The Online Degree Dorm Room

Coming soon to a college near you - Digitial Textbooks…

Posted by bposton on December 30th, 2009 — Posted in online degree programs psychology

Now that the holidays are winding down and most of my dorm room buddies are checking their wallets to see wha’t left, there’s that sinking feeling when they realize that a new semester is coming up and along with that - the rush to get the college textbooks.

It’s a VERY sad fact that the cost of college textbooks has risen at 20 times the inflation rate in the last 20 years (according to the US Government) and I’m sorry, but this is just CRAZY. The poor economic situation brings this to light even more so, and finally there appears to be some good news - the education community is finally starting to “get it” - the time digitial textbooks is NOW.

Yes, there are still opposing camps on this subject. But the biggest opposition I’ve read comes from college faculty that fear they will be left out of the selection process, and worst case, state governments will eventually “mandate” certain books for certain classes. But since the cost of textbooks are such a huge burden on students today, some local governments have already started to write laws to make them more affordable.

These opposing views can’t stop the tide. Here’s some examples of what’s happening today in the move towards digital books:

CourseSmart is a company that has several thousand books in digitial format, costing half the price of printed versions. They have served over 6,500 students (and saved a few trees in the process, too )

Amazon is taking part in a study with seven universities to test and evaluate the success of digitial textbooks

Orange Grove Texts Plus is a partnership between the University Press of Florida (the Florida university system’s nonprofit publishing arm), Integrated Book Technology (a Virginia publisher) and The Orange Grove (Florida’s digital database of K-20 teaching material). This program offers students digital versions of over 140 textbooks and scholarly monographs for free, and bound printed versions for $30 to $50. Eventually, Orange Grove Texts Plus plans to stock more than 1600 titles.

California is also starting an initative similar to that in Florida. However this appears to be targeted to High School textbooks (probably because the state forks out the money for those.)

So, maybe in the very near future we won’t have to add the cost of textbooks to the other stressful activities along the college road.  Let’s hope it’s sooner than later.

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online degree programs psychology | More evidence of increasing acceptance

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

Hi, I’m back, sorry for my absense… 

There are a couple of reports out that provide even more evidence that online degree programs are here to stay - and growing. 

First, the director of marketing for eLearningYellowPages.com, Carrie Sommers, states: “According to statistics, the number of students studying for degrees online has increased dramatically over the past several years.”

Next, a survey by the Sloan Consortium in 2005 reveals shows that sixty-three percent of schools offering undergraduate face-to-face courses now also offer undergraduate courses online. And at the graduate level, forty-four percent of schools with Master’s programs now also offer them online.

The Sloan Consortium collected data for this study from over 2,200 colleges and universities. It showed that from 2004 to 2005, the number of students taking at least one online course climbed from 2.3 million students to 3.2 million, an outstanding 40% increase.

What are the most popular areas where the growth of online degrees are greatest?
You’ll find that online courses are most popular in the areas of areas of business, technology, health care and education. And this growth covers all types of degrees - associate’s, bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree level.

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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 - Part 6

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

I’m getting close to wrapping up this series of posts about associate degrees, but before I do I wanted to make sure you understood the advantages of getting an associate degree.

Here are some of the advantages:
 

Since it’s normally a two year program, getting an associate degree can be completed sooner than a bachelor’s degree. 

Today many skilled trades and professions, as well as high-paying technical jobs require an associate degree in a specialized field. Those types of jobs are predicted to increase over the next several years.

An associate degree is less expensive overall than a bachelor’s degree. Tuition is usually a lot less, and you normally pay less for room and board. In fact, a lot of students stay at home with their parents when enrolled in an associate degree program since most community colleges lack dorms.

(I have to interject here that since a lot of community colleges and 4 year colleges now offer online programs, the room and board aspect of this is a mute point.)

You can normally find a community college very close to home. There are many more community colleges and 4 year colleges, so you’re more likely to find one that’s close and that offers the courses that you’re looking for.

(Another interjection - with associate online degree programs, distance is not as much of an issue. However, some online programs still have minimal on-campus work requirements, so keep that in mind.)

People with associate degrees are more marketable than ever before since there has been an increase in the reputations of many community and junior colleges.

Ben

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Associate Online Degree Programs | All About Associate Degrees - Part 3

Posted by bposton on November 20th, 2006 — Posted in associate online degree programs

Part three in my little mini-series on Associate Degrees.

Let’s talk about who is a good candiate for an Associate Degree. Bascially there are three types of people who seek an associate degree program.

The first type is someone who does not want (or cannot) pursue a bachelor’s degree but instead wants to attend a US community college. Quite alot of people fall into this group. Many of them are seeking a post-secondary education to get the skills needed to quickly join the workforce or learn a trade.

The next type is someone who wants to pursue a bachelor’s degree but they decide that they want to complete the first two years of their undergraduate education by getting an associate degree at a community college and then transfering those credit to a four-year college for the last two years. Again, many college bound student fall into this catagory, and there are many more (in my humble opinion) that should consider it. It’s an easy way to transition into the rigors of college without having to jump in with both feet. A lot of students could use that transition. Just think about all the freshmen in college that don’t make it. A lot more would make it in college if they went this route.

The third and final group are folks who want to attend associate degree program classes in various subjects areas at a community colleges, but don’t want or need to get any type of formal degree at all. I like to call this group the “lifetime learners”. They enjoy and relish gaining knowledge in an area they are interesting in for many reason. One of them, for example is to become better at their current job or to gain knowledge in order to move to a new career path. 

Any one of these types of people would perform well in a community college or junior college. And the associate online degree programs that the community colleges are offering are normally right down their alley - especially group 3

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Associate Online Degree Programs | A sampling of associate online degrees

Posted by bposton on November 19th, 2006 — Posted in associate online degree programs

I’ve been doing some quick checking and found that there’s a lot of associate online degree programs out there.

Getting an Associate Degree is a great way of starting on the higher education pathway.

An Associate Degree is a two year qualification, which can be a degree all by itself, or it can be the first step to a Bachelor Degree and beyond. Many colleges recognize GEDs, testing them to place them in classes for their level of learning.

Here are some of the many colleges where you can get an online assoicate’s degree:

The Art Institute Online

St. Leo University

University of Phoenix Online

FMU Online

Westwood College Online

I’ll be taking a look at these and other colleges that offer associates degress in the near future, but this should get you started

Ben

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Associate Online Degree Programs | Another Online Degree Success Story

Posted by bposton on November 19th, 2006 — Posted in associate online degree programs

Alvaro Conde emigrated to the US from Guatemala and was a training coordinator at a
Home Depot store in California. His passion though was counseling for orphans, runaways, and victims of violence.

That’s when Springboard Forward got involved with Alvaro.

Springboard Forward (Springboard) is an award winning on-the-job coaching and mentoring service. Springboard improves the lives of entry-level and low-wage earners and helps businesses enhance worker effectiveness and performance.
Conde was a classic Springboard Forward client–an uninspired low-wage worker in need of support and redirection. Sure enough, with six months of guidance, he came to see the upside: The English he picked up on the job was actually helping him qualify for the work he really wanted. He practiced interviewing and made a career plan, taking a second part-time job with a program for disabled children while working on a human-resources degree online.

And he won a promotion at Home Depot.

Now he enjoys his job, even as he maps out a path to something better.

“I saw that it’s like a puzzle, the way it fits together,” he says.

Way to go, Alvaro!!

At Springboard, a job is just the beginning. Springboard’s mission is to partner with business and community  organizations to improve job performance and promote upward mobility for the working poor - people who already work hard but are losing hope of ever having a sustainable career.

With Springboard, everyone wins. Employers improve job retention and productivity. Workers develop economic hope. And when employers and workers achieve shared goals, the entire community benefits.
You can check them out at Springboardforward.org

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Associate Online Degree Programs | Online Nursing Associate Degree successful in Ohio

Posted by bposton on November 18th, 2006 — Posted in associate online degree programs

At Ohio University - Southern I’ve learned about a very successfull online degree program.

One example is that the university has invested in human birthing simulator called Noelle that is being used in the training nursing students working on their associate degree in nursing. The Ironton campus is in the process of buying a pediatric simulator by next semester, said Deborah B. Meehan, associate director of the nursing program at Ohio University-Southern.

Noelle gave Dawn Watson, a Portsmouth resident and a second-year nursing student, practice she couldn’t ordinarily get. “I always wanted to get into nursing,” the 2004 graduate of Clay High School said. “I plan to get my four-year degree in nursing, but I want to get a job first. I can take classes online” to get that bachelor’s degree.

Now that’s what I call a smart idea

Melissa Bailey is another smart student. She’s a part-time medical technician and is a sophmore working on here degree online. Her dream is to become a flight nurse. She’s been an EMT for 6 years, and she also plans to pursue her four-year nursing degree online, but seek a job first.

And Courtney Whitley took college option course while in high school, and when she graduated she had enough credits to be a college sophmore. The associate degree she is pursuing is just the first step in a planned career in nursing. She hopes to get her masters and be a nurse anesthetist.

So there’s a few very smart students using online education to acheive their dreams.

Ben

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Associate Online Degree Programs | Survey: Gap Exists Between Hope, Opportunity for Teens

Posted by bposton on November 17th, 2006 — Posted in associate online degree programs

While optimistic about the future, the youth in our country find themselves trapped in a gap between hope and opportunity, according to a recent survey. Struggling with violence in their neighborhoods and the challenges of just finishing high school, many young people feel they are not being afforded real opportunities for their future.

This year, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, the nation’s fastest-growing youth
service organization, celebrates its centennial. As part of the milestone, BGCA conducted the “Youth Report to America,” a national survey sponsored by American Express of more than 46,000 young people.

The Youth Report to America shows that nearly one-third of teens want a less-violent
world, but nearly one-fourth identified the possibility of going to war as their greatest fear.

Almost half felt college is necessary for a successful career, yet more than one-fourth feared they wouldn’t be able to graduate from high school. Meanwhile, close to half said their parents significantly influence their decisions.

BGCA is in a position to help close the gap. Throughout the year, Boys & Girls
Club members are rallying youth to work with parents, community officials and political leaders to develop new programs and evolve existing programs that address the concerns of today’s youth.

“After a century of serving our nation’s youth and providing a safe place for kids to
learn and grow, we decided the best way for us to commemorate our centennial would be to provide a platform for our young people to express their views to the nation,” said Roxanne Spillett,president of BGCA.

BGCA’s ongoing commitment to the youth it serves means the creation of innovative
programs that reflect changes in our society, from technology initiatives that teach kids how to be safe online to diversity education efforts that teach the importance of tolerance in our multiracial society.

Since 1906, BGCA has helped young people connect with opportunities for personal
growth and achievement. The organization provides services that promote the health, social, educational, vocational and character development of youth.
 
So my hat is off to BGCA - keep up the good work!

Ben

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