Engineering Degree Online | A Three Part Primer about Online Degrees - Part 1
Someone stuck their head in the online degree dorm room last night and asked:
So, Ben - can you give me a quick primer on taking online courses or getting a
degree online?
Well, it’s going to take a few posts to complete it but here’s the first part:
Part One - Make sure your program is legit:
Ok, so I hope you know by now that taking courses online is a great way to further your
education while keeping your day job.
But how do you separate the reputable programs from the diploma mills that are just out there to
make a profit from giving you a worthless peice of paper?
If you’re considering getting an online degree, the most important point to research
is the school’s reputation. The first thing I’d do it I were looking in to an online program is its accreditation:
If the school has not been properly reviewed, your diploma could be meaningless in the eyes of potential employers.
Here’s the thing - Online colleges and graduate programs are expected to meet the same standards
as traditional institutions. so they should be reviewed by one of the six regional associations that are
recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation.
You’ll probably see this accreditation somewhere on the home page of the programs’ website.
If you can’t find it, here’s what you need to do:
Locate the school’s physical headquarters through its website, and
then check with the accreditation association that covers that region.
You also can search the Department of Education’s list.
The next thing you should do is find out how long the college or university has been offering online
courses and/or degree programs.
Even if it’s an established and reputable traditional colleges or grad schools, if they’re first starting
out with online programs then they might not have their act together just yet, and their fumbles can hamper
your learning. I mean, who wants to have to deal the technical difficulties when you’ve got a paper to write?
OK, that’s about it for part 1. In my next post I’ll discuss the type of PC skills you need
Ben