Finding An Online Degree To Fit Your Needs

Many people searching for an online school that will meet their needs can become intimidated by the academic terms used on many college and career websites. It's important to be clear about which degree is the right one for you. Although programs and curriculums vary from school to school, having a basic understanding of the scope and purpose of each type of degree will help you determine which online degree may be best suited for your career and professional needs.

A note on accreditation: Determine whether or not the schools you are considering are accredited. This website only lists accredited schools. See our article on the importance of accreditation for more information.

Types of Online Degrees

Over half of all online students are enrolled in 2-year colleges. Because of the variety and usefulness of 2-year online programs, many are using them to advance their careers, develop specialized skills, or prepare themselves for transfer to a 4-year baccalaureate program. Two year colleges usually take 4 semesters of about 15 credit hours each (considered full time) and require completion of 60 credit hours. Two year college programs generally have 3 components:

· General education/Liberal arts and sciences courses

· Major/Specialized courses (if you are concentrating on a specific discipline)

· Electives (Courses you choose to compliment the rest of your program)

If your plans include the possibility of transferring to a 4-year college after completing your associates degree, you will need to check with the 4-year colleges you're interested to see which courses will be accepted for transfer. Many 4-year colleges will only accept the general education/liberal arts courses as equivalent; others are more liberal, especially with online business and liberal arts programs.

Associate degrees are usually given by technical, community or junior colleges. Some 2-year colleges are housed within a larger college or university that offers more advanced degrees. You can carry a part-time load, if that suits your purposes and lifestyle, but usually financial aid is only extended to fulltime students. On the other hand, if you want to accelerate your studies and finish early, speak with an advisor at the school to make sure you are following the required sequence of courses.

Associate of Arts (A.A.): The Associate of Arts degree is granted for completion of (primarily) general education or liberal arts courses. This type of online degree is useful for students who plan on transferring to a 4-year college after receiving their A.A. degree, or want a broad, non-specialized knowledge base.

Associate of Science (A.S.): The Associate of Science degree also has a core of liberal arts and sciences courses that must be completed, but unlike the A.A. degree, also has a core of early division prerequisite courses in specialized fields such as engineering, science, math, and agriculture, that require certain courses before continuing with the desired program at the 4-year baccalaureate level.

Associate in Applied Science (A.A.S.): The Associate in Applied Science degrees are not intended for transfer to 4-year colleges, but geared toward preparing the student for a specific occupation upon graduation. These programs offer a wide variety of specialized programs that allow you to join the workforce in the field you have chosen. If you later plan to attend a 4-year school, they likely will transfer only the liberal arts/general education credits earned.

Online Certificate and Diploma Programs

Career Certification Programs: Sometimes called Occupational Certificate Programs, career certificate programs are generally intensive programs in a specific area of job related expertise. Usually 18 credits or longer, certificate programs are designed to provide the necessary skills so that the student can begin work in a specific occupation upon completion of the program. A wide variety of practical training courses exist online. They take less than 2 years to complete.

High School Diploma (G.E.D.): Anyone desiring a high school diploma can earn it at home. Online G.E.D. programs will allow you to finish this important basic degree. If English is a second language, or reading has been difficult for you, there are programs online to help you get that diploma. Some 2-year colleges also incorporate obtaining a G.E.D. into their first year program.

4 Year Online Degree Programs

Bachelor of Arts (B.A.): The Bachelor of Arts degree is a 4-year "undergraduate" degree, requiring at least 120 credit hours (including any transfer credits accepted from accredited programs). The B.A. degree is granted after the successful completion of the equivalent of 4 years full time study with heavy emphasis in liberal arts and sciences, providing a broad, non-specialized knowledge base. Online programs conferring a B.A. degree can sometimes be completed in less than 4 years.

Bachelor of Science (B.S.): The Bachelor of Science degree also requires the completion of at least 120 credit hours, with a strong core of liberal/general education courses, but is discipline specific. This means you must declare a "major" by choosing to concentrate in a specific subject area, then complete required courses in that particular discipline, along with electives that will round out your undergraduate program. You will work with a counselor or advisor to plan your program so that you will have everything completed in the correct sequence before graduation. Following graduation, many people continue on to graduate (master's level) programs to build on the knowledge gained and increase their potential for greater earnings.

Online Masters Degree Programs

Master of Arts (M.A) and Master of Science (M.S): Master's degrees programs are available online in many areas. There are good reasons to continue with higher education after receiving your bachelor's degree. A master's degree will give you continued depth and expertise in an area, and opens up doors for higher paying jobs in many areas.

Master's level programs can be from 30 to 60 credit hours long, depending on the discipline or profession.Correspondingly, it will take from 1-4 years to complete. The work is more focused on a specialty area and research of some sort is usually involved. Sometimes a master's level degree will be included with a doctoral program, but most times you will need to complete your master's work before beginning work on your doctorate.

Two popular types of specialized master's programs are listed here. Again, be sure you check to see if the online program you're interested in is accredited.

Online Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.): An M.B.A degree is an advanced degree in business management and is a highly valuable asset to the person who desires a leadership role in the business world. Online programs do an excellent job of preparing a student for the top paying jobs the M.B.A. will qualify them for. A related degree which is becoming more popular is the master's degree in information technology, or M.I.T..

Online Master of Education (M.Ed.): Online master's degrees in education are becoming a popular choice for teachers already in the profession seeking to further develop their skills and move to a higher pay bracket. A M.Ed. or M.S. in Education usually requires the completion of 36 -48 credit hours. Some programs will accept a limited amount of transfer credits. Those graduating from 4-year colleges go directly to a master's program and enter the working world equipped with an advanced degree. Because each state has its own requirements for licensing or certification of teachers, it is wise to check with your state for specific course requirements.

An online master's level program is offered in nearly every field and discipline. Finding the program that fits your goals and lifestyle will take some time, but the benefits of an advanced degree are many.

Online PhD Programs:

Doctorate degrees are the highest level of degree programs available and imply the highest level expertise in a given discipline. Programs can be combined with a master's program, but most students finish their master's degree before going on for their doctorate. Entering a doctoral program is a big decision. It can take 4 to 6 years to complete and involves concentrated, high level study and research under the direction of leaders in that field of study. A doctorate degree, or Ph.D., will allow you to teach at the college level, take positions of leadership in the area of study, or conduct research in that area. All doctoral programs involve research and publishing on the special area you choose. Top paying jobs in any field are usually held by those holding a Ph.D. or equivalent. Some of the most popular online doctoral degrees are:

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

Doctor of Engineering (D.Eng.)

Doctor of Business Administration (DBA)

Doctor of Public Health (D.P.H.)

Importance of Choosing With Care

Finding the right degree program will involve some research on your part. The payoffs gained by starting and working through the program you select will give you monetary rewards that compound throughout your life. Completing a degree program will also increase what you know and can do, as well as increase your confidence and self-esteem. Good luck! And remember - we're here to help.

If you need more information on accredited online degrees, programs or information on online colleges & universities, please call our friendly advisors toll free at: 1.888.281.2822

Directory of accredited online colleges and universities nationwide.

By Laurie Jerome-Pertilla

www.MyCollegeSolution.com

How Effective Is Distance Education?

Thomas Edison predicted early this century that motion pictures would replace textbooks as the principal medium of instruction. In a new study to be released today, the College Board cites that anecdote to warn that the higher-education community should employ a healthy skepticism toward those currently touting the virtues of the virtual, online classroom.

As colleges and universities invest in the latest computer technology to ride the early wave of euphoria over online distance education, the College Board study cautions that the trend could actually create barriers to higher education for poor and minority students.

In addition, the study, along with another to be released next week by the American Federation of Teachers, raises concerns about assessing the quality of courses offered online. The AFT report takes issue with the conclusion of several studies that online courses can be just as rigorous and successful as those presented in a traditional classroom setting.

In the past year or two, many schools have started to offer online courses, and some even offer entire degree programs over the Internet. So far, the course offerings have been targeted to the booming adult-learner market: working adults who have little time between career and family obligations to travel several times a week to a college campus for further training, and are attracted instead to the convenience of taking a course via computer at home or in the office.

But some think that the online market will expand to include some of the bread-and-butter core courses that undergraduates have traditionally taken in campus classrooms. Last year, Pennsylvania State University ran a test with four online courses that enrolled about 40 students. This year, it launched its World Campus, an array of 30 online courses across 10 programs that currently enroll 400, most of whom are graduate students.

Temple University has nearly three dozen online courses, with an enrollment of 500 or so students, mostly at the graduate level. University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School has joined forces with Caliber Learning to offer graduate business courses, using a combination of online and video-conferencing technology.

"There is no doubt the World Wide Web shatters barriers of time and space in the delivery of instruction," Lawrence E. Gladieux, the College Board's executive director for policy analysis, writes in its report. "But its advent is also likely to create new barriers and inequities, simply because of differential availability of the required technology."

The report, using U.S. Department of Commerce data, notes that, while 41 percent of white households have a computer, only 19 percent of black families and 19 percent of Latino families do.

And according to the Higher Education Research Institute, 80 percent of freshmen at private universities used e-mail in the past year, compared with 64 percent at public four-year colleges and only 41 percent at public, historically black colleges. Such statistics, the report warns, raise concern that a greater focus on online education will actually prove a barrier to poor and minority students.

Gary Miller, associate vice president of distance education at Penn State, dismissed such criticism. "By using the new technology, you're extending the university learning experience to more people," he said.

"Because the new technology has not reached everyone yet isn't a reason not to pursue it," Miller said. "If you use that line of thinking, there would be no college campuses in the country.

"And it doesn't mean it won't expand," he said. "Because of their perceived benefit, the penetration of radio ... into homes occurred at a much faster rate than one might have expected during the 1930s, given the economic situation." By venturing into online education, universities will generate demand and spur the market, forcing online access onto the social-policy agenda, he said.

The College Board report warns that private philanthropy alone -- much less the marketplace itself -- cannot fix the problem of access, and argues that government must play a role.

Lee Alley, associate vice president for distance education at Temple, agreed that, if access to the new online courses is not managed well, it could become a problem. But he also said he thinks that, for most schools, online education will be a supplement, and not a replacement, for traditional methods of instruction, or for the many safety nets and supports that commonly come with a campus-based education.

While both reports question the potential quality of online courses, Miller and Alley both argue that online offerings can be even better than classroom courses, and that the new competition from online offerings can generate improved quality across higher education.

"Online distance education marks a real shift in buyer-side clout," Alley said. "The epicenter of choice will be shifted to students, and that competition will push quality up to a new max that you don't currently see in a lot of remote college campuses."

Mathew Simond is a journalist and copywriter. He is also a webmaster of many websites including http://www.psychologycolleges.net and http://www.religiousstudiesonline.org He aims to provide healthy information and advice on academic degrees.