EduPlan Blog

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.

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

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).

Choosing an Online Degree? Tip #5

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

Many online schools allow students to gain college credits for Life and Work Experience.  You can transfer some of these credits directly into a degree plan.  Other credits can be granted with essays and documentation of learning.

Some options for gaining these credits for life and work experience are:

1) Testing Out of Classes.  College Level Examination Program (CLEP) is a great way to gain college credits in English, Foreign Language, Math, Business, Science, etc.  www.collegeboard.com/clep

2) Military Credits.  Submit your SMART or AARTS report to the college rep to see if you have credits from classes, training or your MOS.

3) External Training Courses or Internal Corporate Courses.  Bring your list of courses taken from external training vendors or classes you took internally at your company when you visit the school.

4) Certificates.  Examples might be Project Management, Microsoft Certificates or 6-Sigma.

5) Licenses.  Examples might be FAA or FCC licenses.

Most working professionals can gain an average of 18 - 20 credits with these options for Life and Work Experience.  That means you eliminate 6-7 college classes from your degree program, saving both time and money.

Bottom Line:  Take time to research the online schools that provide ways to gain college credit for your life/work experiences.

Choosing an Online Degree? Tip #4

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

The ideal situation for an online degree would be a learning environment that matches your Learning Style.  Most online programs are heavy with reading information on the internet.  This is ideal for students that are Visual Learners.  In-class programs are heavy on lecture--ideal for Auditory Learners.  Labs, studios and demonstrations are ideal for Hands-On Learners. 

The best learning is a combination of all 3 types of Learning Styles.  Most students figure out ways to incorporate their learning style into any learning situation.  I am an Auditory Learner and stuggle to read large quantity of material on the internet.  So, I print it out and record portions of it and listen in my car.  Or, I find a lecture or dicussion on a Podcast and listen on my IPod.

If you are thinking about an online degree, streaming video works well for both Auditory and Visual Learners.  Stanford University's Continuing Professional Development (http://scpd.stanford.edu) was one of the first universities to move from a satellite viewing of their classes to streaming video.

If you want to find out your Learning Style, try this free website:  www.howtolearn.com/lsioptin_employee.html  This is a basic test, but it is free.  Other, more sophisticated Learning Style Inventories can be found in a Yahoo or Google search:  Learning Style Inventory, but there may be a charge for these.

Bottom Line:  Try to coordinate your course format to your Learning Style.

Choosing an Online Degree? Tip #3

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

I like to see college websites where the curriculum is clearly visable and the costs are upfront.  I don't want to call a rep or have a chat on the Chat Line.  I found that most of the reps on the Chat Lines only know basic information and many were there to get prospective students to enroll immediately.  Some reps wanted to sign me up for a Bachelor's degree, even though I have a doctorate.

Many times you have to put in personal information before you get any questions answered.  I usually put in false information because I don't want the school to be constantly bugging me.  BTW, you can request that schools not call you and get on their Do Not Call list and the schools have to comply.

Bottom Line:  Beware aggressive marketing and marketing ploys to get you to enroll in a degree plan before you are ready and before you have all your questions answered.

Choosing an Online Degree? Tip #2

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

The second tip for choosing an online degree:  Do your research to check the costs of the colleges.

Most online degrees are more expensive than on-campus degrees.  Even your local state university may charge out-of-state tuition for residents who opt for online.  Some schools charge an extra cyber-campus or technology fee. 

Thre are some less expensive online schools.  Foothill College Online is a top community college and classes are only a few hundred dollars per course and Foothill offers almost all the General Education courses online.

Park University is a regionally accredited university with online Associate, Bachelor and Master degrees in many fields of study. Undergraduate courses are under $1000/each and since the average online undergraduate class is about $1300 - $1500/each, this school is a bargain.

Fort Hays State University is a regionally accredited state university offering several Master degree programs for about $1200/class.  The average online graduate class is about $1800 - $2000/course, so here is another bargain.

The Bottom Line:  Do your research on cost comparisons of online programs.

Choosing an Online Degree? Tip #1

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

Over the next few days, I will be listing the top 5 tips to help you decide if you want to enroll in an online degree plan.  I think that most online colleges and online degrees are wonderful ways to help you achieve your career goals.  But, many online schools use aggressive marketing to get you to enroll.  Hopefully, the tips I provide will help you make a good decision.

The first tip is:  Look at the School Accreditation.  You will want to attend a REGIONALLY accredited college.  The accreditation of the college should be one of the 6 accreditation agencies below:

WASC - Western Association of Schools and Colleges; NWCCA-Northwestern Commission on Colleges and Universities; HLC- Higher Learning Commission of North Central Association of Schools and Colleges; SACS-Southern Association of Colleges and Schools; NEASC- New England Association of Schools and Colleges; MSA-Middle States Association of Schools and Colleges.

If you do not attend a regionally accredited school, a hiring manager or company may not consider your degree to be a "real" degree.  It will also be unlikely that you will ever be able to be admitted to graduate school.

The Bottom Line:  Look for a college wtih regional accreditation for quality and transferability of credits.

Good Schools Using Marketing Ploys

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

I was disappointed that a good school, Arizona State University, has started using marketing ploys when someone is searching their online degree plans.  I was searching for a online graduate Engineering degree for a client and knew that ASU had online programs.  However, when I looked at their online degree section, there was no program curriculum or admission information.

There was a Chat Line but I had to put in my personal information before I could talk to a rep.  I usually put in false information except for a phone number.  I wanted to see how many times I was called and if the calling became annoying, as it does with many of the online schools. 

I don't know why a very good school such as ASU thinks they have to resort to this type of aggressive marketing.  Maybe there are statistics showing a huge increase in enrollment.  I like the personal touch of being able to talk personally to a rep, but I don't like to put in personal information before I get a simple question answered, such as "What are the classes needed for this degree?".

Misleading Online School Listings

I write an article a week for EzineArticles (www.ezinearticles.com).  I have also signed up to get the articles written every week from the Online Education catagory.  This week there is an article called "Top Universities Offering Free Online Courses".  This article got my attention because there was a listing from Online Education Database of the so-called top online universities.

The list of the top online universities was a listing of "middle-of-the-road" schools (regionally accredited, but no prestigious schools).  Then there were the non-regionally accredited schools also in the listing:  ITT Technical Institute, Tiffin University and Everglades University.  How can these be in a listing of Top Universities when they don't have regional accreditation--the mimimum standards for most corporations' education assistance policies?

There was another website that advertised: "Top Regionally Accredited Schools Online".  Here I found more non-regionally accredited schools.  Most were DETC (Distance Education and Training Council accreditation).  DETC schools have some standards, but if you try to take your DETC undergraduate degree to a regionally accredited Master's degree, you probably won't be admitted.  Most corporations will not consider a DETC degree a "real degree". 

So, beware the so-called "Top School Listings" and rely on websites such as American Council on Education (ACE) listings.

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