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Online education is becoming a better option for working students all the time. You attend classes on your own schedule, when it's convenient for you, not just when it's convenient for the instructor. When you are checking into attending an online school, you need to be aware of certain criteria that can make or break your educational experience.
1) Is the school accredited? Before you check into anything else about an online college, this is the number one criteria that you must investigate. Too many students have ploughed thousands of dollars and countless hours of time into online programs only to find the value of their degrees absolutely worthless upon graduation. The U.S. Department of Education website maintains this valuable database of accredited post-secondaryinstitutions and programs. Take the time to check if the school you are thinking of attending is on this database. The highest form of accrediation an educational institution is regional accrediation, and there are only six agencies in the U.S. that can confer regional accrediation. Students of regionally accredited schools qualify for U.S. federal student aid, and generally the courses taken at a regionally accredited institution transfer easily to other colleges and universities.
2) What is the total cost of the courses offered? If you think online education should be much cheaper than can be delivered at a brick-and-mortar college, think again. Online courses generally cost as much or more as courses delivered on campus. If you find what seems to be a real bargain, you need to ask yourself why the institution can offer their courses for much less than other schools can. Is it because there is no technical support services available for students if they encounter difficulty with course delivery? Are the instructors in the online school of lesser qualifications than their tradtional counterparts are? Does the online course basically consist of reading a textbook online and answering questions? If any these are true, the program may not be such a bargain.
3) What is the school's experience delivering online classes? If a school has many online courses to offer, it's generally a good sign that they have significant experience with delivering classes online. If only a few courses are delivered online by the school, it may be that neither the school or the instructor has any significant experience delivering courses online. Yes, this does make a difference. An instructor who may be witty and challenge his/her students in a face-to-face delivery situation maybe very dry and boring delivering online classes. Ask if you can speak to some of the students enrolled in an online school or program about their experiences.
4)What is the retention rate for the program? What is the graduation rate for the program? If many students enroll in online schools, but tend to quickly drop out, and even fewer go on to graduation, this should be a major red-flag for you. Any school should be able to tell you what their retention and graduation rates are. This is important for prospective students of any post-secondary program, whether online or a traditional program.
5) What are the credential of the instructors? More experienced instructors are generally better instructors. Do they have specific training in online delivery methods? Also, what are the educational levels of the instructors? Generally, you will get a better course delivered from someone holding at least a Master's degree. Any lesser degree level attained by your instructor should be viewed with skepticism.
6) What is the ratio of students to instructors? Just like with face-to-face delivery, the ratio of students to instructors is very important. If you find out that there are a hundred students enrolled in your online class and only one instructor, don't even waste your time with the course.
7) What delivery methods are used? 21st century techology is available to us all; your school should use it if they specialize in online courses. Possible delivery methods include using videos, web conferencing, instant messaging, blogs and more. Don't settle for some stagnant course developed ten years ago that has never kept up with current online technologies.
In summary, do your homework before you plunk down your hard-earned cash for an online degree. A little due-diligence upfront can save you a lot of headaches, and wasted time and money.
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I echo your recommendation on #7. It amazes me how schools (online and physical) can not take advantage of technology. Recently we received an automated phone call from our school that in order to save money they were not going to mail schedules – we’d have to pick them up. Humm…why not email? Video conferencing is a great option for online classes as long as it it computer based like Vonei Meeting. If you can see your online teacher and other students it makes you feel more a part of the class and not just self-study.
Thanks for your comment, Alan. With all the great technology options out there, schools owe it to their students to keep up with new technology. Yes, it is costly, but onliine students usually have to pay just as much or more for their courses as those enrolled in face-to-face classes. I think online schools owe that much to their students.