The Online Degree Dorm Room

Engineering Degree Online | Stanford’s Online Masters Program

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

I just read about Stanford’s online master’s degree program.

The program is call the Honors Cooperative Program. It’s a degree that you can earn over 5 years by completing 15 courses - and it’s offered as both an on campus or online program. It’s open to 250 students, most of which live in the Bay Area, but quite a few of them live all over the U.S. and overseas.

Students hail from as far away as China and India. All foriegn students are required to hold a valid student or visitor U.S. visa, and they must be proficient in English.

The online students that are admitted to Stanford are held to the same academic standards as on-campus students. This degree which is offered through Stanford Online, established in 1996, is identical to those of other students.

Ben

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Engineering Degree Online | A Three Part Primer about Online Degrees - Part 1

Posted by bposton on November 8th, 2006 — Posted in engineering degree online

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

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engineering degree online : Another success story…

Posted by bposton on October 23rd, 2006 — Posted in engineering degree online

Here’s another success story about a schoolteacher who was able to
“have his cake and eat it to” with an online degree program:

David Bergan was caught between a rock and a hard place…

He was a 25-year-old seventh grade mathematics teacher at Mason (OH) Middle School and he felt like he had to choose between his career and his passion.
  
He knew that to keep his career as a teacher moving forward, he needed a master’s
degree in education.

Problem was, if he when back to school on a part-time basis it would force him to stop doing what he loved, which was coaching the high school swim team during the school year, and his local Evendale Community swim team during the summer.

But Bergan found a solution that let him do both.

He enrolled in the University of Cincinnati’s (UC) online Master of Education in
Education Leadership degree program.

Here’s what he had to say about his experience:
“When I was looking for a master’s in education, my top choice was the
University of Cincinnati because I knew it was a great program,”
Since the only thing I was familiar with was the on-campus program,
I knew there was no way I could get my degree and continue coaching.
The online program was the only way that I could do both.”

David is on track to get his degree in March of 2007. He has set his sights on an
administration position as his top career choice.

Another benefit is that his master’s degree will allow him to keep up with the educational demands of his profession and the standards currently being adopted by the state of Ohio.

And he can continue with his passion for swimming, which he’s been doing since he eas five. The flexibility of the online program has allowed him to share that passion with the kids he coaches.

This is just one of many succes stories of students who are able to continue their
education through the convenience of an online learning programs like UC’s Master of
Education in Educational Leadership.

Ben

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