Online Courses

I have taken online courses through The Connecting Link which has partnerhips with many major universities and have found that they are pretty good and fairly easy because you get to work at your own pace as long as you finish the entire class by the deadline date. I have 4 kids ( 10,9,8 and 4) and would work on them after they went to bed or I would get up at 5 a.m. on Sat. morning and work for a few hours. Each assignment took anywhere from 1 - 3 hours and there are 10 assignments in each class. They are also always running a tuition discount, even though they are not that expensive. I received my masters from Univeristy of St. Francis at a cost of $1800 per 3 hour course. Through TCL I am only paying $350 per 3 hour course for USF graduate credit.

I have also used Vesi for online courses and they were good but they have changed and there is alot of work ( I mean tons!!!!) for 3 hours of credit and they don't have the university selection. I ended up getting credit from Portland State through Vesi (the amount of tuition that you pay depends on the univeristy that you sign up through - Portland State was the cheapest and I wasn't taking the classes for a program, just to bump me up the pay scale)

The biggest thing to remember with online courses is that you get out of them what you put into them and also you have to be a self starter because you don't have a professor there reminding you and telling you to keep working.

Good Luck!

S.

i have been doing online class i did aiu at first in tell i found out that they will no longer be a credited school after dec and the group projets there was just a joke i move over to kaplane its 10 times better and a lot of the student from aiu have gone over to kaplane because its much better is the number one line school and you get to walk across a stage and with aiu and most of the other ones your dont here is the website kaplane.com good luck

C. mom of a 4 year old and soon to be haveing baby number 2

Please do not go to an online college where you cannot drive and go visit the school and the teachers. I use to work for CTU online/AIU online and I feel horrible about all the students I enrolled. It is a scam. All the company cares about is money.25,ooo dollars for an online associates degree!!! I even had people call and complain about phoenix online, getting ripped off, classes are not sufficient etc... However, you can go through your local community college or university. I am in school now and I love online classes. But if I get stuck I can go to the school and meet with the teacher!!! Just please be careful, if the school advertises all over the internet, then chances are it is a for profit school. What are you going to school for??

Hi G V,
As someone who has taken online courses and works for the online education industry (and I am not going to sell you on any school; that is your decision), let me give you some advice as to what you should seek out in an online university.
First and foremost ensure they are regionally accreditted. If they boast that they are nationally accreditted, watch out. Nationally may seem like it is a better accreditation, but it is not (unless you want to attend a trade school). Most of your bricks and mortar schools are regionally accredited (any school in the Illinois area will be accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, in association with the North Central Association). If you go to this link, it will give you the list of the regional accreditting bodies:
http://distancelearn.about.com/od/accreditationinfo/a/reg...
Next, when you call en Enrollment Advisor, they should counsel you on what degree is best for you! Do not allow them to use pressure tactics to get you to sign an enrollment agreement. They should also be able to provide you with a really good estimate of how much financial aid you qualify for. Make sure you get what they promise in writing.... some schools will promise the world until you are enrolled adn then say 'Oh well, you were misinformed.'
Also, online classes can be more difficult, depending on your learning style. If you work better as a self starter, and can learn independently with guidance, then you will excell. If you are the kind of learner that requires a face to face type of instruction, you may want to rethink online learning. Now with online learning there are discussions and opportunities to meet in a chat, etc (depends on the school) but typically you are better suited if you can read the assignments on your own volition.
Also beware, some schools will sell the 'ease of online learning' with statements that you don't have to do anything at a certain time. That is misleading; you will have assignments due, typically weekly. And some online schools have classes that require 'Chats' or 'Seminars'. Those are scheduled at a certain time weekly, and you are expected to attend. The good news is, most schools are very good about scheduling evening times, weekends, etc. to make it easier on the student.
The pro's of a good online school are endless; if you do have yo have a 'Seminar' then you sit at home with the kids and participate. No babysitter required as opposed to a traditional school. Also it provides the opportunity to attend school for those that felt they could not before. The instructors are sympathetic to the fact that the students may have a conflict and work with you. The good schools will also provide some sort of tutoring in writing, math, etc... And of course, you should have access to an academic advisor that can guide you through the ups and downs of your education. Also, most schools will give you the chance to try out the school for the first week, without penalty, however beware. If you log into your classes after Day 7, you will get charged a portion of the tuition. Make sure you know what the cut off date is. Or some schools offer a 'Guest Pass' where you get to look into the classes before you enroll.
I truly wish you luck, and if you would like any further guidance, please feel free to e-mail me.
J.

I'm currently attending classes at University of Massachusetts Online. They offer my degree completely online and seem to be much better than University of Phoenix (that place is a waste of money). Classes cost about $870 a class and seem to be going well.

Hi,

I'm taking an online course right now and I'm very happy with it. You get to study at your own pace. I only have to wait overnight to get feedback on my tests, but my score is generated immediately. I'm a single mom and the flexibility is wonderful. Give it a try!

Just be careful. A friend of mine got a degree online and then some potential employers would not consider her degree a real degree. Research to be sure they place you go through is reliable and considered and acceptable univerisity

It all depends on how you learn. I was able to take some classes over the interent (Spanish & English-grammar/writing), but when it came to an accounting mathc course, I couldn't do it - I need to see that kind of work in front of me, presented, in order to work it out.

Hi, I have taken an online class getting my MBA degree while having a 4 yo and 1 yo and while pregnant. I enjoyed the class, but I only recommend it for a class you would consider a "review" class, perhaps something you have experience in or have taken a class in it before and it would be mostly review for you. I agree with the other respondent that if you a learning a new skill or concept, being with a teacher and getting to ask questions is very important.
I also agree with another person about having the time to devote to it. My online course required me to input into a "chat" room topic at least 2 times each week. I ended up using my lunch hour to do my on-line work every week. I liked being able to take tests online, not having to travel into the center was nice.
Overall I recommend online classes, but would caution people that it is definately not the "easy" way out. The total time requirement is the same as going to class, you can just schedule according to what fits into your schedule.

Hi! I work for an online University. I am not here to tell you to go to that University or to any others. I have looked at several other colleges and universities and I have seen many good and not so good online courses. If you want, I would be happy to talk with you about it and give you some of the pros and cons to online courses. Again, I won't even tell you where I work because I don't want you to feel pressured. I just want to help you. If you want to talk, please send me a private message and we can connect and talk about it. Online courses can be GREAT! It just depends on how you learn, what you need and what your goals are. Good luck and please send me a message if I can help you.

I haven't taken any, but I am a professor at UIC and we offer many courses online and/or partially online (referred to as "blended"). I think the key thing is to make sure you take courses from a reputable college/university and you'll get the quality experience that you're looking for. Online is great for flexibility and many places do not require you to be enrolled in degree programs to take them. You DO need to still keep up with the coursework and stick to the schedule, though. I think it's a great way to learn some new things - especially if someone else is paying!

GV,

I took an online course a couple of years ago and it was really easy. BUT, it was a required class and was like, Internet 101 or something like that...so I could have taken it with my eyes closed.

ANYWAY, when I took it, I was required to go in to the school for tests and the final. That may have changed at this point.

Being a single-mom with 3 kids 5 and under, I'm not sure how this would work out. You still have to set aside the time to study/read the material. If your kids go to bed at a resonable hour and you can do some night-classwork then it may be fine. My friend has 3 kids and they don't fall asleep until sometimes 10pm. It obviously wouldn't work for her.

If I were you, I would take only one class at first and see how it works. I think it's great to pursue the education and potentially reap the benefits of it.

Good luck!

T.

I actually purchase online learning in my job (the classes are available to employees, so I work with the vendors, etc.) Even though I'm a big proponent of online learning because of the cost and availability, I really used to think that it wasn't as good as classroom training. But I have completely come around during the past couple of years.

It does require a little more discipline, especially if the class materials are self-paced. But we had a survey done of our employees by a graduate student, and I've read the current research, and online learning comes out to be just as effective, or more effective, for many topics. I have a friend who completed a Masters degree exclusively online - she LOVED it!

Factors that help people with online learning - technical support/good technology; having support within your company (like, you have a performance goal to complete a course or something like that); having time set aside at a regular time (every day, every week, whatever) where you do coursework - don't assume you can just fit it in. It's also helpful for people to combine whatever they're learning online with real-life experience. So if learning software, come up with a project to use the software while you're learning, if it's an academic subject, do real-world research projects, etc.