EduPlan Blog

A Easy Way to Check Out an Online Degree Plan

Today, on The Clark Howard Show on radio, Clark, a consumer advocate, was asked about selecting an online degree program.  Clark gave a really good answer about accreditation of schools that did not involve a long-winded discussion about Council for High Education Accreditation or other mind-numbing answers.

Clark Howard said to go to the online school's website and find out where the school was located (main campus).  If the online school was in Minnesota, for example, go to the University of Minnesota's website and check the accreditation.  The online school in question should have the same accreditation.

So, if the caller was checking out Capella University, he would see the school's main campus is in Minneapolis, Minnesota.  Capella, an online school, is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission of North Central Association of Colleges and Schools.  Looking at the University of Minnesota's website, the caller would see the same accreditation and know that Capella is a regionally accredited school. 

This is a great way to avoid Diploma Mills or schools that have accreditations that are not regionally accredited (the standard accreditation for most companies' hiring policies).

by Sandy Womack, Ed.D., Director, EduPlan   www.eduplan.org

Positive Changes at University of Phoenix

I just returned from a day at University of Phoenix, a “town” of 12000 employees (second only to Walmart in number of employees in Phoenix).  Recently, University of Phoenix moved their online enrollment and academic counselors to the Phoenix campus instead of being scattered all over the country.  This adds up to a large increase in employees in Phoenix because 70% of  their students opt to take classes online, rather than on-campus.

 

There has been some negative publicity about University of Phoenix lately with a pending lawsuit for paying enrollment counselors for the number of new students they enrolled.  However, the new philosophy seems to be less about “butts in seats” and more about retention and graduation success.  I saw an entire building dedicated to academic and financial counselors working with employees from Strategic Partners companies.  Academic counselors help students with each term’s courses and keep in touch with them to ensure success.  Financial counselors give suggestions about staying within their company’s tuition reimbursement maximum or gaining financial aid to finish the year.

 

With over 400,000 students (both online and on-campus), University of Phoenix wants to make sure their staff just doesn’t sign up new students, but wants to make sure they succeed and graduate.

 

by Sandy Womack, Ed.D., Director, EduPlan

http://www.eduplan.org

 

Options for Paying Student Loans (or not paying)

A daughter of a friend of mine wanted to get out of her dead-end job and go into a field she liked--fashion.  I begged her to go to the Community College, an inexpensive option to see if she even liked returning to school.  But no, she wanted to believe the claims from a trade and technical school (not accredited) and got accepted there.

The school asked for the entire first year's tuition up-front (before she could evaluate the courses or her commitment to complete) and she took out student loans to fund this education.  As I suspected, she hated school and thought the entire program was "bogus" and quit.  So now, she is in debt for several thousand dollars in financial aid.

Sandra Block offers some options on paying student loans in Tuesday, Sept 22, 2009 edition of USA Today.  Some of these might help my friend's daughter.  Sandra gives 3 options to avoid default even if someone can't afford the payments.  Options include:

    *  Deferment--This option may work for those who are still in college, unemployed or experiencing economic hardship.

    *  Forbearance--This option may help some students postpone payments up to 3 years.

    *  Income-based Repayment--This option may help some students by having to pay only 10% of their income per year on student loan payment.

Read the entire article in USA Today for other ideas.

by Sandy Womack, Ed.D. Director, EduPlan   http://www.eduplan.org

Online Community Colleges

The growth rate of community colleges across the country has sky-rocketed.  Enrollment numbers are up from 15 - 30% over last year's numbers.  On-site classes are full and the numbers of online or distance learning classes are increasing to keep up with the growth.  A few community colleges boast that students are taking classes in some format 24/7 (on-campus, online, or hybrid).

Local community colleges probably offer some online classes and even a few online degrees.  However, there are several community colleges that offer many classes, many certificates and several degrees online.  Examples are:  Foothill College Global Access (http://www.foothllglobalaccess.org), Rio Salado College (http://www.riosalado.edu) and North Seattle CC's Virtual College (http://www.northseattle.edu).  The in-state costs are usually the same as on-campus (perhaps with an additional cybercampus fee).  Out-of-state students will find reasonable tuition rates, as well.

Online classes at community college offer laid-off workers, working professionals or young adults ways to gain skills, knowledge, certificates or an associate degree in an inexpensive and effective format.

Those Pesky College Fees

I am a big supporter of community colleges and local state schools.  These schools are inexpensive, have good academics and you never have to wonder if your degree will be "accepted" by your company. 

Community colleges can be as inexpensive as $20/unit, up to $100/unit, depending on what state the school is in.  State universities can be as inexpensive as $100/unit to seveal hundred dollars a unit.  This is a great alternative to the expensive private schools and most for-profit online universities.

However, community colleges and state schools have been charging fees for everything from a Registration Fee to a Capital Auxiliary Fee (what the heck it this--money for future buildings?).  These fees can be almost as much as the tuition costs.  One of my clients showed me the fees charged by his school:

Lab fee ($25), Registration Fee ($60), Activity Fee ($79), Building Fee ($45), Health Fee ($30), Library Fee ($30), Photo ID ($5), Parking Tag ($6), University Fee ($8), Orientation Fee ($85). 

With state taxes coming in at a slower rate and states with high debt, you will probably be seeing more of these fees and higher costs for community colleges and state schools.  However, attending state schools is still cheaper than attending most private schools with a per unit price of $500 - $1000/unit.

by Sandy Womack, Ed.D., Director, EduPlan   http://www.eduplan.org

Inexpensive Textbooks and Free Classes

Get Educated (http://www.geteducated.com) has listing some places to get inexpensive textbooks.  Since college textbooks average $150/each, a semester-worth of books might cost over $1000. 

http://www.geteducated.com/financial-aid-center/consumers-college-cost-cutting-guide/how-to-save-money-on-textbooks-and-even-get-some-for-free

My friend Debra Marrs (http://www.writingtogether.com) sent me a listing of free, fun, college classes. 

http://www.mixx.com/stories/6812614/100_totally_fun_and_weird_college_courses_you_can_now_take_for_free

by Sandy Womack, Ed.D., Director, EduPlan  

Get free e-book at:  http://www.eduplan.org

Phony Online Schools and Phony Accreditation Agencies

Get Educated.com (www.geteducated.com) has listed several online colleges that claim to be accredited.  Get Educated. com call these schools Diploma Mills, and I agree.  The accrediting agencies recognizing these schools are as phony as the schools they accredit.

There are 30+ "accrediting agencies" listed that are NOT recognized by the Council on HIgher Education Accreditation (CHEA) or by the US Department of Education.

Check out the timely article at:

http://www.geteducated.com/online-degrees-credibility-employer-perception/22-online-degrees-credibility-employer-perception/204-unrecognized-fake-and-dubious-online-college-accrediting-agencies

by Sandy Womack, Ed.D. Director, EduPlan   http://www.eduplan.org

Transferring Military Credits to a Degree Plan

Get Educated has written a great article on this month's newsletter titled:  Will Credits Earned in the Military Transfer to Another Online College?  The article talks about national and regional accreditation and lists some schools that military can transfer in the most credits.

Read it here:

http://www.geteducated.com/distance-learning-for-active-duty-military/16-distance-learning-for-active-duty-military/269-will-credits-earned-in-the-military-transfer-to-another-online-college

by Sandy Womack, Ed.D., Director, EduPlan   http://www.eduplan.org

Get free ebook:  5 Strategies before Choosing an Online Degree

Are Online Programs More Effective than On-campus?

The title of the new buzz will be "Online Programs are More Effective than On-Campus Programs".  This research comes from a 96-page Department of Education report.  However, if you read the report, the results show only a slight indication that online and hybrid learning are more effective.  This report does not indicate a strong trend, and hybrid (combination) learning seems to be the most effective learning mode of all.

Online schools will hype these results, but don't chose online just because of the hype you see.  Local, state universities are usually more cost-effective and usually have departmental, as well as regional, accreditation.  Local, state and private universities have partnered with your local corporations to provide the degrees needed in your regional economy.

Many times your on-campus, local colleges are the best choice.  Online is the alternative option if you travel, are not located near a college, or the local schools do not have the major you need.

by Sandy Womack, Ed.D., Director, EduPlan   http://www.eduplan.org  (Free e-book "5 Considerations Before Choosing an Online Degree).

Evaluating Graduate Degree Applicants

Educational Testing Services (ETS) has lauched their new component of the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) called the Personal Potential Index (ETS PPI).  This index evaluates applicants of graduate degree programs on 6 attributes:

    *  Planning and Organization

    *  Resilience

    *  Communication Skills

    *  Teamwork

    *  Knowledge and Creativity

    *  Ethics and Integrity

Applicants choose evaluators to fill out the ETS PPI and this information is sent to the admissions team to add results to applicant's admission file.  Evaluators only have to fill out information on the PPI one time, even if the applicant has applied to several graduate schools. 

Check out the information and video on this new index for admission at:  http://www.gre.org

by Sandy Womack, Ed.D., Director, EduPlan   http://www.eduplan.org

Failed the 30 Blogs in 30 Days Challenge

Connie Regan Green started a "30 Blogs in 30 Days" Challenge on June 9.  I had great intentions of completing this challenge, but failed big-time.  I started out okay, but an out-of-town business trip put me behind and I stayed there.

I admire the many who completed this task.  I know that there are many bloggers who post every day (and sometimes several times a day).  However, there are statistics that show that 93% of blogs are discontinued or have no posts for several months.  So maybe we who blog occasionally are still in the top 7%!

by Sandy Womack, Ed.D., Director, EduPlan   http://www.eduplan.org