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Finishing Your Degree in Online College

May 4, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Though we know how important and valuable our educations are, life doesn’t always make going to college easy. Many students today have to juggle school with full-time jobs and other commitments, and in too many cases, students find themselves overwhelmed and step away from school so they can focus more time and energy on the demands of their hectic lives. But when things slow down, going back to school and finishing your degree is one of the smartest moves you can make, as a college degree comes with a great deal of opportunities and chances for a brighter future. And online college makes earning that degree more accessible than ever.

College degree holders enjoy many benefits that put the costs of college and hard work into perspective. For one, many entry-level jobs in many different industries require a bachelor’s degree in any field for an applicant to even be considered. Having a bachelor’s degree entitles you to better employment positions, more opportunities for promotions, and higher earning potential. All of these things will benefit you and your family in the future, as satisfying and fulfilling work with a livable salary make an excellent framework for continued success and overall quality of life. If you have or intend to have a family, your financial stability and acknowledge of the value of dedication, perseverance, and hard work will benefit them exponentially well into the future.

Benefits of Online College

Even if you began you education in a traditional brick-and-mortar school, you can see it through to the finish line in a distance learning program from an online college or university. For students who stepped away from college because of such challenges as a full-time work schedule, a family to raise, or the realization that trudging to class each day simply isn’t for them, online college is a great alternative that provides increased flexibility in scheduling. Students can go to class from their living room couches or favorite coffee shops, creating a less stringent yet still quality work environment. Not having to commute to campus saves plenty of time which allows students extra time to spend with family or at the office.

You can transfer credits and transcripts to accredited online colleges and pick up with your program where you left off. Or, if your time away from school has changed your mind, you may want to pick up a new field of study. Online colleges offer degrees of all levels in virtually any major, so a bit of research will reveal the school and program that works best for you. Do be sure to check on your school’s accreditation before enrolling; degrees from accredited online schools are just as valuable to employers as degrees from traditional colleges and universities.

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GED to PhD: Online Degrees for All

April 20, 2012 By 3 Comments

Students of all ages and levels of education are becoming increasingly aware of all the benefits online colleges and distance learning programs have to offer. Particularly for those who must work full-time or manage a family, the accessibility of online schooling offers second – or third, or fourth – chances for students to reach whatever next level of education they set their sights on.

Online education has grown in not only popularity but in possibility as well. Where it used to be favored by graduate students working full time and trying to earn master’s degrees, or busy moms and dads going back to college to complete an unfinished degree, online learning is an option for everyone from high school students to PhD hopefuls.

General Equivalency Diploma (GED) Online

For students who were unable to complete high school for whatever reason, the business world can be unforgiving and unwelcoming. Without a high school diploma or equivalent, there are much, much fewer opportunities available to job applicants. Luckily, obtaining that essential diploma doesn’t have to mean four-hour night classes and impossible exams anymore. Accredited online high schools such as Lincoln Academy and GED Academy offer courses and exams to help students graduate high school, whether it’s been months or years since their last quiz.

Associate’s and Bachelor’s Degrees Online

A large portion of distance learning participants are undergraduate students earning associate’s or bachelor’s degrees. So many various fields are available for online study, ranging from arts to business to science. Studying for your bachelor’s or associate’s degree online can be a great way to balance an otherwise busy life or fast-track your education and, ultimately, your professional career. The business world is catching up with the times as well, and many, if not most, employers report viewing graduates of online colleges and brick-and-mortar schools as being on equal footing. There are a great deal of colleges that are comprised strictly of distance learning, as well as a growing number of traditional colleges offering partially or fully online programs.

Master’s and Doctorate Degrees Online

Accredited master’s and doctorate degree programs are increasing as well in the online learning world. Because of the focused and intensive nature of this level of education, some fields of study will require students to complete an amount of coursework offline, whether in a practical, on-the-job setting or in a traditional classroom. For students juggling jobs, families, fieldwork, and undergraduate debt, attending graduate school online slightly lightens the burden by taking away the time factor of commuting to a campus and increases the scheduling flexibility with home study.

For students looking to advance an their education with a graduate degree, or for those looking to get their educations started, online college may have your perfect accredited program for anything from your GED to your PhD.

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Social Media and Online College

March 6, 2012 By 2 Comments

As the first decade of the 21st century came and went, the college degree transitioned from helpful perk to resumé requirement, with the National Center for Education Statistics reporting a 45 percent increase in full-time student enrollment from 1999 to 2009. Throughout this growth period, an alternative arose for those unable to attend traditional class sessions on campus: online courses. A simultaneous technological boom came in the form of social media, with websites like MySpace, Facebook and Twitter becoming a daily Internet pit-stop. Colleges and universities offering online courses have capitalized on the increase in people using social media by setting up Facebook and Twitter accounts to give current and prospective students access to a hub of useful information.

Keeping Up with #Trends

While many online colleges have campus locations, not all students live within driving distance. A disconnect in location may be inevitable, but Twitter has made it simple to connect to campus life through real-time conversations and informational updates. National University, ranked the number 1 online college in 2012 by the Online Education Database Organization, Tweeted an announcement for a campus event with a link to the event webpage. This tweet will appear in the instantly updated Twitter feed for all those who follow the school.

Going a step further, those attending the event can tweet a trend (a word or phrase preceded by a hashtag, for example, #NUinfosession) on National University’s Twitter account and start conversations with other attendees or those who are following from home via Twitter. This leads to a domino effect of students, faculty and community members following one another, conversing and sharing links and information with people they may not have encountered otherwise.

Do You “Like” Your School?

Whether the answer is yes or no, it could benefit at least saying so through Facebook. Similar to Twitter, Facebook provides a venue for the instant update of important information, solutions to problems, and answers to begging questions. Colorado State University (ranked the number 5 online college) posted “Tune into the live webcast of tonight’s first Stadium Advisory Committee meeting, 7 p.m. MST” with a link to the online broadcast. Status updates like these not only bring awareness to the event, but instantly spawn discussion on the topic.

As soon as the meeting began people were weighing in on discussion topics through that status update in variations of one sentence opinions to well-thought-out paragraph responses. If the school has a good following (like CSU boasting 34,385 Facebook friends), questions and comments are reaching a broader audience in a centralized location. This allows even the more specific questions, such as, “what time zone do I have to follow for the assignment’s due time?” have a chance at being answered, and fast.

Connect to Your Campus

According to a 2011 study conducted by Pew Research, 47 percent of the population are using social media regularly. Putting these resources to good use by connecting with your college or university can allow you to engage from a distance, something that may pose as a challenge for an online student only using email communication. WIth a swift click of the mouse on your favorite social media site, you can be sure that you will never be the last to know.

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Getting Your Degree Online: Student Favorites

February 21, 2012 By 1 Comment

In recent years, education has become more and more accessible to the average American student and as a result, more students are enrolling in colleges to advance their education than ever before. As the world changes, education trends race to keep up with the times, and certain degree programs are growing more quickly than others. Below are the most popular majors by degree level, currently in the United States.

Associate’s Degree

Associate’s degrees are often obtained as a first step into a particular field or industry. Many advanced jobs require higher degrees than an Associate’s, but getting your Associate’s degree is a great way to introduce yourself to a field and become more intimately familiar with the work available in it. Today’s students are most frequently obtaining their Associate’s degrees in fields in which they can use their Associate’s alone, or where an Associate’s degree plus a few years of training and experience can lead to high-paying, exciting jobs. Top degrees right now are in health care; trades and services; science, technology, and engineering; and criminal justice and legal studies. With these degrees, some students may directly enter the work force, while some may continue onto higher degrees, and still some may seek alternate education in training facilities other than colleges.

Bachelor’s Degree

Students most frequently pursue their Bachelor of Arts or Sciences degrees after high school, as it is the most traditional track for online and in-person college students. A Bachelor’s degree prepares students for a broad range or work in a variety of fields. The most commonly chosen Bachlor’s degree program in America today? Business, bar none. More students major in business or business-related fields, such as finance or marketing, than any other. Students with business degrees often further them in graduate school, but may enter the work force equipped to hit the ground running with a Bachelor’s. Second to business programs, Bachelor’s degree programs in nursing/health care and criminal justice are the most popular choices.

Master’s and Doctorate Degrees

With business majors coming out of undergraduate school left and right, it’s no surprise that the MBA (Master’s in Business Administration) is the most popular graduate degree among students seeking their Masters’. With an MBA, students are putting their Bachelor’s degrees to work and fine-tuning their skills and training for the demanding and energetic industry. If business administration isn’t your thing, join the rest of the ranks who are increasingly pursuing graduate degrees in law, medicine, and psychology, making them the next most popular degrees among graduate students earning their degrees in-person and online.

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Getting Started with an Online College

February 16, 2012 By 1 Comment

So you’ve made the decision to get your higher education online. That’s one huge step out of the way! Now that you have decided to make the commitment to get your degree through an online college or university, there are a few more things to check off the to-do list before you can jump in with both feet. The following are things you should be sure to take into consideration before handing over any money or picking out classes.

Make Sure it’s the Right Time

College, either in-person or online, is a huge time commitment and will require a large amount of your energy and attention while school is in session. And even with all the available financial aid out there, it’s going to affect your wallet too. But a commitment is a commitment, and the commitments you make to yourself and your education are among the most important ones in your life. Before shelling out money on tuition and textbooks, and rearranging your life to accommodate classes, be sure that you are in a position to stick to your commitments. It will be difficult at times, to be sure, but if you feel like you’d be tempted to drop out or not give it your all, you’re robbing yourself of the opportunities you’ve worked toward. Be ready to commit your time and attention.

Pick the Right School

Getting your education from an online college or university has many advantages over going to a traditional school. You can tailor your class schedule and work time to fit your schedule or personal life and still get a quality education. But there’s no campus for you to visit, no one to interview you for acceptance, and just about anyone can build an official-looking website. It is of the utmost importance that you research your online schools and be sure that the one you select is an accredited college or university. You can begin your search right here, and narrow down to a top few schools with good research. Online colleges’ websites should offer you all the information you need about their accreditation, faculty and staff, procedures, and programs. You need to know these things about every school you’re considering. After researching, you should be able to narrow it down further by exploring their tuition and fees schedules as well as majors, minors, and certification programs they offer.

Make Sure They Have Your Major

Though this problem is becoming less and less frequent in recent years, there’s nothing worse for a college-bound student than to fall in love with a school, only to realize that it does not support their field of study. If you know what you want to major in, or have an inclination toward one field or another, be sure you can get a good education in your subject at whatever college or university you choose. Some colleges are known for their programs’ strength in specific fields, and some notorious for their lacking in another. Be sure whatever college you attend will allow you to study what you like and will provide you with a quality education in the field of your choosing. Otherwise, you’ll quickly find out how much time and money you’ve wasted, and that transferring credits is not always easy.

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Top 20 List of Online Schools Based on Enrollment

January 19, 2012 By 2 Comments

Earn College Credits at Popular Online Schools

By using a list of colleges and universities you can review several schools offering online courses and degree programs in a short amount of time.  Some of the lists are affiliated with major publications like U.S. News and World Report and the Princeton Review, while other lists are created by organizations that support continuing education and academic achievement.

In addition to U.S. News and World Report and the Princeton Review, the United States Department of Education also list accredited schools offering online programs in their database which you can access free of charge.  Organizations and/or publications like College Board, Peterson’s, Online Education Database and Washington Monthly provide list of colleges and universities in Florida, list of colleges and universities in Georgia and other parts of the country.

Details provided in the lists include:

  • Numbers of undergraduate and graduate students enrolled at the schools
  • Dates that the schools were founded
  • Types of distance learning programs available at the schools (e.g. degree, certificate)
  • Location type for the schools (e.g. urban, rural)
  • Majors (e.g. engineering, nursing, law) the schools are known and/or highly regarded for
  • Tuition costs
  • Whether or not the schools accept financial aid, and if they do, the types of financial aid accepted at the schools
  • Religious affiliations the schools have, if they have any religious affiliations
  • Minimum college entrance test scores accepted at the schools
  • Whether or not the schools offer athletic programs that are recognized by organizations like the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), and if so, the types of programs (e.g. football, basketball, track and field) offered

Large Online Schools You Can Enroll In

The top online colleges and universities based on student enrollment as reported by U.S. News and World Report are:

  • University of Phoenix (380,232 students)
  • Kaplan University (70,011 students)
  • Strayer University (54,325 students)
  • Ashford University (46,835 students)
  • Liberty University (46,312 students)
  • Walden University (40,714 students)
  • University of Maryland-University College (37,347 students)
  • Grand Canyon University (34,205 students)
  • Capella University (31,998 students)
  • American Public University System (31,331 students)

Another organization providing a list of colleges and universities in New York, a list of colleges and universities in Virginia and other states, schools with large student enrollments, is the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES).  The NCES reports additional schools with student populations that provide distance learning programs include:

  • Arizona State University (68,040 students)
  • Miami Dade College (59,120 students)
  • Ohio State University (55,014 students)
  • Houston Community College (54,942 students)
  • University of Central Florida (53,401 students)
  • University of Minnesota, Twin Cities (51,659 students)
  • University of Texas at Austin (50,995 students)
  • University of Florida (50,691 students)
  • Texas A&M University (48,702 students)
  • Michigan State University (47,071 students)

Trying to find the online school that’s right for you may feel like a daunting task until you familiarize yourself with a list of colleges and universities providing you with specific details about each school mentioned in the list.  Rather than visiting colleges and universities in person or telephoning administrators at several online schools, consider taking the time to review the lists so you can find out schools offering the best tuition rates, student activities and distance learning credit and/or degree programs in subjects you’re most interested in majoring in.

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Tips for Earning Your GED Online

January 12, 2012 By 2 Comments

Go Online to Make Earning Your General Equivalency Diploma (GED)
Easier

Years ago General Equivalency Diploma (GED), also referred to as a General Education Diploma (GED) courses were taught at high schools, some of them aged and closed for services to traditional students; others were taught and tested at learning centers.  Getting a GED felt like cramming for a final examination for several weeks for some students back then.  Today, regardless of how old you are, you can get your GED online from the comforts of your home.  Quality educational organizations that administer the programs develop in-depth coursework for their paid or free GED online classes.

Depending on the school you enroll in to complete your GED online, you might be required to be at least 16 years old to get accepted into the school.  The reason you didn’t finish your diploma coursework at a traditional school may not be of importance to school officials.  If you’re a fast learner, you can complete your GED requirements in less than a month.  Otherwise, it can take you up to six weeks to finish the requirements.

After you enroll in an online GED training program consider:

  • Asking school enrollment counselors for a GED study kit you can refer to as you complete course materials and study for upcoming tests
  • You might be required to score 70 percent or higher on each test to move on in the course
  • Enrolling in schools that offer you a lifetime verification (this way if college or university administrators want to confirm that you got an official GED, they can call a certain number at the school and get your GED verified)
  • Purchasing flash cards, calculators and other learning tools that will aid you in your studies
  • Reading through GED preparation books so you know what to expect on the tests
  • Taking GED practice tests before you schedule your actual tests
  • Checking out schools to make sure they are accredited by reputable agencies (you can always contact the accrediting agency and ask them to confirm whether or not the school is, in fact, accredited by them)

Types of Questions Covered on GED Tests

According to the American Council on Education, types of subjects covered on GED tests include:

  • Language arts
  • Social studies
  • Science
  • Mathematics

Multiple choice and essay questions are parts of the language arts test sections.  You’ll have to be familiar with sentence structure, grammar, capitalization, etc. to pass this part of the tests.  Social studies covers geography, history, civics and government and economics.  The science part of the tests covers physical and life science as well as earth and space science.  You can use a calculator on Part I of the mathematics portion of the tests, but not on Part II.

After you get your GED online for free or by paying to enroll in other secondary programs, you can apply for acceptance to postsecondary schools so you can get occupational licenses (e.g. nursing, cosmetology) and/or complete undergraduate degrees.  If you left high school early to serve in the military you might be able to get a GED online for free using military tuition assistance programs.  Additionally, after you get your GED online and start completing college and university courses employers may focus on your postsecondary education more than on whether or not you earned your high school diploma by traditional or non-traditional methods.  Keep in mind that growing popularity of online high school programs may continue to remove the stigma of distance learning programs from the minds of students, parents, educators and employers.

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Online College Search Tips

December 8, 2011 By 1 Comment

Search for a College That Fits Your Needs

The numbers of colleges and universities in the United States exceeds 2,000.  Over the last several years many of these schools have begun offering online courses and degree programs.  Understanding what to look for as you conduct your colleges and universities search may save you hours of time.

If you want to combine online courses with classroom courses, as you conduct your college university search review postsecondary schools that offer on-campus and virtual courses.  You might see these courses referred to as blended courses.  Tools you can start your online college search with include:

  • U.S. News and World Report college rankings
  • Princeton Review college rankings report
  • Peterson’s college database
  • College Board database

The United States Department of Education also list accredited colleges and universities in its database.  Many of these schools are authorized to accept financial aid from government programs.  Enrolling in accredited schools listed with the Department of Education is one way you can increase your chances of securing federal financial aid through programs like the Federal Stafford Student Loan and/or PELL grant.

As you’re conducting your online college search, jot down notes about public and/or private colleges and universities you’re interested in attending.  For example, you could collect information on in-state and out-of-state schools including the costs of tuition, scholarships offered by the schools, numbers of undergraduate students enrolled in the schools, whether or not the schools offer graduate programs in subjects you’re interested in majoring in and the types of distance learning courses available for you to take at the schools.

Additional College and University Search Resources

It’s also important that you find out if the schools offer programs or student support services like:

  • Career counseling
  • Enrollment counselors
  • Student tutoring
  • Mentoring programs
  • Financial counseling or financial advising
  • Academic advising

Through career counseling and academic advising programs you can learn about internships, work/study programs and career fairs you can register to participate in.  If you take advantage of career counseling services you might land jobs before you graduate, helping you to meet employers’ two pronged job hiring requirement (education and work experience).  Bottom line, search for schools that support your educational and post graduation efforts.  After all, college is expensive.  The more support top schools give you to join the employment ranks, earn top wages and work in fields you’re passionate about, the better.

Other sources you can use to learn more about online and offline colleges and universities are:

  • Cultural education organizations (e.g. United Negro College Fund, cultural alliances)
  • Professionals associations (many members of professional associations graduated from top schools)
  • Alumni associations

In addition to using search engines and college ranking reports to conduct your colleges and universities search, you may be able to reach out to your high school counselors and ask them for their insights on schools offering curriculums that can best help you achieve your academic and career goals.  You can also ask your family members, friends and colleagues who are continuing their education for recommendations on top schools you can attend.  Thanks to the Internet, as someone searching for a quality institution of higher education, you can also visit college and university discussion forums, ask specific questions about the schools and read through feedback and comments made by students currently attending the schools.

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College Search Online

November 14, 2011 By 1 Comment

College Search Online Systems Helping College Students Learn

According to Internet World Stats, by 2010 hundreds of millions of people were using the Internet, many of them searching for facts, figures, articles and information using search engines.  Today people around the world use search engines to locate college search online information like enrollment, tuition costs, financial aid expenses and college student extracurricular activities.  Conducting college search online reviews of schools you’re interested in attending can shorten the time it could take you to find accredited postsecondary schools that best help you to gain the advanced education you want.

Finding Information You Need to Succeed at College

Peterson’s, College Board, US News and World Report and Princeton Review college overviews and/or rankings are some of the resources you can use to collect and review facts, interesting tidbits and course offerings available at accredited colleges and universities located throughout the United States.  Online college search engine efforts can quickly provide you with individual school data such as:

  • Whether or not the school is for-profit or not
  • Types of degrees and certifications awarded at the school (e.g. college diplomas, associate degrees, bachelor’s degrees, graduate degrees)
  • If the school accepts federal financial aid
  • Scholarships and grants the school provides directly to qualifying students
  • Distance learning courses and degree programs offered at the school
  • Minimum college entrance examination (e.g. SAT, ACT) scores required to get admitted to the school
  • Costs of tuition
  • Whether or not the college or university operates on a quarter or semester basis
  • Activities and organizations available for students to join and participate in
  • Accreditations the schools have
  • Student enrollment facts
  • Demographics of students enrolled at the school, including the percentage of men and women enrolled

After you narrow down the top three accredited colleges or universities you want to attend, consider visiting the schools in person.  Before you pack your bags and travel to the schools contact an administrator at the school and schedule a tour.  This way you can get an in-person feel or vibe for the school.  Should you decide not to take an in-person tour of the campus, jot down questions you may have about the school and telephone school administrators so you can get direct answers to your questions.  For example, you could ask the school administrators about the college’s:

  • Student graduation rate (if it’s not available using online resources)
  • Teacher to student classroom ratios
  • Licenses and degrees college professors are required to have to teach at the school
  • Percentage of students who get employed after graduating from the college or university (also ask how long it takes students to get hired in their degree field)

The benefits of conducting college searches online can extend beyond gathering enrollment, costs, degree subjects, etc.  By searching detailed information at individual school websites you can learn about policies, procedures, course offerings as well as find registration forms and applications you can use to get into programs like internships, clinical trials, advanced courses and work/study programs.

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The Beginning Steps to Take High School Online

October 27, 2011 By 1 Comment

About Online High School Courses

Some online high schools are approved and taught by public school districts.  You or your children can also take free online high school courses through privately owned educational organizations.  As with other distance learning programs, it’s important that you ensure schools are accredited by reputable organizations before you or your children enroll in the schools.

Organizations like the International Association for K-12 Online Learning, state departments of education, school boards and the United States Department of Education work with high school administrators and educators to develop and/or measure the success of classroom courses.  Some of these organizations also work with a predecessor of online high schools, homeschooling establishments.  In fact, perhaps it was, in part, the success of homeschooling programs that paved the way for accredited online high schools to succeed as well.

You’re still required to take and pass state education assessment examinations to graduate from the schools.  To do well academically while taking high school courses online ask yourself a few questions to find out how ready you are to increase your learning using a computer.  To start, you can ask yourself:

  • What types of occupational fields would I like to work at after I graduate from high school and/or college?
  • If I could take one or more honors courses via a distance learning program, what courses would I want to take?
  • Am I interested in participating in extracurricular activities while I attend an online high school? (Some schools offer extracurricular activities you can participate in.)
  • Do I have access to additional support (e.g. from my parents, caregivers) that I need to succeed via an online high school program?
  • Am I comfortable learning on the computer for two to three hours or more a week?
  • Am I self-disciplined (schools might take attendance according to when you sign into their Blackboard systems)?
  • How important is it to me that I be able to take pre-college courses while I complete my online high school diploma?

Enrolling in Online High Schools

If you attend an online high school through your state’s public education system, you might not have much control over the individualized attention you receive from teachers.  Therefore, consider talking to a few students who are currently taking online high school courses to see if it’s a good fit for you.  The school you attend (if it’s a part of a public school system) may likely send you textbooks free of charge, or direct you to a location where you can pick the textbooks up for free.

To enroll in an online high school, contact your state’s department of education and see if they offer virtual schools online.  This way you won’t have to pay tuition or (again) for textbooks.  You and/or your parents must complete an enrollment application before you start taking classes.  Most schools let you complete and submit applications electronically.  For schools not associated with the state, contact an enrollment advisor who can answer questions about the school you and your parents may have and assist you with completing your enrollment application.  While completing your enrollment application, be sure to indicate what grade you’re in.  If you’ve previously attended brick and mortar schools, you may have to transfer your transcripts to the online school.  To access online school systems, you also might need a login and password.

Keep in mind that attending a free online high school is one way you can eliminate classroom distractions and focus on your school assignments.  By taking online high school classes you also might find different education methods that better suit your personal learning styles.  Fortunately, there are programs like the Britannica Online School Edition you can access to search through concise research documents you can use to write English and other school papers.  These and other time savers might make it easier for you to start taking college preparation courses before you graduate with your diploma.

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