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Online Degree Graduate - 3 Questions I'm Asked Most Often
The popularity of online degrees is a growing trend in the college ranks. Each day it seems like another university is offering some form of online or distance education course for the student body. In addition to this, each year there is a growing list of options for those seeking to earn a full degree online as well. Interestingly though, for all of this increased activity by students and distance degree programs offered, I've personally known of one other distance education graduate.
This might explain why people who learn I earned my degree online want to ask me questions to find out more about my experiences. The first question, I'm typically asked is - it was pretty easy, right? The simple answer is no.
In a traditional brick and mortar college, the student while an active participant in the educational process, has far less responsibility for making sure he or she completes a course as prescribed by the university. Sure, the traditional college student can not show up and fail for a course but there are numerous fail safes in place to discourage that behavior. Academic probation is one, and threat of losing a scholarship is another for a few examples.
Further, with regular class meetings students are routinely reminded of where their progress should be to that point in the course, what material needs to be covered, and what to use to prepare for upcoming exams. In contrast, the distance education student has the responsibility to schedule time each day to complete school work often after work, prepare for exams, and insure other course assigned projects get completed as well. This is often done with minimal student and instructor interaction.
In short, the distance student must be very self-directed as he or she doesn't have the benefit of a scheduled course structure to channel their efforts through a course start to finish.
This question is often followed up with "Did you earn a real degree?" With the widespread access to perspective students via the internet by degree mills and for profit universities with questionable academic programs this too is a reasonable thing to ask. My response is short and direct - Yes! Can people interested in earning a legitimate degree online be duped into wasting time and money with a school that isn't worth the paper or ink on the degree earned? Absolutely.
It happens every day unfortunately. Recently, CNN ran an article on their website about a person who was seeking to improve his job prospects by earning an IT degree. After taking on $40,000 in debt and time invested earning credits at the for profit college he decided to switch colleges to a local 4 year institution in his city only to find not a single credit transferred. He was devastated both financially and personally. How easy it for this to happen? That same CNN article revealed there are over 3,000 for-profit loosely regulated degree granting programs in the U.S alone. The chances are very good I'd suggest. As I tell anybody interested in earning a degree online remember the old adage - "buyer beware!" It's up to you the education consumer to insure you find a solid program.
The last question or questions are pretty closely tied in how often I'm asked. How long did it take and how could I do that? For me, I spent 3 years completing my degree online. When I started I'd amassed 55 credit hours already and completed 67 credits online. As for the last question, that is a bit tough. The journey towards an online degree isn't easy but not something most people couldn't do if genuinely committed to success. That sums up my advice on the later, find a program that suits your needs and commit to doing it and you will. Earning a degree online is a great option for becoming educated, but you have to be proactive to make sure you are one of distance education's success stories.
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