engineering degree online : accredited or “state approved”?

Posted by bposton on October 28th, 2006 — Posted in engineering degree online

I’m sure if you’re read anything about online degrees you’ve heard about
accreditation. But I’ve run across another interesting term for
colleges called “state approved”.

You don’t hear about this one that much so I thought I’d pull up the covers
on it and let you know what the difference is between accreditation and state
approved colleges.

First and formost, State approval and accreditation are not the same.

“State approval to operate” or “state approved” means that the institution in question has
satisfied certain minimum requirements established by a state.

Accreditation means that an institution has attained a threshold level of academic quality.

Here’s the big difference - in most states, approval to operate does not require accreditation.

So that means you need to pay close attention to any college or university that claims they are “state-approved” and check closely with the particular institution and its accrediting organization, to determine if a particular institution meets anticipated needs.
There may be more, but it seems that California is the state has the most colleges
that say they are “state-approved”. They have 253 state-approved or exempt private
postsecondary and vocational institutions.

Ben

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engineering degree online : Is that a college in your PC, or are you just happy to see me?

Posted by bposton on October 26th, 2006 — Posted in engineering degree online

Here’s another good question that someone left on the online degree dorm room door:

What kind of PC do I need to take an online class?

Good question - and even a geek like me needs the answer to that one :-)

But I’ll have to put on my consulting hat and say “it depends”

For example, each school ,an even each program may have some very specific software requirements, and I’ve found that even in general the requirements can be different, and therefore confusing.

Let me give you some examples, in this post and the next, to explain what I mean.

We’ll start with Drexel University.

Here is what they say are the technical requirements:

“Students need particular hardware and software to successfully participate in our Online programs. They also need certain computer skills and knowledge to install, configure, and operate the hardware and software.”

Clear as mud? :-)

OK, a little more detail. Again from the Drexel website:

“The sections below list minimum computer hardware, software, and computer skills.
Wherever possible, we avoid changing requirements for existing students, but please note that students with minimum hardware or software may need to make some upgrades before they complete the degree program.

Computer Hardware
Students must have access to a computer that has the following minimum configuration:

Processor: 300 MHz or more
RAM: 128 Megabytes or more
Disk: 2 GB free space
CD-ROM
Modem: 56 K BPS or higher
Monitor: 600 x 800 resolution, 16 bit color
System: Windows 98, ME, NT 4, 2000, XP

Computer Software
The following set of software packages is required:

MS Office 2000 or later
Internet browser (Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5 SP1 or Netscape Navigator 4.7 or higher)
Note: While most Web browsers should work, students report fewer problems with Internet Explorer.

Other software may be required for particular courses.

All software must be installed and operational one week before classes begin.

Sounds a little out-dated to me, how about you?

OK, so I’ll take another look around and let you know what I come up with at another college.

Stay tuned

Ben

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