Electronics

[guatmum]

On 7/22/2014 missyw1 said:

On 7/22/2014 stevieb said:

On 7/22/2014 nutmeg3 said: I have a friend who got a MA degree in Educational Leadership from Kaplan University online. It cost her $26,000. She is a retired teacher, and wants to run a school or work in a related field. My friend is currently working part time. I would say find a regular program at a college or university.

Seriously. I get it that the on-line thing is convenient, and many reputable colleges do use on-line instruction, but for that price, you've got to think that your friend could have obtained a degree at a 'brick and mortar' institution of higher learning.

They want the degree asap and saving time. They don't care about the costs. Many are not accredited. I have never had an on-line class. Not sure how it even compares to actually being there, with an instructor. How about labs. etc.?

Just FYI, online degree programs are usually not any faster to earn than the traditional programs. Semesters are semesters, etc. Costs are comparable because you are being instructed by the same professors. Not all programs require labs that are set up by the instructor. Many require on-the-job experiences or apprenticeships but those can easily be set up wherever you are. Those who cooperate with you also agree to fill out the documentation and participate in the online meetings that are required by the university, and, believe me, those requirements are rigorous in my experience.

[Mandy Moo]

On 7/22/2014 guatmum said:

pitdakota makes a great point about saving your work and your course documents on something outside of your laptop. I didn't use a flash drive because I already had a Dropbox account. I save EVERYTHING there and I believe you can still get a free account. That way it is all "in the cloud" and accessible from any device.

Regarding microsoft word, powerpoint, etc (Microsoft Office), there is a Microsoft Office Suite for Mac if you decide to get a Mac. Again, it's what I used. Before you buy any software, though, find out what your program would require. My program delineated which version (year of publication) of Microsoft Office all of the instructors would expect so I was able to purchase the right one.

We did the same thing for my son's Mac, added the Microsoft Office Suite for Mac. He used "the cloud," or whatever it is, along with a flash drive and he had an external hard drive with a stack of discs...just in case!

[pitdakota]

On 7/22/2014 guatmum said:

pitdakota makes a great point about saving your work and your course documents on something outside of your laptop. I didn't use a flash drive because I already had a Dropbox account. I save EVERYTHING there and I believe you can still get a free account. That way it is all "in the cloud" and accessible from any device.

Regarding microsoft word, powerpoint, etc (Microsoft Office), there is a Microsoft Office Suite for Mac if you decide to get a Mac. Again, it's what I used. Before you buy any software, though, find out what your program would require. My program delineated which version (year of publication) of Microsoft Office all of the instructors would expect so I was able to purchase the right one.

Hi guatmum! Yes, dropbox still has a free service. Our students have multiple literature reviews and papers so they end up having to pay to increase the storage space....but for others the space might not be a concern. And it is a great option! Thanks for mentioning that.

[pitdakota]

On 7/22/2014 guatmum said:

On 7/22/2014 missyw1 said:

On 7/22/2014 stevieb said:

Seriously. I get it that the on-line thing is convenient, and many reputable colleges do use on-line instruction, but for that price, you've got to think that your friend could have obtained a degree at a 'brick and mortar' institution of higher learning.

They want the degree asap and saving time. They don't care about the costs. Many are not accredited. I have never had an on-line class. Not sure how it even compares to actually being there, with an instructor. How about labs. etc.?

Just FYI, online degree programs are usually not any faster to earn than the traditional programs. Semesters are semesters, etc. Costs are comparable because you are being instructed by the same professors. Not all programs require labs that are set up by the instructor. Many require on-the-job experiences or apprenticeships but those can easily be set up wherever you are. Those who cooperate with you also agree to fill out the documentation and participate in the online meetings that are required by the university, and, believe me, those requirements are rigorous in my experience.

Exactly, I think many are just not aware of how prominent and advanced online programs and instruction are. In fact, I can't think of one major university that doesn't have at least one online program& most have multiple online programs.

And anyone looking at an online program to get through faster & to save time is in for a wake up call. LOL!

[Colonel Meow]

IMO, some of the posters here have confused accredited distance learning programs that are offered by nationally recognized Universities with so-called "degree mills" run by for-profit corporations. (Corinthian College Industries is one of these, and has recently been shut down by the Federal government.)

I, personally, attended a traditional university - but I know and work with many individuals who chose to attain their degrees via distance learning using our state university system. These online programs are a different breed from the "degree mills".

[pitdakota]

On 7/22/2014 Colonel Meow said:

IMO, some of the posters here have confused accredited distance learning programs that are offered by nationally recognized Universities with so-called "degree mills" run by for-profit corporations. (Corinthian College Industries is one of these, and has recently been shut down by the Federal government.)

I, personally, attended a traditional university - but I know and work with many individuals who chose to attain their degrees via distance learning using our state university system. These online programs are a different breed from the "degree mills".

Yes, there are many problems with for profit colleges. But they are usually colleges, not universities. We commonly refer to them as proprietary colleges here. Quite a bit of difference between them and either state or private universities. So posters may be getting that confused.

[Colonel Meow]

On 7/22/2014 pitdakota said:

On 7/22/2014 Colonel Meow said:

IMO, some of the posters here have confused accredited distance learning programs that are offered by nationally recognized Universities with so-called "degree mills" run by for-profit corporations. (Corinthian College Industries is one of these, and has recently been shut down by the Federal government.)

I, personally, attended a traditional university - but I know and work with many individuals who chose to attain their degrees via distance learning using our state university system. These online programs are a different breed from the "degree mills".

Yes, there are many problems with for profit colleges. But they are usually colleges, not universities. We commonly refer to them as proprietary colleges here. Quite a bit of difference between them and either state or private universities. So posters may be getting that confused.

Interesting - I'd never heard that term before, but just looked it up. Yes, "proprietary colleges" are what some of the posters have in mind in regards to distance learning.

[pitdakota]

On 7/22/2014 stevieb said:

On 7/22/2014 nutmeg3 said: I have a friend who got a MA degree in Educational Leadership from Kaplan University online. It cost her $26,000. She is a retired teacher, and wants to run a school or work in a related field. My friend is currently working part time. I would say find a regular program at a college or university.

Seriously. I get it that the on-line thing is convenient, and many reputable colleges do use on-line instruction, but for that price, you've got to think that your friend could have obtained a degree at a 'brick and mortar' institution of higher learning.

Really? $26,000 isn't all that bad for a Master's degree, depending on how many hours they have to take.

Full time tuition for graduate school at Duke University is $22,880/year; University of Florida is $12.680/year; University of Michigan is $14,800/year, just to randomly name a few.

Graduate school is not inexpensive! And those are tuition rates for Master's degrees, not PhDs.

ETA: And most will have to attend at least 2 years full time to earn the Master's degree. The number of hours will vary depending on the Master's, but 2 years is a good average.

[Harpa]

violann, what program/course are you going to do? (If you care to share.)

[pommom]

A co-worker received her BS and Masters online. She is one of the most intelligent individuals I've known. She can apply herself to any field successfully. My friend is known for her intellect, skills, knowledge and for being a quick study. One time and it's done. She needs very little to no coaching except when approaching a new field.

She received her Masters degree and has yet to find a job in her field. Her current employer recognizes her talents and has promoted her 2-3 times to positions requiring managerial skills.

If it were not for her current employer, she would still be making a below-standard living in a dead end job.