Distance Learning Programs Cover It All

By: Samantha Kay

College students or would be college students looking at the possibilities distance learning programs offer will soon find out the opportunities are many. These programs have come a long way in a very short time. Where there once were only a few choices in the distance learning arena, there are now many.

Students seeking out distance learning programs should be certain the schools and universities they deal with have their proper accreditation. This is becoming much easier to achieve as more state universities and well known private institutions bring their brand of learning online. Still, it's wise to check. It is also advised to make sure the individual degree program is accredited. A university might have accreditation, but its school of journalism, for example, might not.

Anyone looking at these programs will soon find it is now possible to earn any level of degree offered at institutions of higher learning. Programs common in distance learning include:

• Certifications: This is sort of the bread and butter of distance learning programs. Certification classes are common for almost every field imaginable. When there is a need to take a certain class for continued employment requirements or to open up doors for a new job, certification programs can generally be found to meet the needs. These range from medical classes and law enforcement certifications to computer science, education and beyond.
• Associates degrees: The variety of these "entry level" degrees available online from accredited schools is pretty amazing. Everything from computers and business to general study and beyond can be found. These degrees often work well for landing employment and they can also be fantastic stepping stones for advancing onto higher level degree programs.
• Bachelors degrees: The variety of programs tends to narrow a bit by this level of degree program, but not much. The truth is many programs offered in person can now be found online. From criminal justice and education to computer science, business administration and even psychology, it is possible to find very good bachelor level distance learning programs.
• Doctorates degrees: Here is where the field really narrows. The most common doctorates programs offered online center on the business and finance fields. Other choices do exist, but with these programs, it is particularly vital to ensure accreditation is in order.

The types of distance learning programs available online will vary with each institution offering them. Some schools provide their full course schedule online; others only offer select programs.

When these programs are selected, it is important for students to check into accreditation and also to be prepared for some work. While the classes do take place online, they are real college-level classes. This means reading, and a lot of it. It also means tests, reports, research and more.

Distance learning programs can open doors for all manner of degree programs. Whether a student is seeking certification in a particular area or they want to go on for a doctorates degree, many programs can be found online, making it easier for students to obtain the education they desire.

For more information on distance learning, try visiting http://www.distancelearningopportunities.com - a website that specializes in providing distance learning related tips, advice and resources including information on distance learning programs.

Why You Shouldn't Choose an Online High School?

By: Thomas Nixon

I can tell you that online high schools are a wonderful invention. I can tell you these schools suit many learners. However, I can also tell you that they are most assuredly not for everyone. Yes, students do drop out of online high schools and in numbers that represent a significant percentage of students.

I like online high schools. I have written a book about online high schools. And, yet, I get these heart-wrenching emails from parents wanting to "fix" their child's education. Little Johnny or Little Peggy Sue has been kicked out of their third high school for poor behavior.

How can you know which is the right choice for you and your child? Take a look at these five "rules" and see where you fall. Nothing is absolute. All five of these could describe you and it still may be worth the effort. Only you can know what you are willing to do.

1. Don't choose an online high school if you have trouble working independently: - Online high schools are most successful for students who can get the job done. If it was hard getting the work done when you had multiple teachers, a guidance counselor, parents, and friends all encouraging you, how much harder will it be when you have to do all that yourself?
2. Don't choose an online high school if you have been kicked out of many other high schools: - The one caveat is that you have someone in your life who is willing to act like a school teacher for you and push you to get work done. Again, this is not an absolute. Evaluate what gets you kicked out of school. Is it something that will not spill over into your online high school?
3. Don't choose an online high school if you are not willing to work hard: - This is most decidedly not easier than attending class each day. The drop-out rate for online high schools is significant. You will work hard. You will likely work harder than most public schools require.
4. Don't choose an online high school if you are not willing to choose an accredited school (no matter how much you may like the program): - Why make your life harder than it has to be? Unaccredited schools are not typically acceptable to employers and colleges. The one exception would be programs authorized by state departments of education.
5. Don't choose an online high school if you are using it to escape: - I offer this one carefully because the word "escape" has many meanings. Escaping public schools by going online is an acceptable choice. Escaping five-day-a-week school can be more problematic. Often these students think that life would be so much more grand if they could only go to class in their jammies and wake up whenever they like. Be careful!

I still think online high schools are a great option for many students for a variety of reasons. Just make sure that you have thoroughly thought out all of your options before you embark on that new adventure.

About the Author:

Thomas Nixon is the author of Complete Guide to Online High Schools: Distance learning options for teens & adults. In it, he details how to earn a high school diploma online. The companion website, BestOnlineHighSchools.com, is the premier source of information on online high schools. His website is ThomasNixon.com.

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Welcome To The World Of Online Associate Degrees - Information And Courses

By: Will Robins

When you think of a college education, you immediately think of bachelor degrees. The majority of society actually knows very little about the degree system and tends to band the options offered for post-high school education together. However, taking a bachelor is not the only option as a first rung on the ladder of high education. You can opt to take an associate degree online as an alternative to a bachelor degree. An online associate degree education differs greatly from a bachelor degree in a number of key areas, and the purpose of this article is to show you that difference.

Associate degrees online are marketed as two-year courses, which is markedly different to bachelor degrees because they are usually expected to last four years. However, it is possible to complete both degree programs in a much shorter period of time if you take them online and demonstrate sheer hard work and dedication to your education. Taking an associate degree online can be useful if you are unsure of the direction that you want to take in life and are not set on one specific career path. In effect, getting an online associate degree education is the equivalent of taking a community college degree and can always be used as a foundation for a bachelor degree at a later date.

If you take a bachelor degree then you either earn the title of Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science. Associate degrees online work in exactly the same way. You can achieve an AA (Associate of Arts) or an AAS (Associate of Applied Sciences). Within these boundaries, the choice of online associate degree education is immense. There are thousands of associate degrees online just waiting for your application. They are all designed to provide a foundation in general education but provide specialization in a certain subject in your second year. Some of the best associate degrees online are listed below:

• AA Liberal Arts – Saint Leo University Online
• AA General Studies – University of Phoenix
• AAS Criminal Justice Technology – ECPI College Of Technology
• AA Early Childhood Education – Penn Foster Schools
• Associate’s Homeland Security – FMU Online
• AAS PC Maintenance Technology – Penn Foster Schools
• AAS Criminal Justice/Corrections – Kaplan University
• AAS Health Information Technology – DeVry University

The eight courses listed above are just samples of the many associate degrees online and serve to highlight the choices available. There is something for everyone under the heading of associate’s degree and all of the major colleges and universities offer them. All you have to do now is find the right one for you!

You can also find more information on Long Distance Learning and College Vs. Online Degrees . Onlineuniversitydegreehelp.com is a comprehensive resource to know importance of college degree.

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Truths You Should Know About Online Degrees

By: M.J. Joseph

Searching for a college can be a daunting task, especially when you are not sure what is true and what is false about certain types of colleges. When it comes to taking college classes online, there are many people that are misinformed. Here are six myths about online colleges:

Online courses are easier than traditional brick and mortar college classes.
False. This is a huge misconception about online colleges. Online college courses are actually typically more difficult than traditional college classes. By taking a class online, you are assuming all responsibility to learn on your own time. Whether you listen to a lecture by your instructor that is streamed online or you have to take the time out of your own schedule to go over some slides online to take a quiz, you take the responsibility to learn the information. Although the instructors are helpful and respond promptly when you ask them a question, they will not baby sit you and make sure you get your stuff done, so you have to be organized and responsible enough to complete the assigned tasks on your own time.

Employers look down upon online college degrees.
False. Employers do take into consideration that you earned your degree online, but not for reasons you might think. With many jobs available in the workplace that require employees to work under little or no supervision, responsibility and organization are two of the main qualities employers are looking for in a good worker. By taking online classes and earning your degree, you prove that you are hard working, dedicated to learning and organized enough to work on your own time and under your own management.

A degree from an online school isn't quite as good as one from a brick and mortar college.
False. A degree from any college is good, as long as the college is accredited. Nowadays, one main qualification for a high-paying job is an education and a college degree. Workers without a college degree are usually left behind when it comes to being promoted in any area of work. College-educated employees earn almost double the wages as high school-educated workers, and with so many people starting to go to college, we can only expect the gap to expand even more.

There is no social interaction or communication with other students or instructors.
False. With the advancement of the internet, there is a lot of communication between students. There are chat rooms, classroom discussions and instant messaging services to keep in contact with not only your classmates, but your instructors. Even in traditional brick-and-mortar colleges, students often keep in touch with classmates and professors via some type of electronic medium. Many professors at four-year institutions actually prefer to maintain contact with students through e-mail because of the ease and availability.

The credits you earn at an online college will not transfer to other colleges.
False. As long as your credits are earned from an accredited online university, they will most likely transfer to any college, including brick and mortar colleges and other online universities. Many online colleges actually have programs called transfer programs. In a transfer program, you take your general education classes at a technical or online college and transfer those credits to a four-year college or university, where you then decide your specific area of study.

You need to be a computer genius to earn your degree online.
False. There are many different types of people who take online courses that are not computer science majors. The programs that many online institutions use for learning online are very user-friendly, and instructors try to make it very simple for students to perform computer-related tasks, such as uploading their assignments or taking a quiz. There are many online resources that are available to students who wish to take a class online, including electronic libraries, instant messaging and online tutorials that help progress your online learning experience and education.

By making yourself aware about the truths of college, you can become educated about different colleges before you enter higher education. Research colleges, read articles and inform yourself about different colleges and different types of colleges.

About the Author:

M.J. Joseph is a freelance writer from Kansas City, MO. You can read more of his articles about distance learning, online education and general education at http://www.seek-onlinecollegedegree.com. For more information on colleges in your area, visit http://www.collegesearchengine.net

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Online High Schools and Accreditation: Make the Right Choice

By: Thomas Nixon

Choosing the right online high school involves more than just picking a school. It involves selecting a school with the right accreditation. Choosing wrong can damage your chances at getting into the college of your choice. Choosing right can get you where you want to be.

Accreditation can be confusing for those in the business. I can only imagine how it looks from the outside. There are both regional accreditors, national accreditors, and other specialized accreditors. While one would think that national accreditation would be the standard, regional accreditation has the reputation as being of the highest quality. Whether that is true is a question for a different time and article. However, there are most definitely colleges that would not accept a nationally-accredited diploma.

There are six regional accrediting bodies that accredit schools. Being accredited by one of these is the form of accreditation that is most widely accepted by colleges and universities in the United States. Oddly enough we have an accreditor of accreditors called the Council on Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA.org). It is responsible for governmental recognition of accreditors.

The six regionals are:

Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools (MSA)
Commission on Secondary Schools
www.css-msa.org

New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC-CIHE)
Commission on Public Secondary Schools
www.neasc.org/cpss/cpss.htm

North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCACASI)
Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement
www.ncacasi.org

Northwest Association of Accredited Schools
www.boisestate.edu/naas

Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS)
Council on Accreditation and School Improvement
www.sacscasi.org

Western Association of Schools and Colleges
Accrediting Commission for Schools
www.wascweb.org

In addition to the regional accreditors, there are specialized accreditors. The most well-known of these is the Distance Education and Training Council (www.detc.org). Located in Washington, D.C., it has the advantage of focusing solely on distance education. It's prominence is growing within accrediting circles and it is likely that one day it will be considered equivalent to regional accreditation.

Regardless of which accreditor you end up with, you should make sure that it is either a regional accreditor, DETC, or any other accreditor listed at CHEA.org. The only other option would be a high school that is recognized by a state department of education or a public school district. Make sure that it is the state's education department and not just a business license. Most anyone can get a business license to open a school, but it requires a much higher standard to be recognized by the department of education in a state.

Thomas Nixon is the author of Complete Guide to Online High Schools and is manager of CollegeAdvocates.com and BestOnlineHighSchools.com, an online high schools directory. He can be contacted through his website at ThomasNixon.com.

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A Criminal Justice Online Degree - Would You Dare To Take The Step?

Have you ever considered taking a criminal justice degree online? Let's do

A Little Thought Experiment

It's Monday night, and it has been a hard day at work. You left the cube farm and fought the freeway monsters to get home as fast as possible and you're beat. You grab a bag of potato chips and a Coke, and sit down to watch CSI. You love this series, especially the Miami show. Some version of CSI is always on some channel every night during the week, and you rarely miss it. Sometimes you dream about being a CSI Investigator yourself, but it's simply not possible.

Unlike most of us, it's not the blood-and-guts that make CSI fascinating to you. It's the forensic science the criminal investigators are applying. You'd sure rather be solving forensic puzzles than balancing profit-loss statements at your old office or wherever you work, but it's not possible, it's only a dream. You would you ever think that you could become a forensic detective?

Why the heck not? Why couldn't you be a CSI investigator? Yes, you probably would need to get a certain degree, probably in criminal justice or something like that. However, It's not impossible. You can get a criminal justice degree on the internet these days. If you think about it, getting a criminal justice degree from the net would remove most of the barriers to accomplishing that dream of yours.

When A Dream Comes True

But you as the rest of us have bills to pay, you say, and you can't just quit your job and go to school. That's all right. Nobody will stop you from continuing to scoop poop in the cube farm while you get your criminal justice degree online. You just take the classes when you're available. You might have to miss an occasional CSI episode or two to fit it in, but you'd be studying the real thing.

But there are years since you have been to school, and you're scared you won't succeed and your cube buddies would laugh at you. Please let me encourage you a bit here. Online education is made for adults. Many students will claim that it's more learner friendly that ordinary classroom education. New teaching technology combined with the internet makes it accessible and interesting and nobody has to know what you're doing until you are ready to tell them. You learn in the comfort of your own home. As far as I can see, it's the perfect solution.

It is possible indeed. You can make your dream come true. You could get your criminal justice degree online and become a CSI Detective. Or you can keep watching TV and making excuses, and four years from now you'll still be working in the cube farm. It's entirely up to you. You can do it if you really want to. Therefore, I think you should go for it. Yes, go for it!

Nic Haffner likes to publish accredited online degree articles. You can go to the website Online-Accredited-Degrees.net for more.

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How To Avoid Wasting Money on Online Degree Scams

By: David Dunlap

For every person hoping to achieve success and get an online education, there are many more companies and people trying to scam unsuspecting individuals. It goes without saying that these should be avoided at all cost. Of course, the best approach to avoiding online degree scams is to know your product before you buy.

Prospective online students should be on the lookout for things inside the degree offer that tout the benefits of distance learning, but provide little in the way of support for the student. A degree based on life experience alone may often not be worth the paper it is printed on. This can often be very hard for a "graduate" of diploma mills to understand, but most human resource managers would give you a blank stare if you mentioned this as a competitive qualification for employment.

A "money back guarantee" can mean nothing if the small legalese boilerplate says that only in extreme circumstances can you actually get your money back. If the work materials are out of date, poorly written, or the grading standards too harsh or unfair, to whom might you complain? The job market right now is extremely competitive. Gaining any kind of degree or credential that has questionable legitimacy can reduce your chances of being hired, promoted or recognized in your respective field.

Think about what you would do if your money was charged or your check for the "degree" cashed, and you received no diploma, certificate, or any documentation at all showing educational progress. Can you afford to sue a website or a company? Ask yourself before you enroll in any online program if there is not a more legitimate and trustworthy institution available. Why would you want to furnish identity information such as your name, address and telephone number (and IP address), credit, and social security data to strangers over the Internet anyway? Can you hire an attorney to travel to the place where the business is headquartered? Do you have a fine understanding of the legalities of suing a company that accepts money for 7-day high school equivalency courses? It’s likely they are ten steps ahead of you for any legal recourse.

Shop around and see why the "big" online schools near you don’t offer the same program, or call them and ask why. Often a look at the fine print will tell the story. Are there foreign or offshore company names, paragraph after paragraph of disclaimers, unlisted faculty, or minute clauses that state that the work being paid for is only coaching or instruction toward the goal of a degree and cannot be termed education? In order to prove you passed a course with a suspect, or possibly fraudulent, online company, could you produce screenshots of every question you answered correctly? Could you prove that these programs came from the company listed on your credit card? If you don’t receive a quality teaching experience, have you really achieved anything more than a piece of paper?

If you feel there is an online service you want to check, research the "school" or find discussion boards that tell about other student’s experiences. Do not trust testimonials from that site. Contact your state board of education or the county education offices where that school claims to be located. Ask the personnel there if they know of the school or have processed any inquiries or complaints. Keep in mind that a high school diploma obtained in another state may be legal there, but not where you live or work.

The worst thing about education scams is they injure the very people who are most deserving of help; the ones who are trying to better themselves and do what’s needed to get ahead. It is recommended that students act in their own defense first and contact local public school counseling offices or boards of education for advice first.

Looking to finally finish the degree that has been eluding you to this point? Wait no further - complete your online degree today! Get all the information needed to begin today at http://onlinedegreeservices.com

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