Online Education - I need your advice, Playground!

[Aron Times]

It's been a while since my last post, and a lot has happened since then. To make a long story short, I'm looking for an online education that isn't a scam. I've heard horror stories about the University of Phoenix and similar institutions, but I still want to go to school online because I no longer have a vehicle (car accident) and the nearest university is over an hour away.

I plan on doing college all over again, as what I learned over six years ago is outdated. Even my uncle, who was already a neurosurgeon in the Philippines, had to redo four years of education to be able to practice here in the USA. Besides, my illness resulted in my losing years of my life; amnesia, even partial amnesia, is a bitch.

So, Playground, I come here to ask you for advice. Do you know of any legitimate online colleges?

[rayne_dragon]

I think your best bet would probably be to take an online course from an actual college in your area. That way you know they're legit and if you happen to need to deal with them in person you can. Plus I seem to recall that most legit online courses do require you to go into the school for exams, or at least the ones I was looking at a few years ago did.

[Dallas-Dakota]

Or if finances allow, move onto campus.

[Melayl]

I think your best bet would probably be to take an online course from an actual college in your area. That way you know they're legit and if you happen to need to deal with them in person you can. Plus I seem to recall that most legit online courses do require you to go into the school for exams, or at least the ones I was looking at a few years ago did.

I second this 100%. Any college in your area will have online classes available. You should be able to do all of your basic courses online, and at least some of your Major field courses. You can take classes from more than one college online at the same time, also.

[Traab]

I think your best bet would probably be to take an online course from an actual college in your area. That way you know they're legit and if you happen to need to deal with them in person you can. Plus I seem to recall that most legit online courses do require you to go into the school for exams, or at least the ones I was looking at a few years ago did.

I third this. There are a LOT of colleges nowadays that offer online courses. Best part about them is that they are mostly self paced. I was able to complete my math and science online courses several weeks before the end of term because I was able to burn through the information quickly and effectively.

[Aron Times]

I tried the University of Missouri in St. Louis (UMSL), and they offer only gen. ed. classes online, which I have already fulfilled through previous education. They don't offer any major courses online, which really sucks.

I guess I could try calling other universities here in Missouri to see if any offer what I want.

[Melayl]

You can do online courses from out-of-state schools too, I believe. However, they might (probably will) cost more.

[super dark33]

if you were live in israel...
you could learn in the open university {hauniversita haptoha]. that exectly what they do. and with your story' i sure you could get a scholarship.

i think you can do it after all. here: http://www-e.openu.ac.il/
if you are curious. contact me.:smallwink:

[Deathslayer7]

i think most colleges only offer general education courses. Add maybe (depending on your major) sspecialty courses in you area. I know at my college they dont have any engineering courses online. so yeah. :smalltongue:

I wouldnt personally suggest online myself though. While it is more versatile and time-conveinent, it also allows you to cheat by using the book when you shouldnt. Thus the learning you do might be the same, but how much you retain might be different.

That and I heard horror stories from my Math teacher about accounts who had a PhD in Accounting and couldnt do a derivative.

[Syka]

I know both my alma mater and current university both offer distance learning degrees- that can be obtained with little to no on-campus course work. It's pretty much all web based and you can be anywhere (depending on your degree).

I'd avoid the for-profit online universities and try to find a non-profit public or private institution. What program where you thinking about doing? That will also matter in where you go.

You are lucky, though. Like I just checked out my alma mater and they have WAAY more distance learning degrees (including Masters and Doctorates) now than they did 2 years ago, even.

But yeah...avoid for-profit schools. They are difficult to get scholarships for, offer almost no loan forgiveness, and are way expensive with degrees that...lack some legitimacy. In general. Not always, but in general. A friend of mine is attending for-profit online universities and...well...it's flexible, but I doubt it will help her job hunt much.

[Don Julio Anejo]

In general, I'll agree with the above.

1. For-profit degrees are useless in that any employers/grad schools already know they're from a for-profit place like Univ. of Phoenix. Doubly so if it's a degree that generally requires you to actually be there to learn properly (i.e. science requires an inordinate amount of lab work, business you do a LOT of presentation and collaborative projects, etc).

2. Virtually all legit online courses are basically online versions of courses that are offered by the school IRL and require you to physically come in and write the exam. Generally, bigger universities offer more courses online, but you're limited to your general area. My school, for example, offers quite a few courses online under this model but they're typically stuff that can either requires writing or rote learning, like some humanities or whatnot.

3. I highly recommend moving and attending school in person. Either on campus or simply closer to where your school is. If public transit in your area is any good, you can probably find a bunch of people who want roommates within a small radius from the school. Also, given your situation, you can probably get pretty good discounts, bursaries and hardship scholarships if your school is anything like most Canadian ones.

[snoopy13a]

I think the University of Phoenix (and other for-profits) only make sense for certain people. Namely, those who already have jobs, excellent work experience, and a good reputation in their field but are being held back from promotion opportunities solely due to a lack of diploma.

The worst are the for-profits that charge outrageous tuition for certificate programs (many of which are offered by community colleges cheaply) and have their students take out lots of federal student loans to pay for them. These students then will usually default and will probably end up in debt for the rest of their lives (student loans are not discharged in bankruptcy).

If there is a local community college that might be the best option. One can recieve a good education at a community college if they take it seriously and work hard and one can transfer to a top four-year college after two years if they do well.

[Cyrion]

Also, look for courses that are more than just an online repository of material, but actually require you to participate. My wife is in a PhD program in community college leadership at Colorado State. Her cohort is scattered across the US, and all of their classes are online. However, it's an actual online meeting through Skype.

This isn't so much for the legitimacy of the degree (which I think it does help), but it's also for the personal learning experience. Being able to self-pace is nice and convenient, but often there's no substitute for what you get from the interactions.

[drew101]

It's been a while since my last post, and a lot has happened since then. To make a long story short, I'm looking for an online education that isn't a scam. I've heard horror stories about the University of Phoenix and similar institutions, but I still want to go to school online because I no longer have a vehicle (car accident) and the nearest university is over an hour away.

I plan on doing college all over again, as what I learned over six years ago is outdated. Even my uncle, who was already a neurosurgeon in the Philippines, had to redo four years of education to be able to practice here in the USA. Besides, my illness resulted in my losing years of my life; amnesia, even partial amnesia, is a bitch.

So, Playground, I come here to ask you for advice. Do you know of any legitimate online colleges?

online colleges is somewhat a refresher course, it is a wonderful idea to deal with an online colleges and you could use this as your referrence for a legitimate online colleges for you on this website online-accredited-colleges.com. Hope it might help you.

[grimbold]

have you looked into wikiuniversities?
those help

[Don Julio Anejo]

Oh yeah, another thing to remember: if you do decide to go with an online college, go with one that has a primary brick & mortar institution. This way they employers won't know that you did it online (or will at least assume you did it in person).