The Online Degree Dorm Room

Liberty U grows up

Posted by bposton on February 11th, 2010 — Posted in online degree programs psychology

A college that is close to my heart has just announced a new record enrollment.

This coming fall, more than 50,000 students will attend Liberty University, located in Lynchburg, VA.

And here’s the neat thing - of thos 50,000 only about 12 thousand will be on campus. The rest will be getting their degree online.

Liberty University was doing distance education before the internet. I’m showing my age here, but I remember taking classes via Liberty University by watching video taped lectures and taking written exams (in the presence of an approved mentor). Since then, Liberty has led the way in online degree eductation, becoming the largest non-profit, private college in the U.S.

Chancellor Jerry Falwell, Jr. (son of the late Jerry Falwell, founder of the University) admits that the popularity of LU’s online program is due to the poor ecomonic conditions, but I thinks its also due to two other reasons:

1 - Liberty has found a great niche in the education market and has marketed itself well. Heck, I still get mail from them as an “alumni” promoting their online degrees.

2 - The school accepts more than 90 percent of students who apply. The school is reported to be raising academic standards each year, but…

Anyway, it’s hard to beleive that ”little” Liberty University has enough students to fill Dodger stadium

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Get an online degree in just one year?

Posted by bposton on April 13th, 2009 — Posted in online degree programs psychology

So, is it really possible to get a degree online in just one year?

Well, normally I would say “no way”. In fact, if you see websites or ads promising such a thing, then you should probably RUN - not walk - the other way.

However, something as come along that caught my attention and so I decided to let you know about it.

I found out about a program being promoted by educational expert Professor Sheila Danzig. The good doctor is promising to help any American student that doesn’t mind hard work to earn a degree online or at home in less than a year.

Skeptical?

You bet I was.

BUT… Danzig’s program is very different here.

How? Well first of all, at her website, www.thecareerpeople.com, she offers students an opportunity to earn a legitimate degree from a regionally accredited university in the United States.

Again, most claims like this have a phase called “credit for life experience” or something like that. Which is a big red flag that you’re starring a diploma mill square in the face.

But this program doesn’t offer credit for life experience. What this program will do is show you how to earn college credit for college-level work that you have have done over the years outside a college classroom.

Most folks do know it, but there are many different types of learning that can qualify for college credit. For example, are you certified by Microsoft? Well, certification classes can be converted to college credits. Are you fluent in a foreign language? That can earn you up to nine semester credit hours.

Now I know what you’re thinking. This program is just how to test out of everything, right?

Nope.

This program is for anyone who wants to earn a degree online by taking courses or exams at home. Professor Danzig offers an electronic guide and free online consultation on her website that she says will enable anyone who follows the program to earn a degree online at an accredited university in the United States within one year.

So, how can you be sure it will work for you?

I can’t give you that answer - you’ll have to check it out for yourself and make sure. However, I can tell you that Doctor Danzig stands behind her program’s claim with a triple guarantee. She guarantees that anyone who follows her program exactly and does not earn an accredited college degree within one year will be refunded triple the cost of the program. That’s a pretty bold guarantee to make her bold claim.

Check it out - see what you think

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online degree programs psychology | New Arts Management Degree at Drexel

Posted by bposton on February 12th, 2008 — Posted in online degree programs psychology

Hey dorm room buddy…

Do you enjoy the “Arts”?

I suppose I do too, but I have alot of trouble staying inside the lines with my crayons

Anyway, you might want to know that Drexel University Online, has just announced that they are adding a new online degree - a Master of Science in Arts Administration. This is a very broad and deep degree program that combines a multidisciplinary approach to arts management that incorporates commerce, research and technology in the arts.
THis M.S. in Arts Administration degree is one of the only arts management degrees in the U.S. offered completely online, and (as usual with Drexel) you can be assured of the same high-quality instruction as with the on-campus program.

So what can you do with this degree?

Well, you can get a high-level management positions within most of the country’s arts and cultural organizations.

That’s because as a student in this program you learn management theory and practice, as well as policy development, marketing, and fundraising for non-profit organizations.

If you’re interested in getting the skills you need succeed in the growing profession of arts and culture administration, then you should seriously consider this MS degree.

And as usual with online degree programs, you can complete the coursework in two years while holding on to your day job. You can also customize the program of study through electives based on your individual career goals.

In case you didn’t know, Drexel University’s Arts Administration program is highly regarded in the industry, and is a part of the Association of Arts Administration Educators and the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance.

Applications for Drexel’s online Master’s in Arts Administration are now being accepted for the fall term. For more information about this online program, e-mail info @ drexel.com or call (877) 215-0009.

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online degree programs psychology | Penn State offers online Psychology degree

Posted by bposton on November 24th, 2007 — Posted in online degree programs psychology

OK, my little dorm room buddies, this is it.

This is the news I’ve been waiting for. For the first time ever, a public university is offering online psychology degrees.

Beginning this month, Penn State will open admission to its bachelor of arts (BA) and bachelor of science (BS) degrees in
psychology to online degree students. Students can begin applying to the program later this month, and courses begin in summer 2008.

The program is from the University’s College of the Liberal Arts and delivered through Penn World Campus.

This is HUGH!!

Why? - Because it;s PENN STATE, that’s why…

Penn State College of the Liberal Arts educates more than 5,000 undergraduates in 43 majors and over 800 graduate
students in 16 programs, in addition to being the largest provider of courses for Penn State World Campus.

The World Campus at Penn State specializes in adult online education, delivering more than 60 of Penn State’s most highly regarded graduate, undergraduate and professional education programs through convenient online formats.

It was founded in 1998, and now serves more than 7,000 students in all 50 states, 43 countries, and on 7 continents.

And now they’ve added two online psychology degrees–a bachelor of arts (BA) and a bachelor of science (BS) in psychology. 

The BA program is geared towards professionals who want to pursue psychology with a focus on the human-services aspects of the field, or plan to continue on to a master’s degree in psychology. The BS program follows a business track–for professionals interested in psychology-driven aspects of business–such as human resources, management, leadership development, and marketing.

As with all of Penn State’s online programs, the new psychology degrees are designed to empower working adults to
pursue life and career-enhancing higher education without sacrificing personal or professional time.

This is definitely a milestone for online education; the first public university offering of online psychology degrees.

Hat’s off to Penn State!!
 

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online degree programs psychology | More Cool stuff going on…

Posted by bposton on October 26th, 2007 — Posted in online degree programs psychology

Hey, here’s even more cool stuff going on the the online dorm room…

Looks like the great state of Tennessee is tring to reduce the nursing shortage by offerin a new online degree program.

They voted last month to approve an new associate of applied science in nursing degree to be offered an online program.

“This program will help meet the current and emerging needs of the workplace for registered nurses, using alternative delivery methods and shared resources,” Paula Short, vice chancellor for academic affairs in the TBR system, said in a news release. “We applaud and thank the Board of Nursing for its vision in approving the program, which will help improve the lives of many Tennesseans.”

Back in 2004 a fed report projected a shortage of more than 13,000 registered nurses by 2006 and a shortage of 35,000 nurses in Tennessee by 2020.

And the American Hospital Association guess that there are 126,000 vacanies for registered nurse vacancies across the US -  in hospitals alone.
The Tennesee Board of Regents program will be offered beginning in spring 2008 at nine of the 13 community colleges in the system, including Jackson State Community College and Dyersburg State Community College.

Students will spend a minimum of 360 hours online, plus an additional 630 “on-ground” hours for the courses in the curriculum, not including general education and other major required credits.

Course material will be offered through the Regents Online Degree Program, while lab sessions and clinical experiences are offered on-site and supervised by faculty from participating institutions.

The projections are to have 300 students enrolled by fall 2009, with 50 graduates by fall 2009 and 100 per year starting in fall 2010.

Just so you know, the Tennessee Board of Regents is the nation’s sixth largest higher education system with 45 post-secondary educational institutions. That includes six universities, 13 two-year colleges and 26 technology centers. Overall they provide programs in 90 of Tennessee’s 95 counties to more than 180,000 students.

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online degree programs psychology | How to make sure your online degree is worth the value

Posted by bposton on September 6th, 2007 — Posted in online degree programs psychology

Thinking about getting an online degree, but need one fast?

Then you better watch out for the diploma mills. 

Here’s how to make sure the degree your get won’t be worthless…

Everybody want’s things now, and a degree is no exception. There are a lot of ways to get a degree online in what I call the “fast-track” method.

You need to be aware of the fact that the most common fast-track degrees that can be earned with a minimum cost are something called “Life Experience” degrees. With these types of degrees, you gain credit for what you have learned in your job or any past experience.

But be wary. There are some of these “Life Experience” degree programs come with zero hour courses, and every others that allow you to complete the degree requirements in just a few days. Proceed with extreme caution. Many (if not most) of the diploma mills are issuing Life Experience degrees. Which are bascially worthless.

Although there are some online degree programs that count in you life experience, the credits from these life experience may just a small part of the total credit hours needed to complete the degree program.

Here’s an easy rule of thumb - if it is too easy to get a degree, then it really is not worth the paper it is printed on.

In order to protect yourself from the diploma mill scam and ensure your degree is worth the value, consider of taking a degree program that:

     * Require at least two years to complete the degree.

    * Come from a university that is listed in accreditation database of CHEA.org

    * Followes degree courses and either do not give andy credit, or only minimal credit  for your life experience.

    * is Offered by reputable university that have many good or positive feedbacks from online forums, or discussion boards.

If you’re even slightly suspicious about on any of the degree program you look at, then it’s better to drop it from your list then taking the risk to enroll it. You should be able to find the same online degree program from a prestige and reputable university.

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online degree programs psychology | The real reason for the lack of online education acceptance

Posted by bposton on December 7th, 2006 — Posted in online degree programs psychology

OK so you’ve read my posts about what the Sloan report has to say about why 95% of all the CAO’s (Chief Academic Officers) of higher education agree that there big barriers to the odoption of online learning.

But as I delve into the report in more detail, I see what I personally beleive is the biggest reason why this is:

According to the report, over 72% of the CAO’s beleive that online education reaches students not served by face-to-face programs.

Although the report doesn’t confirm it, I beleive that these CAO’s also believe that online education is still best ONLY for those types of students.

What I mean by that is this:

While it is true that the majority of CAO’s beleive that online education is becoming a more critical part of their institution’s long term strategy, I think that they see this growth only for students that can’t take advangtage of face-to-face traditional classroom programs.

Remember, as with all things internet, it begins with a split between the “brick and mortar” world and the virtual world. Then it is later embraced. Think about how Amazon lost money for years and now all the major retailers have an online presence for the typical shopper. Now replace the shopper with a college student…see what I mean?

So these CAO’s think that there is still much more value to the typical college bound student to have the brick and mortar classrooms and the face-to-face instruction than a virtual online class or degree program.

But I think that there are many college bound students, in addtion to the typical “non-traditional” student population, who would love to take online classes rather than cozy up to a smelly dorm room.

Take MySpace and FaceBook as an example. Can’t these be seen as Virtual dorm rooms?

OK so that’s my opinion. Am I right? Don’t know. but it makes sense to me anyway

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online degree programs psychology | More barriers to online education acceptance

Posted by bposton on December 7th, 2006 — Posted in online degree programs psychology

Here’s another reason why 95% of all the CAO’s (Chief Academic Officers) of higher education agree that there big barriers to the odoption of online learning.

According to the latest Sloan report on online education, professors say that it takes more time and effort to teach online.

My take - well I’m certainly not a professor, and I don’t “profess” to know what they’re doing

But I wonder if some of that is due to the reluctance to accept the technology that would make teaching online easier.

And maybe the professors are ready to accept it, but the college they work for isn’t - maybe due to the cost.

But I also think that there is still this stigma out there with many faculty whenever you say “distance learning” that invokes diploma mills and things of lower statue than a prestigous Ivy League environment.

They beleive that they want and need that face to face interaction on a classroom for their students to be challenged.

I don’t disagree with that thought, I just think that the technology is there that can come very close to replicating that environment. Both to teachers and students.
More to come…

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online degree programs psychology | What are the barriers to online education acceptance

Posted by bposton on December 7th, 2006 — Posted in online degree programs psychology

I don’t know about you, but when 95% of all the CAO’s (Chief Academic Officers) of higher education agree that there big barriers to the odoption of online learning, I sit up and take notice.

That figure is from the latest Sloan report on online education.

So why do so many of the CAO’s out see barriers to the acceptance of distance learning.

I’ll start with the information from the Sloan report, and then some of my own ideas.

According to the Sloan report, two-thirds of the faculty reported that online students need to have better discipline.

My take - well I’m still trying to figure out what that exactly means

you could take it to say that there is a need for more management of student’s activities online, including what actions to take if students abuse the online system, or fail to complete their assignments.

But I think it means that students learning online need to remember that it does take more self-discipline than with a traditional class. I’ve talked about this before. If you’re online you often don’t have a dorm mate telling you to wake up and go to class, for example.

So that’s one reason professors say that there is a barrier to distance education acceptance.

More to come…

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online degree programs psychology | Educators see barriers to online education

Posted by bposton on December 6th, 2006 — Posted in online degree programs psychology

In the latest Sloan report on online education, I found am intereting and somewhat disturbing fact.

The data shows that only 4.6% of all CAO’s (Chief Academic Officers) of higher education agree that there are no big barriers to the odoption of online learning.

OK, so that’s sort of like a double negative.

It means that about 95% DO see problems with online education being adopted nationwide.

Scary number to me.

So Why do to they see problems in this area?

It has to do both the students and the teachers. And the report confirms that.

More in the next few posts…

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