M.B.A. Degree: Well Worth It
|
On-line education is a convenient way to advance your career or your interests.
Many people now take college courses on-line and earn degrees or certificates on-line.
ON-LINE ADVANTAGES
Convenient. You can download lectures to "attend class" at any convenient time. Exams, however, may be at
set times.
Fast. Many courses can be completed within eight weeks -- half the time of a regular semester.
Flexible. You can often design your own degree.
Example: The University of Phoenix offers a lot of flexibility for working adults and recognizes prior credits and
work experience. http://www.phoenix.edu... 800-765-4922.
Tuition reimbursement. Many employers pay employees' tuition for courses taken on-line. Warning: Graduate
educational benefits paid by employers may be taxable as noncash income -- ask your accountant.
ON-LINE DRAWBACKS
You need to be a self-directed learner. On-line learning offers a different kind of interaction with professors
and other students. This may work well for students who are too shy to raise questions in person. Also, the
answers they receive from peers and teachers may be better thought out.
Higher cost than attending in person. Surprisingly, on-line tuition averages 10% more than traditional school.
While the institution may save on brick and mortar, on-line education requires substantially higher marketing
costs and higher salaries for technical support people. But you may save that much in commutation costs.
Traditional financial aid may not be available to adult students. Such aid is designed for dependent, full-time
learners.
Financial aid sources for on-line learning: http://scholarships.em.doe.gov/... and www.fastweb.com.
PICKING A PROGRAM
Education via the Internet is still a very young industry that is under -- going change daily. Some places offer
courses but not a complete degree.
On-line education is evolving rapidly, but there are some useful resources to get you started...
Get Educated (www.geteducated.com) offers an up-to-the-minute directory of on-line colleges, Internet
universities and training institutes.
Telecampus (http://telecampus.edu) lists thousands of on-line courses in the US and the rest of the world.
Bears' Guide to Earning Degrees Nontraditionally by John and Mariah Bear (Ten Speed Press) includes
information about options for getting school credit for what you already know.
How to Get a College Degree Via the Internet by Sam Atieh (Prima Publishing).
HONING YOUR SELECTION
Beware of bogus program accreditations. To check that an on-line program is legitimate, visit the Council for
Higher Education Accreditation Web site (www.chea.org)... or the Accrediting Commission of the Distance
Education and Training Council (www.detc.org).
"Sit in" on some on-line classes before enrolling. Schools use various technological formats -- not all of
which you may like.
Example: Some schools upload the lectures and provide chat systems for student discussion. Others let you
watch a synchronous video of the instructor teaching, then swap group work by E-mail.
Also notice how easily the system operates through your computer.
Communicate with the school dean/program director. Questions to ask...
Are all courses for the degree I want offered on-line? Some programs require occasional on-campus
participation.
Examples: At Duke University's Cross Continent program, you study via the Internet and attend class one
week per term, but there is a residency requirement (www.fuqua.duke.edu... 919-660-7863).
At Fordham University's Transnational MBA Program, you have a face-to-face meeting one weekend a month
with professors and classmates (www.bnet.fordham.edu/public/tmba.htm... 914-829-5452).
How many students are enrolled in your program? How many have already graduated? While more than 90%
of on-line bachelor and graduate degree programs have yet to graduate their first student, a reasonable
expectation is for the institution to have graduated 20 to 30 on-line students or the equivalent of one class.
How are curricula developed? How are instructors selected and supervised? Many schools simply try to
replicate their traditional classrooms with no special training of faculty or development of curricula. The
on-line learning environment is very different from the traditional classroom, so there should be differences.
Can I get credit for career experience? Many programs will give credit, but require you to demonstrate
career-gained knowledge and provide work samples. Examples...
Antioch University (www.antioch.edu... or 937-767-6325).
Rochester Institute of Technology (www.rit.edu... or 800-225-5748).
Skidmore College (www.skidmore.edu... or 518-580-5000, ext. 5450).
