An online degree in one year? Yeah, right…
So today I get a press release all about how you save money getting a degree online.
The press release was created for Degree.com, and it states:
“Not only is the tuition a trifle detail, the classes you’ll need to take are fewer than those of traditional universities, and therefore you’re paying less money for the credits you would no doubt need to graduate. The average amount of credits one needs to graduate from a four year college is between 100 and 120. Getting your degree online may trouble you for about a year –that’s about 20 to 30 credits”
I had just one thought when I read this…
…are you KIDDING me?
The last time I checked, legit degrees online meant having to earn the same number of credits, or nearly so, as a traditional school.
So I when over to the degree.com website. Headline there was “Top 25 Online Degree Programs”. But as I read through the site, I couldn’t find that list of degree programs anywhere. There were a few of the general fields listed, along with links to some Universities like Kaplan and Phoenix that offer online degrees.
Oh, and there was also the note that you can get your degree in less that two years…
…so what happened to the “get your degree in one year” comment on the press release? 
Now I haven’t tried to contact them or the universities that are probably paying for adversiting on their site, but my guess is that you’ll be looking at a little more time than one (or even two) years to get a “4 year degree”.
I know that degree.com is a very popular site, but I think they should be tring to make getting a degree sound so easy, or affordable. It’s a little misleading if you ask me.
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Comment by Bobby
I can understand your frustration. When undertaking such a challenging endeavor as earning a degree, it would be great if it were as simple as some of the advertisements make it sound. Unfortunately, earning a degree is not easy. It is simply that earning your degree online offers more opportunities for flexibility in time scheduling and as well as and an affordable price tag. It just offers more options to students who wish to speed up the process of getting their masters and having a more workable schedule to meet their own personal needs.
Posted on December 11, 2009 at 8:03 pm
Comment by Sophie
Hello:
I’ve worked as an Admissions Advisor and some of my students came from some of these colleges, advertising that they can get a bachelors degree in a year or a year and a half.
What the advertisement doesn’t tell you is two things typically. To qualify for the one year program you have to transfer credits into the college, and you’ll be taking a high number of classes at a time. You’d be working 8-10 hours a day just to get the classes completed within a year.
One student I worked with attempted to do the college in a year but became very burned out, and felt that she wasn’t able to retain the information she was learning as the classes were a semester worth of work completed in just over a month or so, (depending on each class.)
If a college is accredited and they offer online classes the classes online have to mirror the work load of the classes taken on the campus. So if it is a legitimate college, you do get a lot done in a short period of time and it is possible to graduate in a year.
They just don’t tell you all of the details in these ads.
And cost wise for most full four year colleges, the cost of taking classes online is higher than at the campus as you pay for convenience.
There are a few colleges that make exception to this.
Be sure if you are looking into this as an option that you get all the details and your questions answered.
Sophie
Posted on December 23, 2009 at 6:06 pm
Comment by bposton
Sophie - thanks for these very insightful comments. You’re right, everyone must complete their “due diligence” for these types of claims.
Can it really be done? The answer is usually “Yes, BUT…”
Posted on December 24, 2009 at 1:46 pm