Are Online
Colleges a Waste of Time?
By Dr.
Thomas Slater
If you're an older adult who's always wanted to continue your education
and you just haven't had time to, or if you want to go back to college
for that advanced education but a full-time job keeps you from signing
up for classes, you're in luck. Today, online colleges afford
nontraditional students, parents, those with full-time jobs, and others
not able to go back to class full time in a traditional university
setting the chance to continue their educations on their own schedules.
It used to be that if you wanted to go back to class, you had to go to
college part-time, at night, or otherwise arrange your schedule
inconveniently, so that you could attend classes on campus.
Alternatively, of course, you could quit your job if you had the means
to do so and go back to class full time. However, today, you can keep
your full-time job and your regular schedule intact and still get that
associates degree you want. Got kids you need to be home for? No
problem. An
online degree program lets you be at classes on your own schedule,
be home for your kids and anything else you need to be there for -- and
oftentimes, you won't have to step foot outside your house to do so
until the latter part of your learning, at least. It's likely that
you'll need some hands-on fieldwork study eventually outside your home,
but you can get the early parts of your education done completely at
home and on your own schedule.
One of the first things you need to do is to look for a two-year college
that is fully accredited. For this, check the school and make sure it
has accreditation from the Department of Education and the Council for
Higher Education; the Distance Education and Training Council is the
accrediting organization for these types of universities, also called
"distance learning" institutions. You can also ask the college itself
for references and find other students who have attended a particular
distance-learning program, to make sure that it provides the quality
schooling you want. Of course, you'll also want to check your field of
study and find a distance-learning college that specializes in that.
Another consideration for many students is financial aid. Previously,
students attending distance-learning classes were not offered financial
aid unless at least 50% of their learning was completed on a physical
campus. This is no longer true, which is perhaps as a result of both the
improvement of distance learning training training and the recognition
that this type of learning is, some say, the wave of the future. Today,
it is often considered a luxury to be able to go to school full time as
a student, and these types of training recognize that no longer can many
people simply drop their lives and go to school full time. Many students
these days are nontraditional students with other responsibilities
beyond their own lives, so that they do not have the indulgence to
devote three or four years' time exclusively to an education.
Perhaps the number one place to help you determine your potential
school's accreditation is to look at the regional accreditation board in
your school's area. If your school is accredited by this board, it will
be fully accepted by employers and other professional organizations as a
admissible school. This, in turn, makes it much easier to get hired and
recognition. In fact, many organizations and employers will not
recognize a masters degree unless it is from an accredited college.
However, if you take the time to make sure your certificate program is
accredited, your online learning is every bit as valid as one you would
obtain on campus.
Find out the
Online
Colleges. You can register for online schools in various career
fields.
Article Source:
http://www.uberaticles.com/articles
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