How To-72: "How to Find the Right Online Continuing Education School Program"

How to Find the Right Online Continuing Education School Program

from wikiHow – The How to Manual That You Can Edit

Online continuing education is a fast-growing market that is becoming more and more acceptable in the work place – as long as you choose a legitimate online education program.

Steps

1. Verify the institution is “recognized” through the Council for Higher Education Accreditation’s Web site at http://www.ncahlc.org. (“The Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) database lists approximately 7,000 degree-granting and non-degree-granting institutions and over 17,000 programs that are accredited by United States accrediting organizations that have been recognized either by CHEA or by the United States Department of Education (USDE) or both.”) Accreditation is necessary for recognition by your employer as well as recognition by other higher education institutions (i.e., in case you want to pursue an advanced degree).
2. Make sure the price is right. Find out up-front – before you pay an application fee exactly how much tuition is and make sure that you have a full picture of all costs including any access fees, texts, other required purchases,etc. You have to be positive you can afford the tuition costs. Keep in mind that many companies have strong tuition reimbursement options. Although online education is generally more affordable than a comparable campus-based education, it is not cheap, so make sure you get your money’s worth and know exactly what you are enrolling for.
3. Check out the teachers. Ask about their experience – either real-world or academic – and make sure they are worthy of educating you on the area you are pursuing. It is important that they have the knowledge necessary to do the job. As a point of reference, most associate or junior college teachers have at least a Master’s degree in the subject they teach, and the majority of full college professors have a PhD. in their area of expertise. Your online education teachers should have comparable levels of education.
4. Make sure you will get any needed attention. Try and pin down at least a guideline for student-teacher ratios. Unlike classroom learning, it is possible to have an almost unlimited number of students in an online class, but obviously if the class size is enormous, you will not get the same sort of quality time with the teachers as you would in a smaller class. Making sure your teachers are not overburdened can help you get the education you deserve.
5. Evaluate the history of the school. Schools develop their reputations for producing quality students – who get the job done at the companies that hire them – over time, so for the most part, the longer the school has existed, the better.
6. Evaluate your fellow students. What is the total school enrollment and what percentage of students graduate? They should be able to tell you how many students are currently enrolled. A large amount of students shows both stability and future name recognition in the job market. Also, a higher graduation rate is a great indication that students are very satisfied with the programs at that school. Be leery if they do not share these data points with you.
7. Determine what resources they will require you to have. Most online classes require that students have access to a computer and may require certain levels of hardware in order to adequately handle and run up-to-date multimedia and word processing types of programs. They may also require certain levels of Internet access. So make sure your equipment is up to the task, or that you are budgeted for buying new equipment. In terms of software, many online programs provide all the materials you need directly from their site, but some may require you to buy supplemental software on your own.
8. Determine what resources the school provides to you. Top online degree programs offer great access to “virtual libraries” and other resources to help you through your education.
9. Make sure the length of time needed to earn a degree works for you. The length of time required to earn your degree can vary widely in the online education world, so make sure you know exactly how long each program you are considering takes and determine which best fits in with your time frame. Some online schools will allow you to complete tasks at their own pace, while others require that students participate in virtual class sessions and have specific deadlines for assignments.
10. Look into what forms of communication are available for you to get in touch with the school/teachers. You want to know if all communications are done online or if you can also call if you need help or have questions. Some schools even offer actual campus locations you can go to for certain classes, sessions or extra help. The more options available to you the better, but at a minimum, the school should have a legitimate phone number for you to reach them at.

Tips

• Accreditation and a good match to your desired degree programs are the two main keys.

Warnings

• Watch out for non-accredited online degree mills that teach you nothing. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is!

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Article provided by wikiHow, a collaborative writing project to build the world’s largest, highest quality how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Find the Right Online Continuing Education School Program. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

How To-71: "How to Succeed in Distance Learning"

How to Succeed in Distance Learning

from wikiHow – The How to Manual That You Can Edit

Distance learning has opened doors for many students, especially for those who cannot afford to pay for the high fees of full-time courses. Although online distance learning courses have many advantages over on-campus degree courses, many factors come into play in order to make this a success for students.

Steps

1. Select the right distance learning school.There are many unscrupulous “degree mills” around in the market that are only keen to sell their degrees without providing good education. Do proper background check on the institution.
2. Do a cost benefit analysis of taking the course online versus traditional classroom attendance and see if it’s worth the cost.
3. Make sure you are aware of the specific online degree positioning with prospective employers. Some employers are wary of certain degrees being acquired online. Ensure your online degree will be acknowledged when looking for a job.
4. Exercise discipline, determination and time management to keep up with lessons and assignments. Maintain focus and avoid distraction and take the class as serious as any other class you’ve taken before.
5. Make full use of facilities provides by your online school; online libraries and resources, one-on-one attention with your instructors and tutors and your other classmates.
6. Utilize credit transfers. Most distance learning institutions allow students to transfer their credits from courses they had taken from other colleges. This way, you don’t have to repeat what you have already learnt.
7. Make full use of the conveniences that technology has to offer. Many online universities provide students with online research resources that are valuable for completing assignments or producing research papers.

Tips

• Realize that credible online schools will expect you to perform like any face-to-face student–excellently: Any place that is too easy and doesn’t care what you do is just out for your money–watch out for them
• While not always so, a credible online program is often tied to a credible bricks and mortar program. If the program you are looking at is offered by a notable school that offers on campus education as well as distance learning, this may be a good sign.
• Know your limits–legitimate online courses will have a normal college load of work: If you’re working full time, consider taking only 1-3 classes. Too many students overwhelm themselves and burn out by taking 4-6 (or more classes) at a time while working full time, too.
• A basic rule for the amount of work is the “Rule of 3”: For every hour of “in class time,” there is supposed to be three hours of “homework.” This is true for face-to-face classes and online classes. So, a 3-credit course means that you should be “in class” for three hours per week and have 9 hours of homework, for a total of 12 hours. Therefore, a face-to-face course or an online course expects up to 12 hours of work per week. (Do the math–two classes would be 24 hours per week, three classes = 36 hours, four classes = 48 hours, and five classes = 60 hours). Be sure you can handle the load.

Warnings

• Make sure you only choose a college or university that’s accredited.

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Article provided by wikiHow, a collaborative writing project to build the world’s largest, highest quality how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Succeed in Distance Learning. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.