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 | A major in the Mets

Posted by bposton on November 5th, 2006 — Posted in engineering degree online

Here’s a great post-world series story for you.

Back in 1995, the New York Mets drafted pitching prospect Dan Murray. At the time he had yet to finish his college degree at San Diego State University.

But he decided to live the baseball dream, as minor leaguers call it. He pitched his way up from rookie league to AAA and, for parts of the 1999 and 2000 seasons, even earned a spot on the Major League rosters of the Mets and the Kansas City Royals.

And he never earned his degree.

Now Dan’s a pitching coach for the Mets’ rookie league team in Kingsport, Tenn. and he’s
getting his degree through a program jointly organized two years ago by the New York Mets and Drexel University.

Most minor league players have a very hard time finding off-the-field time for a traditional in-classroom degree
That’s because of the long baseball season which lasts from spring training through summer and into early fall - not the best time for most traditional academic calendars. Fall classes are already underway by the time the season ends
and the players have to start spring training at the same time that the spring semester gets going.

And then there’s the short off-season, and minor-league players (who may earn as little as $1,100 for each month they play) normally have to have a second job to support their families. 

That makes an online degree program, like the one at Drexel, a perfect fit.

More than 20 players have taken courses so far. A little over half of those will get degrees from Drexel while others will apply the credits they earn to the schools where they’ve already done coursework.

The program at Drexel is very customized for the players. For example, there’s a classe in baseball and literature (the reading list features Bernard Malamud’s The Natural and W. P. Kinsella’s Shoeless Joe), and one on sports and social issues (online discussions will focus on Jackie Robinson’s legacy, the Berlin and Munich Olympics, and the role of the contemporary sports hero, among other topics).

Boston Red Sox radio announcer Joe Castiglione is even scheduled to teach a course in sports broadcasting.

Other classes in areas such as sports and media, sports technology, the economics of sports, and minorities and sports. are planned as well.

And this program is not just open to baseball players. Other Drexel E-learning students can take these as well.

Ben

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