Even as the credibility of some online degrees are being questioned about their credibility, top universities like Harvard University and Phoenix University are already hopping on the distance learning degree bandwagon.
Online education offers students the opportunity to study and earn a degree level education at where the students are located. This will also mean that students living in another part of the world can also study and take examinations online without ever stepping foot into any college or university campuses.
All the online student needs to do is to watch online lectures, access course material and take examinations through a learning management system and communicate with lecturers over the internet or on the telephone.
This method of obtaining a credible accredited university degree will auger well for the distance learning universities, colleges as well as the students since more students from around the globe can enroll in the courses offered by these institutions. This will also result in keeping the costs of running the degree courses much lower and making the university fees more affordable to potential students.
As with anything, there will always be the good the bad and the ugly. There will be so called universities offering fake degrees without even going through a course of studies. So it is vital to ensure that the online college or university you are enrolling in is appropriately accredited. This can be done by checking on the accreditation body that provides the accreditation and re-confirm it with education agencies.
By and large, most accredited online colleges offer real and recognized degree programs. Most online education classes use the same course content, materials, instructors and even same examination questions as those students who attend the on campus programs. In other words, the distance learning degrees are of the same quality as those of the on campus degrees.
Numerous researches and studies done on accredited universities and colleges has shown that the online degree programs are effective and have consistent student's achievement.
The California State University at Northridge conducted study on students in online education programs and reported its findings as follows :-
a) Students online learning programs tested 20% better than their counterparts in a traditional classroom study environment.
b) Online distance students tend to be more self-motivated, disciplined, and are higher achievers.
c) Distance learning students spend 50% more time collaborating with other online students than students in the on-campus environment.
d) There is no difference in long distance online education results versus in-class accomplishment. The research found that student's attitude and motivation being the determining factor of their results and the methods of delivery in the class do not matter at all.
So if you are uneasy about the credibility of online colleges or universities degree program, these findings should put you more at ease.
When considering a college to attend, many students are choosing from the wide variety that now offers online classes. Many students have to work while attending college and these classes provide them with the freedom to do so. It also allows students to attend a highly accredited university that may be located far away without having to worry about travel expense. The mistake that many students make is that they assume that "online" means "easier" and they soon find out that is not the case at all. It takes a lot of discipline to attend this type of school because you set your own hours so there's no set time that you are forced to be there. There are some easy techniques that these types of students can use to assure their online training success.
One way to achieve your online degree is have a set time for studying. Chances are you chose online training because of work or other responsibilities that did not allow you to leave the home. That means you have to find the time to meet the study requirements of the course while still attending to your other duties. It's best to train yourself to study at a certain time each day so that you can develop a routine. Turn off your cell phone and focus on your work, so that you will never fall behind and be able to maintain a good grade point average.
Once you have determined when you are going to dedicate yourself to studying, find a peaceful spot to do it in. This may take some pondering if you live in a noisy environment. You can go to the local library or if the weather permits, a peaceful park that offers few distractions.
Don't hesitate to ask questions from the personnel at the school. Instructors lead many courses. You should also make sure that the school that you choose has ample ways to communicate with the teachers, be it through email or forums. You may also find online study groups that use chat rooms to compare notes and answer each other's questions.
Since you are learning in an unstructured environment, procrastinating may become tempting at times. Don't fool yourself into thinking that it will be easy to catch up. Your time is probably limited to certain hours of the day, which is why you chose this type of college to attend. These hours aren't going to get any greater, so falling behind will make it extremely difficult to catch up. You spent a lot of money for this training so don't be tempted to waste it by putting off your studies.
Once you have completed your studies and earned your degree, don't feel compelled to put on your resume that the school you attended was online. Simply put down the degree you earned. Not every employer respects colleges of this type; so don't bother to mention it unless you are specifically asked.
Both Chris Chew & Gregg Hall are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Chris Chew has sinced written about articles on various topics from Education, Online College and Cosmetic Surgery. Chris Chew is a researcher. More free articles at and. Chris Chew's top article generates over 823000 views. to your Favourites.
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