The Online Degree Dorm Room

Associate Online Degree Programs | New Study about online degrees

Posted by bposton on November 25th, 2006 — Posted in associate online degree programs

Hey there dorm room buddy!

There’s been an important new study just released bout the growth of online education.

The study was don by the Babson Survey Research Group in partnership with the College Board, and was sponored by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

The report, based on responses from over 2,200 colleges and universities, examines a number of key questions:

Has the Growth of Online Enrollments Begun to Plateau?

Who is Learning Online?
What Types of Institutions Have Online Offerings?

What are the Barriers to Widespread Adoption of Online Education?

This is great stuff. I’m reading it now and I’ll give you all the details in my upcoming posts.

Ben 

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Associate Online Degree Programs | One Dean’s View of Online Education

Posted by bposton on November 25th, 2006 — Posted in associate online degree programs

Andy DiPaolo is the executive director of the Stanford Center for Professional Development for Stanford University. He’s also the associate dean of the Stanford School of Engineering.

Here’s what he had to say about online education:

Online education is not appropriate for undergraduates, who benefit from on-campus socialization, he said. Nor does it work for doctorate candidates, who work one on one with faculty.

(I personally disagree with him on that one. I beleive online education is just fine for folks getting an undergraduate degree. Sure you may miss out on some socialization, but if you’re focused it works just great) 

But a masters-level degree from the School of Engineering is a good fit for older students who are working and so cannot attend class, he said. Many employers help pay for a worker’s graduate degree.

Now that I do agree with

Ben
 

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Associate Online Degree Programs | Prestigeous Schools go online

Posted by bposton on November 24th, 2006 — Posted in associate online degree programs

Online education has grown much more popular since the advent of the Internet. But to be honest, most online degrees are still coming from for-profit schools like the University of Phoenix, and not from the traditional brick-and-mortar colleges.

In fact, a lot of the country’s most elite universities have pretty much avoided the trend towards online degrees, thinking that a computer cannot replace the intellectual exchange offered by attending classes in person.

But that is changing - finally

The new online engineering master’s degree offered by Stanford and a handful of other respected universities are embracing online education. Or a least giving it a try. 

Duke University’s new “Global Executive MBA'’ is completely Internet-based. Johns Hopkins University offers an online master’s degree program in bioinformatics.

This is important because it’s a sign that online education is becoming mainstream when these prestigous universities are sticking their toes in the water to see if it’s warm.

It’s a very good sign to me

Ben

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Associate Online Degree Programs | After Thanksgiving Trivia

Posted by bposton on November 24th, 2006 — Posted in associate online degree programs

Boy, am I stuffed

I had 13 people, and a 20 pound turkey and all the fixings yesterday.

It was pretty cramped in the online degree dorm room

I’m not spending too much time in the dorm room actually due to the Thanksgiving holiday but I did want to put out this short little bit of trivia.

bet you didn’t know when the very first “distance education” program started… do you?

Well here’s something you can amaze your friends with:

The very first distance education program started in the 1870s. It was when the very first correspondence school began in the U.S. It was called the Society to Encourage Study at Home.

Here’s even more - it was started by the wife of a Harvard professor, and it was started in order to bring education to women, who at that time were not allowed to attend universities.

So there you go. Now in my next post I’ll take a look at how some of the nations most prestigious schools are turning to online education.

Ben

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Associate Online Degree Programs | Happy Thanksgiving!

Posted by bposton on November 22nd, 2006 — Posted in associate online degree programs

Hello, my online degree dorm room buddy!

Just wanted to let you know that I’m gonna be skipping a few classes and taking a little time off from my postings to enjoy Thanksgiving with my family.

I want to thank you for putting up with my crazy sense of humor and I hope you’ll continue to come back and learn more about getting your online degree.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday (if you’re in the US, that is) and I’ll be back soon!

Ben

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Associate Online Degree Programs | All About Associate Degrees - A summary

Posted by bposton on November 21st, 2006 — Posted in associate online degree programs

I hope I haven’t bored you to tears with all these posts about associate degrees

And maybe you’ve even learned a few things that you didn’t know, like:

The difference between Community and Junior Colleges

The three different classes of associate degrees

The three different types of people that persue associate degrees or take associate degree courses

The advantages of associate degrees over 4 year degrees

How to make sure that your community college is accredited and that the credits you earn will be transferable to a 4 year school if that is your plan.

If you didn’t catch all of the posts, don’t worry, there still here in the online degree dorm room. Just take a look around and you’re find those and other posts that I hope you’ll find helpful.

Ben

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Associate Online Degree Programs | All About Associate Degrees - Part 7

Posted by bposton on November 21st, 2006 — Posted in associate online degree programs

I’d like to wrap up my posts about associate degrees with some things to consider when choosing a program, either on campus or online.

You need to make sure that whatever program you’re interested in is both fully accredited and the credits transferable. This is important even if you don’t intend to move on to a 4 year degree.

So how do you make sure of this?

Well, the best way is to follow the same rule that the US does in it’s relationship with Russia:

“Trust but Verify”

That means you need to verify with third party sources the accrediation status of the community college or junior college you want to attend. Don’t just trust what their information or website tells you. Check with the accrediting agency and even the department of education at the state or federal level if you need to.

Next, if you’re planning to transfer to a 4 year school, you should check with that school to make absolutely sure that the credits you earn at the community college will be accepted at the 4 year school. This is critical! Do just assume, and don’t take the community college’s word for it. Check it out for yourself.

Ben

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Associate Online Degree Programs | All About Associate Degrees - Part 6

Posted by bposton on November 21st, 2006 — Posted in associate online degree programs

I’m getting close to wrapping up this series of posts about associate degrees, but before I do I wanted to make sure you understood the advantages of getting an associate degree.

Here are some of the advantages:
 

Since it’s normally a two year program, getting an associate degree can be completed sooner than a bachelor’s degree. 

Today many skilled trades and professions, as well as high-paying technical jobs require an associate degree in a specialized field. Those types of jobs are predicted to increase over the next several years.

An associate degree is less expensive overall than a bachelor’s degree. Tuition is usually a lot less, and you normally pay less for room and board. In fact, a lot of students stay at home with their parents when enrolled in an associate degree program since most community colleges lack dorms.

(I have to interject here that since a lot of community colleges and 4 year colleges now offer online programs, the room and board aspect of this is a mute point.)

You can normally find a community college very close to home. There are many more community colleges and 4 year colleges, so you’re more likely to find one that’s close and that offers the courses that you’re looking for.

(Another interjection - with associate online degree programs, distance is not as much of an issue. However, some online programs still have minimal on-campus work requirements, so keep that in mind.)

People with associate degrees are more marketable than ever before since there has been an increase in the reputations of many community and junior colleges.

Ben

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Associate Online Degree Programs | All About Associate Degrees - Part 5

Posted by bposton on November 21st, 2006 — Posted in associate online degree programs

I wanted to delve into more detail about the difference between community colleges and juinor colleges.

I’ve already mentioned that either one is a good place to get your associates degree, but you need to understand some of the fundamental differences between them before you decide where to go.

As you already know, community colleges are run by the government of the state in which they reside. Some states have better community college systems that others. For example, my home state of North Carolina has one of the best community college systems in the country. The state takes very good care of it’s community colleges, and along with business and industry partnerships, they have become a great place to learn the technical skills of the high-tech (and high-paid) trades that today’s businesses need.

So let’s turn to the Junior College, and see what that’s all about.

Junior colleges are very similar to community colleges with one big exception - most of them are privately held and run. So they are profit-oriented, for the most part.
That means that as compared to Community colleges they are normally not as economical.

Junior Colleges also tend to be more focused in certain areas of study. For example, I went to a Junior College to learn radio and TV broadcasting. The school was very specifically oriented to that industry. So instead of pursuing a 4 year degree at that time (I did so later) I learned a specific trade, and after graduating actually went to work in radio. I’m not in radio today, but you get the idea, I hope

So you need to think about what type of skill you’re looking to learn - is it a specific skill, like becoming a TV producer or radio announcer - or do you want something more general in nature, like business administration, that you can use to continue your quest of a 4 year degree. Answering that question will help you decide which type of college you may want to attend.

Ben

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Associate Online Degree Programs | All About Associate Degrees - Part 4

Posted by bposton on November 20th, 2006 — Posted in associate online degree programs

Part 4 in my series, which I should be calling

Everything you wanted to know about an Associates Degree, but were afraid to ask

Here’s something you probably did already know. That the cost of getting an associate degree at a community college is normally much less than at a four-year college or university, even a public one. That’s why more and more students are choosing to attend a community college for two years to reduce the ever-increaseing costs of getting a bachelor’s degree. First, community colleges offer a great education in the way of associate degree programs at a great price. Second, many students are getting thier first 2 of their 4 year degree by going to a community college for 2 years with the intention of transfering to a 4 year school to finish their degree.

Be aware, however, that this is not as easy as it sounds. Especially for students who want to finish their 4 years in an out of state university.

That being said, it’s also been reported that even international students are now looking into the possiblities that US community colleges give in the way of lowering costs.

Even though the costs are higher for international and out of state students, it’s still cheaper that going a full 4 years at an out of state (or out of country) university.

So , if you’re on a tight budget, you should seriously consider associate degree programs at community colleges and junior colleges as way to cut costs.

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