The Online Degree Dorm Room

online degree programs psychology | another online degree success story

Posted by bposton on April 16th, 2008 — Posted in online degree programs psychology

Hey my online degree dorm room buddy:

Here’s a great story about Stefanie Lund, 33, of Gulf Port, Miss.

She had all but given up on her dream to earn a college degree.

If fact, Stef has been through an awful lot, such as surviving Familial Adenomatous Polyposis, a colorectal cancer syndrome that ultimately led to a full colectomy.

Not to mention the fact that she move 37 times after high school.

But now this 33 year old mother of 3 has finally found a way to a better future — through Flint-based Baker College Online.

“Baker Online changed everything,” she said. “No matter how bad I felt, I could keep doing it … and when I left New Jersey for Georgia and then to Mississippi, I could take college with me.”

Now, after a packed day of homeschooling her children, she does her own classwork sometimes as late as 4 a.m.

No re-applying for financial aid, no re-doing credits, just re-connecting to the Internet.

Lund started pursuing her online degree at Baker in 2005 after reading about the program on the Internet. Now she’s two years away from a bachelor’s degree in marketing. After studying business through Baker, she has also become a jewelry merchant, runs a wholesale home decor business and works as a Baker Online tutor.

Lund is among the growing number of students at the Flint-based Baker Online program, who has seen their online student population increase from 2,900 students in 2005 to 4,700 students in 2007.

Now that’s what I call a great online degree success story!

Hey Stef - you’re welcome at our dorm room anytime!

Ben

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online degree programs psychology | economy goes down, degree search goes up

Posted by bposton on March 5th, 2008 — Posted in online degree programs psychology

Ahhhhh…

Spring Break…..

So I decided to take some time during the break to do a little research, and here’s what i found.

(I thought it was very interesting…)

It seems that every time the U.S. economy starts to fail, the search for college degree programs increases.

According to a February 21, 2008 Conference Board report, the US leading economic index steadily decreased between October 2007 and January 2008.

And during that same period, resources for online degrees showed an increase in visitors. Some, like SchoolsGalore.com, experienced a whopping 27% increase in visitors searching for higher education.

So this proves that our national labor force identifies a need to be better educated at times when the US economy seems to be slipping.

It can also be seen as those that have put off getting their degree have gotten a wake-up call from the rush of forclosures and stock market declines.

:-(

It’s a well know fact that the competition for good jobs is extremely tight, even more so in a falling economy. A college degree is always highly regarded by employers. In fact, a college degree is almost always required to qualify for employment these days. There is little room for the uneducated laborer without college level credentials.

So hang in there, get that degree, or - if you haven’t started yet, today’s economy is proof that now is good time to get going!
 

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online degree programs psychology | military spouse discount tuition at Kaplan

Posted by bposton on January 29th, 2008 — Posted in online degree programs psychology

If your spouse is in the military, then first of all you have my deepest thanks for all that you do for them and our country.

In a very small way, I’d like to post this as a way of giving back to those who have given so much.

I recently learned that Kaplan University is giving a 10 percent tuition discount for military spouses. And also that President Bush has asked Congress to allow service members to transfer unused G.I. Bill education benefits to their spouses and children.

So if you have a dream of earning or finishing your degree, then here is an opportunity to do so.

Just so you know, Kaplan is a leading provider of online higher education. They offer more than 100 academic programs that can be completed from anywhere in the world. So now, no matter where the military tells you to go, you have the flexibility of earning a degree online that could help you move to a new career or improve your current career.

By the way, Kaplan also offers a 15 percent tuition discount to all active military personnel, which they’ve been doing for a while now. They even have a dedicated military admissions team that understands the issues that active duty military personnel and their families face every day. 

The military spouse tuition discount will be available starting Wednesday, Jan. 30. If you’d like more information just call them at 866-889-4582.

And again, thanks so much for your sacrifice for our country!

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online degree programs psychology | new year = new online degree?

Posted by bposton on January 3rd, 2008 — Posted in online degree programs psychology

So it’s 2008 — and this is the year you finally decided to start or finish that degree you’ve always intended to earn.

Good for you!!!

OK, so it’s time for a reality check.

If it’s been awhile since you’ve stepped foot inside a classroom that wasn’t your kids’
then I’ve got some very good suggestions…

 - and some things to think about -

to help you follow through on your New Year’s resolution.

1. You need to decide (right now) what you’re gonna give up.

Online classes in and of themselves might only last two hours a week, but that’s not the only thing you need
to consider. You need to add approximately three hours of homework or study time per class!

So you can see that going back to school can turn out to be a major time commitment.

You need to figure out how you’re going to make time for those classes and homework.
Which might mean cutting “American Idol” or “Law & Order” from your daily schedule.

Here’s a suggestion - take classes with a friend. That often can help adult students stay focused on their schoolwork.
 
2. Research your options.

Don’t just sign up at the first online university that sends you information. You need to find the program that will best meet your needs and goals.

Ask the Admissions officer to put you in contact with current students, who can tell you about their
experiences in the program.

Ask if you can talk with professors so they can tell you what they will expect from you and what you can
expect from the class.

And if they’re available, see if you can get teacher evaluations before signing up for classes. 

3. Consult an academic adviser.

Before enrolling, make an appointment to meet with an adviser to discuss the program requirements and to create a complete course plan for you that can help you meet those requirements in as short a time as possible.

4. Explore different class formats.

Now, I normally recommend online classes, but you should consider all your options.
Don’t discount adult classes are offered in a traditional, lecture-style classroom setting. Some find them better for their type of learning style that those that can be taken online at home.

Both types of classes have postives and negatives:

 - Online courses can be taken at your own pace while wearing pajamas and sitting on your couch.

(I personally like that benefit alot )

 - Traditional classes frequently offer more personal interactions and attention.

Pick the type of class that’s right for both your schedule and learning style.

5. Investigate your financial aid options.

The very first thing you need to do is visit the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) Web site, fafsa.ed.gov.

To receive federal aid, whether by loans or grants, you have to first fill out the FAFSA form.
( If you can wait, I’d recommend you do this AFTER you complete your tax return because it uses alot of that information).
After that, check out your school’s scholarship resource center or financial aid Web site and visit with a financial aid officer.

6. Take it slow, and one step at a time.

Jumping in with both feet and taking four classes in your first semester might seem like a good way to get a jump-start
on your degree, but I’d sugges that it’s also a very easy way to get overwhelmed — fast.

Instead, just take a course or two (at the most) at the beginning to see if you can handle the work — both the classwork and how good you are at working the class into your other commitments.

7. Convince a friend to become a classmate.

OK, this is probably not that easy, unless you just happen to know someone who has the same goal as you - to get or finish their degree. But if you do this could be a great help to both of you.

Many people work out or train with friends because they know they have a better chance at
success if someone is there to supports them and keeps the pressurn on them to stay focused on their goal.

If you don’t have a friend to share the ride, try to make a friend with someone in your class who could be a study buddy, or join a continuing education group on campus.

8. Open your Mind!…

OK, so maybe a  glass-blowing class might not show up in your health care management degree curriculum, but that
doesn’t mean it’s not worth taking.

Taking a class in a subject you enjoy is a great way to rekindle your love of learning. And who knows? you might even uncover a passion that you never knew existed.

Good Luck!

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online degree programs psychology | 64 Year Old earns BA online

Posted by bposton on December 16th, 2007 — Posted in online degree programs psychology

Hello my dorm room buddy.

This story was so sweet I couldn’t resist

64-year-old Billie Norczyk of Florida recently received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Central Florida (UCF) after completing the requirements entirely online.

Her goal was to earn a bachelor’s degree from the University of Central Florida to expand her job options in health care but she didn’t want to trek to the main campus in Orlando to do it. So she entered their online program.

Now equipped with a bachelor’s degree in Health Services Administration, the former registered nurse can pursue business-side administrative jobs in hospitals and nursing homes with more confidence. She plans to take her time weighing options.

Students such as Norczyk — working adults looking for a boost on the career ladder — are a driving force behind the growth in online education.

And more and more employers in the health-care industry and other fields say they favor making the bachelor’s degree a minimum requirement in some professional jobs because the extra years of instruction enable workers to handle more complex work with less on-the-job training.

Job prospects in the health-care industry are good in part because people are living longer, which raises demand for services.

Norczyk’s husband, John, was the one who challenged her to return to school after she lamented being turned down for a job that required a bachelor’s degree. She became a nurse before schools were offering bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral programs in the profession.

She was beaming as she emerged from the first commencement ceremony to take place at UCF’s new arena, where more than 3,000 degrees will be handed out by the end of the final ceremony. She accepted hugs and kisses from friends and family who stood in a knot amid the crowd of hundreds.

Her daughter, who lives in Pennsylvania, and her son, who is stationed by the military in Afghanistan, had both been planning to watch the live webcast of the ceremony.

Now, wasn’t that a great story? 

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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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Associate Online Degree Programs | What colleges offer the most online degrees?

Posted by bposton on November 26th, 2006 — Posted in associate online degree programs

The annual report on the state of online education has found that the number of colleges and universities offering 4 year and associate online degree programs has increased.

Which is good news for everyone.

However, the last 3 annual reports showed a very uneven distribution of online course and program offerings by type of institution.  Public colleges and universities and the very large institutions in the US have always been first with online degree offerings.

Private, small 4 year colleges have been least likely to offer online courses, and typically have they’ve received the most negative opinions about online education in general.

And this year’s report is pretty much online the same line. This year’s results show no major changes from this type of pattern. The same large and public universities are still offering the most degrees online.

More than 96 percent of colleges and universities with more than 15,000 total enrollments have some online degree programs, which is more than double that of the smaller, private institutions.
The proportion of colleges and universities with completely online programs rises as the size of the instituion increases. 

About two-thirds of the very largest institutions have degree programs that are completely online programs, while only about one-sixth of the smallest institutions have such programs.

Interestingly Doctoral and Research institutions have been shown to have the greatest depth of online programs and courses. Over 80% of these colleges and universities have some form of online program, either courses or full programs.

So you probably need to look toward the public university or a very large college to find an online degree program with a lot of depth and selection. The private colleges have them also, but you might not find exactly what you need.

Ben 

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Associate Online Degree Programs | Has the growth of online degree stalled?

Posted by bposton on November 26th, 2006 — Posted in associate online degree programs

As I mentioned yesterday, there’s a new study out sponsored by the Alfred Sloan Foundation. It’s the 4th yearly report obout the condition of online learning in U.S. higher education.

One of the questions this survey and report tried to answer was:

Has the popularity of getting an education online grown or stalled over the last few years?

Here is what they found - I think it’s very important:   

First of all, for several years the number of people enrolling in online degree programs have been growing much faster than the overall higher education student body.  But the results from last year’s study. although reporting that the raw increase in numbers was the same from the previous year, also showed a lower percentage growth rate. 

Was that an early sign that online enrollment growth has finally begun to plateau?

Well, according to this year’s report, the answer is an overwhelming NO…

Here are the facts:  the growth of online enrollments has not leveled off. In fact, institutions of higher education reported a record online enrollment growth on both a numeric and a percentage basis.

Ya-hoo! Great news for everyone in the online degree dorm room!

Here’s even more information - In 2005 there were 2.3 million people taking at least one online course during the fall term. That number has now grown to nearly 3.2 million. A hugh increase.

Also, more than 800,000 new online students were taking classes in 2006 which is more than twice the number added in any previous year.

So there’s absolutely no doubt about it - online education is growing, and growing fast.

Ben

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Associate Online Degree Programs | One Dean’s View of Online Education

Posted by bposton on November 25th, 2006 — Posted in associate online degree programs

Andy DiPaolo is the executive director of the Stanford Center for Professional Development for Stanford University. He’s also the associate dean of the Stanford School of Engineering.

Here’s what he had to say about online education:

Online education is not appropriate for undergraduates, who benefit from on-campus socialization, he said. Nor does it work for doctorate candidates, who work one on one with faculty.

(I personally disagree with him on that one. I beleive online education is just fine for folks getting an undergraduate degree. Sure you may miss out on some socialization, but if you’re focused it works just great) 

But a masters-level degree from the School of Engineering is a good fit for older students who are working and so cannot attend class, he said. Many employers help pay for a worker’s graduate degree.

Now that I do agree with

Ben
 

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Associate Online Degree Programs | All About Associate Degrees - A summary

Posted by bposton on November 21st, 2006 — Posted in associate online degree programs

I hope I haven’t bored you to tears with all these posts about associate degrees

And maybe you’ve even learned a few things that you didn’t know, like:

The difference between Community and Junior Colleges

The three different classes of associate degrees

The three different types of people that persue associate degrees or take associate degree courses

The advantages of associate degrees over 4 year degrees

How to make sure that your community college is accredited and that the credits you earn will be transferable to a 4 year school if that is your plan.

If you didn’t catch all of the posts, don’t worry, there still here in the online degree dorm room. Just take a look around and you’re find those and other posts that I hope you’ll find helpful.

Ben

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