The Online Degree Dorm Room

engineering degree online : The oldest online schools

Posted by bposton on October 31st, 2006 — Posted in engineering degree online

I was getting dressed up in my Darth Vader costume for the online Halloween ball, and I realized that since I showed you the newest online schools, maybe you’d like to see the oldest. One would at least assume they would have more experience and be better prepared to offer you the degree program that you’re looking for…

This lists includes the ever popular University of Phoenix ( I see there ads all other the place), as well as East Carolina University, in my home state of NC. However it seems that good ole Nova Southeastern University is at the top (anybody know who they are?)  

So without further adue, here the top 20 oldest online schools, according the US News and World Report:

Nova Southeastern University (FL) 1983

Roberts Wesleyan College (NY) 1987

New York Institute of Technology (NY) 1988

Boise State University (ID) 1989

New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJ) 1989

University of Phoenix (AZ) 1989

Michigan Technological University (MI) 1990

Rochester Institute of Technology (NY) 1990

Embry Riddle Aeronautical University (FL) 1993

East Carolina University (NC) 1994

National University (CA) 1994

Baker College of Flint (MI) 1995

Baker College–Auburn Hills (MI) 1995

Baker College–Cadillac (MI) 1995

Baker College–Clinton Township (MI) 1995

Baker College–Jackson (MI) 1995

Baker College–Muskegon (MI) 1995

Baker College–Owosso (MI) 1995

Baker College–Port Huron (MI) 1995

George Washington University (DC) 1995

Mercer University (GA) 1995

University of Idaho (ID) 1995

Walden University (MN) 1995

…may the force be with you….

Ben

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engineering degree online : No Child Left Behind…in College?? - Part 3

Posted by bposton on October 21st, 2006 — Posted in engineering degree online

Here’s the third and final part of the quote from Eugene Hickok about how the government is trying to making colleges more accountable in how they educate their students.

“Americans should have more information about higher education curriculum and teaching. Higher education in this country differs substantially from elementary and high school education,most obviously in what is offered and how it is offered. The academy responds to the demands of disciplines and faculty. It is a culture that cherishes independence and freedom. And it is a culture seriously out of touch with much of America.

Faculty members decide what they want to teach and when they want to teach, if, indeed, they teach at all. This is particularly true regarding undergraduate instruction, which is something of an afterthought on many campuses. Faculty members typically spend fewer than 200 hours a year in the classroom. That amounts to just five 40-hour weeks.

Take a look at what passes for subjects of scholarly and instructional focus on campuses.
Should taxpayer dollars really go to underwrite courses in such things as the history of
comic book art? Policy makers and tuition payers need to be made aware of what sorts of courses institutions consider appropriate to fulfill core academic requirements, if anything resembling an academic core even exists. And there needs to be a greater emphasis on teaching students what they need to know, rather than what faculty want to talk about.

One of No Child Left Behind’s hallmarks is transparency. Today parents know more about the performance of their children’s schools than ever before. This same principle needs to be applied to higher education. Colleges and universities need to be able to explain why they charge the tuition they charge, what their graduation rates are, what they feel constitutes an educated person and how they propose to get first year students from here to there. the various college rating systems and publications are entertaining and interesting to read, but they don’t provide the sort of objective data tuition payers need to make informed decisions.

For generations, a college education has been a big part of the American dream.
Much of the world has come to America to get a higher education. But nothing guarantees that this will be the case in the future. Indeed, for more and more American citizens, that dream is coming into question. It is time for serious reflection and reform in higher education — before it is too late.
Eugene Hickok, a fellow at the Heritage Foundation, was a deputy secretary of education during President Bush’s first term.
 

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What do you want to do with your education?

Posted by bposton on October 16th, 2006 — Posted in engineering degree online

Do you want to increase your pay? Or do you find yourself at a “career crossroads”?

Or are you as far as you can go in your career with your current skills?

Not too long ago, you had to quit your job and go back to school to get ahead, but not anymore. 

Today it’s possible to get a Bachelor’s, Master’s or even Ph.D. degrees without ever setting foot in a classroom.

Theres an organization I found out about called Sloan Consortium. It was created to help colleges and other “learning organizations” start and improve their online degree programs.

Anyway, according to the Sloan Consortium, almost two-thirds of all the schools that offer classroom education now also offer courses online as well.

And get this, last year nearly two million students were enrolled in an online course of some kind.

So you’re not alone - there’s been a lot of progress in online education and the standard or traditional colleges have found out that there’s a market out there, so now (finally) they’re starting to offer what we need.

Ben
 

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