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The New Trend of Online University Programs

Tuesday, July 5th, 2011

Accessibility and user friendliness is one of the main advantages of online University programs, even though majority of them use online tools and computer software programs to prepare and structure their course curriculum.

The latest trend to have taken over most Universities in the country is the hat most of the Online University programs which many across the board have tended to follow. The most popular of all the programs that are currently being offered is the MBA (Master of Business Administration). This has been occasioned by the high number of students who have expressed great interest in earning an MBA degree. The main motivation for this is so that they can enhance and fast track their career growth. This demand has given rise to the one year executive MBA programs. The biggest advantage this program offers to many hopefuls is its easy accessibility since candidates can easily register, complete their course work and even do their examinations through the net, and all this in the comfort of their home.

However, students need to be careful so as to not fall victim of fake online degree programs. Ideally, students should carry out an extensive research before they enroll into any university programs. This is so as to find a genuine and accredited online University program.

Among all correspondence MBA programs offered online the one year executive MBA is one of the most popular. Globally, this has led to an explosion in the number of Universities and institutions that offer online MBAs on a correspondence basis. Due to its accessibility, learner don’t have to travel long distances so as to attend the classes as he or she can easily complete their course work sitting at the comfort of their home. This in effect has encouraged many working professionals to join the bandwagon and enroll for the one year executive MBA. This is because it offers working professional the advantage of working and simultaneously studying for the MBA course. The support offered by most online University programs extends to online classes, usually referred to as virtual classes, and course materials. This makes it easy for learners to interact with their lectures when the need arises.

As outlined above, majority of the Online University programs are easily accessible and even technology friendly. Even though a variety of online tools and software programs are utilized to prepare the study materials, care is always given so as to ensure that user is able to access the course materials without any hassles. One only needs to be aware and conversant with the basics of computer operations. Usually what happens is that students are provided with a web page which only requires a student to log in with a user name and a password provided by the University that offers that particular MBA program correspondence.

The setting up numerous online MBA programs and enrolling a lot of students has taken its toll on the online program, to the extent that nowadays, students and working professionals alike now prefer to enroll in such correspondence programs. The fact that it is also cheaper and cost effective as compared to a traditional business schools has attracted many students to enroll in such online University programs. Therefore for those students who cannot afford to enroll into a traditional business school for lack of adequate financial resources, then an online MBA program is their best option thus giving them the opportunity to scale new and better heights in the pursuit of their careers.

Top online Degrees for Marketable Careers

Saturday, July 2nd, 2011

Nowadays, there are many distance learning programs that are designed for on the web learning. This is especially so for people who want to boost their careers and earning potential. However, the question that lingers is, how does one choose the right distance learning program? And furthermore, how marketable is it?

On making a decision, especially a right one, on the kind of online degree program to pursue one must take into consideration a number of factors such as: the kind of courses that are in demand, the amount of time it will take one to complete the online degree, the future outlook of that particular area, the expected remuneration and benefits and most importantly, the accrued benefits of online education. These considerations enable an individual to select the online degree program that best caters for their needs. Before committing to an online degree program, especially one that is marketable, one must be cautious and must back their decisions with extensive research so as to minimize the frustrations that come with making such decisions. This is due to the fact that a person’s future happiness, career marketability and mobility are at stake.

If you want a degree that is marketable and that gives you the best advantages in career options, then one should pursue online degree programs in fields such as:
Accounting: this online degree program prepares one to fill important financial roles in all business environments.

Business: this online degree program is varied and wide in nature as it offers a number of specialized areas for students to focus on. Basically, it prepares one for a career in business.

Criminal Justice: this online degree program provides education and interaction in areas pertaining to topics, issues and trends in the criminal justice system with reference to the current climate.

Human Resource Management: this online degree program provides one with the information and skills needed to handle a varied number of human resource tasks and decision-making situations employing the latest and most current information.

Hospitality and Food Science Management: this online degree program prepares one for a career as a business owner, manager etc. in the hospitality industry.

Nursing: this online degree program mainly consists of two types – Licensed Practical Nursing (LPN) and Registered Nursing (RN). Their training mainly consists of how to perform clinical tasks – done under the supervision of licensed healthcare professional – and administrative tasks.

Teaching: this online degree program offers practicing teachers opportunities for development, especially K-12 teachers, and leads to other career advancement opportunities such as qualifying one to develop curriculum for both elementary and secondary levels.

Masters of Business Administration (MBAs): this online degree program is wide and varied in nature which offers a person opportunities and a chance to gain a valuable qualification without disturbing their daily schedule.

The above mentioned programs are the best and also have the highest enrollment rates in the country.

What is a Bachelor Degree?

Thursday, June 30th, 2011

Attending college or university after high school or even going back again to college or university after earning an associate’s degree can always be quite rewarding pertaining to people who would like to find out a lot more about their particular current career, or perhaps who are generally looking to switch careers. Either way, getting a bachelor’s qualification can easily assist an individual discover a great employment in a discipline which is actually interesting and revitalizing.

Since many people at the same time hold some sort of job and also go to institution these days, quite a few have decided to receive their degrees on the internet. This specific is without a doubt a realistic and beneficial way to receive a 4-year college qualification. Individuals currently have an extensive variety to degree programs to pick from such as nursing, educating, technology, financing , and business management, just to name a few. A 4-year college degree can certainly aid people a lot more income and also take on additional duty in their particular current employment.

A good on the web bachelor’s qualification program demands that an individual takes approximately 120 credit working hours in order to receive the degree. This specific is actually the equivalent of four years in college. Nevertheless because a lot of people who attend online colleges may previously hold an associate’s qualification, this specific quantity is normally reduced to 50 % as well as in this situation would likely take merely about two years to finish.

While taking web based instructional classes, pupils will have as much time period as they need to complete assignments. This implies that certain pupils are going to get more than the particular lowest period of time to complete their qualification. It is certainly one of the actual advantages associated with possessing web based classes. Students in these types of programs have got the freedom to be able to complete lessons at their own pace. Once a person has finished a bachelor’s education program, a person may do a master’s degree if he/she so desires.

College education programs present much more than basic concepts with regard to any certain discipline. Students will certainly understand beyond the principles and will obtain critical experience as well as advanced know-how from these qualification programs. Together with this particular expertise, they can easily go into the particular workplace well prepared and also self-confident they will certainly carry out the obligations which are left to them.

Web based bachelor’s qualification programs educate pupils much more concerning their field of fascination on their particular own conditions. They tend to be a handy method to discover without the need of having to take a seat inside a class two or perhaps three nights a week. For individuals who tend to be quite occupied, these programs offer them an opportunity to learn without interrupting their particular daily activities very much.

By setting a handful of hours away every day, students can easily earn their own online bachelor’s degrees within no time along with starting off locating new work opportunities. These people will certainly end up being more valuable along with all set for modern day work environment.

Do you want to Teach Online

Tuesday, May 17th, 2011

More students are enrolling in online higher education degree programs. More and more online classes are becoming identical to campus classes. Taking online classes or getting an online degree enables students more flexibility with their education. Many find it easier as well to work if they need to when studying online. So since this trend is fairly new, who teaches these online courses? Instructors do, just as you see in the classroom. Yet one question that is always asked is what is the education background and do they have degrees in online teaching?  Instructors use the same information they would in class to teach online. Any problems that some may encounter is not about the course outline which is consistent with the classroom.  The difference is only in how the courses are delivered.  Live on campus, via email, websites or fax with online studies.  Some institutions have complicated websites and others simply use chatboards and email.

Many of the online instructors may not be as skilled as they need at using the new delivery systems and all the programs that are associated with it. These include simulations, multimedia or podcasts, which are not in your typical classroom. Sometimes of these resources have a steep learning curve to the technologically challenged. Instructors interested in teaching online courses have looked at taking courses themselves to see what the experience is like.  This is a good idea. Whether they take courses to meet their licenses requirements or advance their careers or courses to teach them more about how the online delivery system works the end result will be they will be better online instructors.

They say the best student is one that wants to learn. I think the same stands true for instructors. Some instructors were awarded their degree 30 or 40 or more years ago. Keeping up to date in the delivery systems is as important as being up to date in their fields. There are times I am sure when it’s as much a learning experience for the instructors as it is for the students.

Hottest Degree Majors

Thursday, May 12th, 2011

It might be a good idea before setting in stone your educational goals to seek the advice of some professional career consulting. It is evident from enrollment numbers at most educational institutions that more students than ever are going to school. The large number of students that choose to go by of online degrees likely helps this; these numbers are significantly up. Before deciding what degree to work towards you may want to see what the hottest degree majors currently are?

It seems education and nursing are on top of the list. This appears to have been the way for quite a time. Checking the statistics will tell what the education trends are at the moment and the education usually follows the jobs.  So keep an eye on which direction you should head with your schooling. For example there has been a 51% growth in the past 10 years in jobs that require mathematical specialists. There are various areas you can choose to go with this such as accounting and actuarial studies.  The demand for these experts is high. In addition economists which is highly sought after also need a strong mathematic background are highly sought after. So if you have been told you are good with numbers think about stepping that up a notch.

Another field where there is hiring even in a bad economy is business and a graduate degree in business – such as  an online  MBA – can insure you have a good paying job even right after graduation. In the past 20 years there has been a 35% increase in jobs that require an MBA.

There are many areas of business management you can choose to work in where jobs outnumber qualified applicants.

For many students deciding what they want to do is always a tough decision. Sometimes it pays to take that little bit of extra time to decide by looking at who is getting a good paying job and who has to live with mom and dad and take a low paying having nothing to do with their education. Look and see what’s hot and what’s not. Times change and so do the demands for certain skilled people. So do yourself a favor, it might be the difference between a good job and a great job, do some research first before you finalize your choice.

How to get the Most Transfer Credits available to you

Tuesday, May 10th, 2011

It seems these days’ students have more to concern themselves with than ever. Working towards advancing your career is a lot of work and can be stressful. Yet it seems many students who are working diligently towards their careers are finding if they have not spent all their time at one institution they may not get transfer credits when they go to a second degree program. This in some way does not seem fair, yet from school to school the course requirements are not necessarily the same.  It does not matter if you are coming from an online degree or a campus based degree or going to an online program or one at a campus.  Classes are not identical and colleges and universities may not accept them and may cap how many you can transfer regardless of whether they are similar classes or not.

Students are running into trouble if they do not check out the transfer policies before they pick where they are going to transfer to.  There are several colleges that will accept up to 90 transfer credits and others that will accept no more than 60. You may want to check with the professional career counselor at each school you are considering before you commit.  And get their answers in writing!

Another issue is transferring from Nationally Accredited programs to Regionally Accredited programs.  Although the US Department of education has deemed these accreditation equal, regionally accredited schools often do not take credits from nationally accredited programs.

The key here of course is good planning when deciding on where to go to school. Do not leave one thing to chance as every transfer credit can be accepted before you arrive. Be sure to get and keep a copy of  the syllabus for each and every course you take. No matter how or where it was. This way if some time has lapsed you can still show the curriculum of the course. This has proved many times to be helpful to students in getting their transfer credits. Good planning and good organization will hopefully help you in avoiding this problem of transfer credits.

Obtaining College Credit through Life Experience

Tuesday, May 10th, 2011

A big question that readers of the blog at www.TheDegree.com keep asking is … “Can you actually obtain a degree for life experience?”

Unlike most questions about education there is a simple one word answer for this question which is a plain NO. Any person who states that you can attain a degree for life experience is trying to sell a valueless piece of paper to you which will not be helpful for your life. Getting a degree is easy nowadays, but it can not guarantee a good life for you, but it’s just a tool to search for employment.

But it’s possible to obtain college credit and acquire complete degree depending on what you have learnt at workplace, through independent readings or study, life events, knowledge acquired from hobbies, life events, voluntary work etc, with help of exams like DANTES and CLEP and also through assessment of earlier learning (APL).

Adult learners with work experience often already know what students usually learn at colleges, having gained knowledge outside of the classroom. Many accredited universities in the United States and throughout the world offer credit when a student is able to prove that they have learned something, which is equivalent and valuable as a course. In United States, “portfolio” is used to asses prior learning when compared to college degrees. Portfolios are considered to offer a course description at college level from any college within United States. Hence portfolios are considered as necessary by some universities as evidence to prove that someone has acquired knowledge, which is tantamount to a college degree. In other institutions verification of work experience can meet their criteria for college credit.

In all cases, the knowledge, which is gained through experience at workplace, is compared with knowledge that is needed to complete a course and acquire a degree based on common standard. With portfolios, this is explained by a real life example of a student who explains what they have done in their life that includes proof to support the knowledge, which they have gained substantiating that it is equivalent to knowledge obtained through classroom training.

Because the process of assessing portfolios consumes lot of time and many students are searching for different alternative methods to showcase their skills and knowledge, which they consider to be equivalent to degree attained from a University. For the most part only universities present outside United States which are fully accredited are providing credit through APL (Assessing of Prior Learning), with and without need for submission of portfolios.

While this can save lot of time for students, the end result is actually same and student is able to attain credit for learning outside classroom through research, work experience, hobbies, voluntary activities or life events. International University of Panama is one such university, which gives credit to students for outside classroom learning. You can find lot of useful information about acquiring credit from knowledge gained through outside classroom learning at the website, http://www.thecareerpeople.com/

Salaries are Not Keeping up with Inflation

Thursday, May 5th, 2011

It is not a secret that almost everything is going up except our salaries. Our paychecks seem to be stagnant yet we are expected to pay higher prices for just about everything. This also means the price a student has to pay for a higher education. Educational goals have not changed that much over the years yet the price of obtaining a degree sure has.

Yet if you look at job boards or anywhere they advertise for employees there are many jobs out there, especially for those with a college degree, so it shows having that degree is just as important now as it ever has been. BUT, if you look closer you see that right now this is an employer’s market. They realize the unemployment rate and that there are many people looking for jobs. So in turn they feel there is no need to raise wages as there will always be someone to fill it. And they advertise jobs once given to high school graduates as requiring a college degree but at the same pay that gave to the high school grads.

The cost of an education is simply soaring way above the wages the graduates will earn. Institutions realize this and they are trying to make financial aid more readily available for students so they can get that college degree but as hard as the colleges and universities try – the aid has little to do with them. The government also sees the problem here but they are doing little about it other than suggesting that students live home and study online. Online bachelor degree programs are faster and cheaper and allow students to work while in school.

This is great and will help more students in reaching their goals but it is only part of the answer.

What does the future hold? I don’t see an answer – only more questions. Prices are going to keep going up because there is nothing out there to stop this. The cost of all the money the Fed printed will be dollars that are worth less and less meaning prices will go higher and higher. The only answer is to get your education NOW – don’t wait another day. Continue with an online graduate degree. Looks for state funded programs with the lowest tuition. Don’t put that education off – the cost is only going up.

Obtaining College Degree through Knowledge gained from life experience

Thursday, May 5th, 2011

As per statistics given by U.S. Census Bureau, people who have a bachelor’s degree are able to earn an average income which is sixty percent than people who have just a high school diploma. The difference in earning potential between people having a college degree and people with high school diploma reaches more than 1 Million dollars. In spite of this vast difference in earning potential just 21 percent of adults above 25 years of age are getting college degrees. There was survey conducted by National newspaper in which readers regretted about the fact that most of Americans are not able to pursue their education at college level and attain a degree.
But now there is hope for people to obtain a college degree with knowledge that they have acquired outside classroom through either work experience, voluntary activities, knowledge gained through hobbies etc. These degrees are fully accredited and equivalent to degrees, which are issued by top fully accredited US universities.
You can get this degree if you have started but were not able to complete the course of study, even if it was more than thirty years ago. If you have credits from an accredited college outside United States, then you can obtain a fully accredited US degree with less time when compared to normal college degree. If you are currently in high school and wish to push up your education levels so as to enter college with three, six, twelve or thirty credits, it is now possible. This helps to you get credit for the knowledge that you already acquired through life experience and you can become a college graduate within a time span of 1 year. Much of the work can completed as online study, exams, work experience, or other outside the classroom learning. In many cases it is impossible to know if the final degree is an online degree or a campus based one. This is true for undergraduate degrees and graduate degrees.

There is no need to attend regular classroom training and to obtain credit for already acquired skills outside classroom. You can study something on your own or make use of work experience to get a degree by completing exams. You can start fresh and take exams at your own convenience to obtain a US college degree easily. You can use the knowledge attained through life experience, voluntary work, hobbies, self-study and reading, work experience etc and attain US college degree by writing exams such as DANTES, CLEP or APL – Assessment of Prior Learning.

This type of degree has been acquired by lot of people already, and they enjoy the benefits of fully accredited US college degree. They have able to get professional high-paying jobs with help of their degrees which has literally altered their lifestyle and earning potential. For more information about this, you can visit the websites http://www.thecareerpeople.com/ or www.TheDegree.com. Both these websites provide valuable information about obtaining a degree or degree equivalent to that acquired from top universities without attending formal classroom training.

Recession-Proof Career is Yours With an Online Accounting Degree

Saturday, April 30th, 2011

Ever notice something about those ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs? Many times you’ll notice these scribes meticulously writing everything down. You can see them bent over their papyrus scrolls, writing quills behind their ears. They were the accountants of their day.

If you’re considering a degree in accounting, you can pretty much guarantee yourself and long and lustrous career. The need for accountants will always be around as long as there are numbers to be recorded.

Consider a few things first. Do you have a good mind for and a real interest in math and numbers? Does working with numbers and spreadsheets appeal to your nature? If you think you so, maybe a degree in accounting is the way to go. One thing for sure – – there is a need for accountants and they are highly paid even in bad times.

Perhaps you already work in some accounting position and you want to advance your career, in which case a higher education would be required to move you along your desired career goal.

Why get the degree online? If you are currently working and cannot take time off to attend a brick and mortar school, getting your degree online might be right for you. The advantage to using an online university or college is cost and convenience. You live and study at home. Since your classroom is online, you can pretty much pick and choose when you can spend the time to study. No driving to classes. No worrying about gas prices, traffic or parking.

Cost are a big consideration online or on campus. Investigate as many colleges as you have time to because a study showed that students who apply to 3 or more colleges tend to end up paying less in tuition and getting more in financial aid than those who only look at one college or university. Online degrees are faster as well.

With accounting you can also specialize your degree in banking, financial investigation, government and nonprofit organizations, private sector accounting, business and taxation.
If you’re unsure which specialized degree is right for you, consult a career consular to find the best fit for you and see if you can speak with an accountant who is working in the field.

There are many online degree programs available in accounting. On the undergraduate level you can get a bachelor’s degree, or you can get an online MBA or masters degree in accounting. The possibilities are endless.