financial aid only to be told by an employer or Traditional University that they don’t accept those credits. That would piss me off.

@Akua That’s why you should check the schools accreditation and to see if your credits/degree will transfer if you try to further your education. I really recommend just seeing if there are any colleges that offer online courses for the degree you are interested in. More and more colleges are offering courses online now.

Don’t consider any online college that isn’t regionally accredited. There are six regional accrediting bodies for the different areas of the country:
http://distancelearn.about.com/od/accreditationinfo/a/regional.htm
If someone comes up with a different name, like the “Western Wyoming Online School Accreditation Society,” run like hell.

University of Phoenix is legitimate, however, to the point of previous posts, how online degrees are viewed may be a stumbling block. However, with a greater move toward online learning by traditional colleges and universities, UoP gains legitimacy.

Pros:
Flexible scheduling
No or little travel
Students that attend are generally older and bring life experience to the class
Diverse student body; lots of military personnel
Classes are concentrated and the pace is quick; classes were 5 weeks long, then a week off. You can take classes concurrently, but I would not advise it.
Great online library
Books are PDFs that you can keep forever in a download

Cons:
Expensive
Grade is heavily reliant on teamwork; methodology is that you have to be able to function as a team member to succeed in business/life
If you do not like to read, this class is not for you
Some classes, especially math based classes are difficult because you have to type the problems.
Impersonal

I received my degree in business management from UoP in 2009. I attended the University of Massachusetts/Boston in the 80s and ran out of cash. Even though the bricks and mortar classes I took were more engaging, I was 20–21 years old when I took them. I think education is wasted on the young, as is libido. Because I better understood the prime directive and I was paying for the education from UoP I put forth greater effort than I did when I was 20.

It 4 years and 8 months to complete (June 04-Feb 09). The claim that you can get your degree in less time relies on transfer credits from previous institutions and credit that may be given for life experience. I transferred 15 credits from UMass and was credited for one class for my 20 years of work experience after I submitted a thesis.

I am not dissatisfied with UoP. If I elect to attain a Masters’ Degree I will likely go with a traditional school though, but that is more for engagement.

@marinelife Online schools and degrees still don’t have the cachet of regular colleges and universities.

It’s interesting because many traditional schools also offer online classes. I don’t know if you can get all the way through without taking a traditional class, but still, that seems to me to be acknowledgement that online courses are equally good.

Thank you to everyone, I really appreciate your input. @birdland33 WOW! Oh no, I think that I’m going to look into taking 1 or 2 classes at a traditional college because even though I have heard good things about UoP, A friend of mine that was getting a degree through them told me that getting someone to contact you immediately in an emergency was a hassle and that at one point when she tried to officially withdraw in the beginning of the semester because of family issues, they ignored her request until the end of the semester so that they could bill her when her financial aid was returned. I don’t know how that goes but like I said I don’t want to go through that. I will try and save enough in advance for books and take only what I can afford. It might be on a part-time basis but it’s better than going through all that stress if something goes wrong.

your fingers are going to be tired as hell

I heard on a radio broadcast that in the next 5–10 years online programs will be the norm. I am looking to do my Masters Degree and have been debating this same issue. I also just finished an online course at CSULB and the feedback I got from students there was that online classes were harder than regular classes.

Okay, well they say the best way to learn is by personal experience, so… I took 2 classes online to start. The first semester was fine and I really enjoyed it but soon I ran into problems that may just be specific to my situation so I can’t really speculate on everyones experience. When I had a question it took days for them to respond which didn’t help if the question was time sensitive to begin with. Also, their idea of “class participation” really irks me. Trying to think of something to say, after 14 people have already exhausted a subject, just so you can be marked as present, accounted for and participation worthy is grueling. And it can’t be something like “yes, I agree with that statement”. NO! They want at least 150 words. Pretty soon I saw everyone was having trouble finding stuff to say because after a while people were just repeating the same comments everyday. Definately not for me. I need more interaction and for all that money they charge I should be able to get help when I need it. Oh and speaking of all that money….why is this type of learning so much more expensive than traditional university when there is no contact with faculty and all the books are ebooks? I still owe $2,010 even after financial aid. I think they robbed me.