Online College Degrees

Accreditation is a crucial part of the online university and college world because, to put it bluntly, there is no point in spending a bunch of time and that might include a project, and that could include a web education, if you were to find out afterwards that it is pointless. Sadly , there are some fake online faculties out there that may put you through the effort of working but finally only wants to take you cash and run.

I am sure that you’ve heard of the sites that you can actually buy a degree at, well universities that are not accredited are a little like that but sadly don’t have any morals. They can ask you to submit work, complete tests and such like and so will give you a good dose of heartache at the same time.

It is vital to check out a university’s accredited status before you begin to consider applying, not to mention essentially apply, because you will have to send a fee or deposit with the application. Commissioned status should be put on the varsity homepage and the “about us” page that any university that operates online should have. It should be simply recognisable as a seal of accreditation.

If it is not then you could have to search a bit more on the web site. However, rule number one is that if there is no accreditation at all on the net university internet site then walk away. If none are displayed than the likelihood is they don’t have commissioned standing to begin with.

However, any seal of accreditation can be simply researched to ensure that it is genuine. An easy Google search should exhibit as to if or not the company that have given a web varsity accreditation actually exists and indeed its own credentials. It is important that you trace it back to who has basically set it up, when it was established and whether it is associated with another educational body or not.

For example, the School of Phoenix, displays its accreditation for everyone to see. If you then analyzed the source, you would find that it is really part of the Texas schooling system and the Texas academic system as well. This should give you peace of mind to understand that efforts will not vain if you do select to attend this school rather than another one further down the line.

Accreditation should mean a lot to the average individual that does decide to take an internet course as it could mean the difference between a bright future and a sour one as you did not take some to check it in the 1st place and also the fact that a lot of you hard earned money has vanished, leaving you with completely zilch to show for it.

The golden rule is to never select a faculty which has a fake accreditation because employers could dig up that information and it might hinder you from getting the job that you have always wanted. This is by no fashion fair on you but unfortunately is the savage truth. Accreditation is everything in the planet of online education. Without it, all that you are left with is a bit of paper.

Just a few more details as a follow up from our previous post.

Ivy League courses are evolving. Keep checking around and looking at blogs and the school’s web site for more information. They may go full swing into the distance learning mode in the near future.

For instance, Yale has announced that beginning in the 2007-08 academic year, they will offer digital video of taped lectures for free online. Again, these are not meant to be used towards a full degree, but you can get the benefit of the class experience.

In keeping with that trend, Harvard has made the same videotaped lectures available online for graduate and undergraduate credit. Not a full degree but a real nice experience nevertheless if you really WANT to try an Ivy League school.

The presidents of both schools have made statements about marrying information technology with education in a distance learning environment.

The long and short of it is that the application requirements will be the same as if you were applying in person, you really will need to have a great portion of your tuition on hand to attend the courses that are there online. Even then, I must emphasize, you will not have the option of taking a full degree online at an Ivy League institution: just the experience of hearing the material.

If you have ever wanted to know what it is like to attend an Ivy League school like Yale, Harvard or Boston College, you may get that chance sometime soon. These learning institutions are coming around to the “distance learning” mindset of today’s student body. So here are a few things to know about taking online courses at Ivy League schools.

Yale was the first one to venture into the distance learning arena a couple of years ago. Harvard has followed suit progressively. But there is a twist you need to understand before trying to apply for these courses.

Ivy League colleges have taken the step towards online education, howbeit carefully. You are able to get the benefit of a partial education. However, as of this date, there are NO completely online courses available at these institutions.

What you can get from Harvard or Yale or any Ivy League institution is access to videotaped lectures and even class materials. The catch is that what you learn is not transferable to a degree program. Some schools have added online coursework for undergraduate and graduate credits. This is not a full degree program and probably won’t be for some time, so taking a Harvard online course or a Yale online course is not completely what it sounds like.

You can apply as you normally would for any higher education school. If you are serious about taking an Ivy League online course, tuition will be the biggest block. Some schools have payment programs and accept Pell grants and other financial aids. But there is always a portion that you pay out of pocket. For the most part, if you don’t have the FULL payment out front, you will not be granted access to Ivy League courses.

This is part two in our series on applying to take a course at a Chrsistian College.  Of course, much of this is true as well if you are looking at doing an entire degree program.  So, whether just one course an entire degree, this is some information you can use.

My personal background, so that you know, is that I am graduate of a B.A. and an M.A. from a Christian College.  I also taught for six years at a Chrisitan university in the Dallas, Texas area.  So, here are a couple more things you will want to consider when looking at your application to apply to take a course at a Christian college. 

When you start to fill out your application here are some tips that will help you stand out from other applicants.

• Letters of Reference – You may want to consider including with your application letters of reference. Some of the most effective letters come from pastors, church elders or deacons, or perhaps the choir director (if the case warrants it). Having others that confirm and testify to your Christian beliefs can go a long way to help you get accepted.

• Statement of Faith – One item that you will find that many Christian online colleges will require that their secular counterparts will not ask for is a statement of faith. You should have a brief (usually one typed page is adequate) summary of your testimony and what your faith means to you. Keep it simple and genuine as over indulgent testimony just sound corny and insincere.

In a few days or so (as soon as I can get a good list together) I am going to post several Christian colleges and univerisities you may want to check out that have online course offerings, or entire degree programs.  It certainly won’t be an exhaustive list, so right now I am looking at a way to narrow the focus in building the list.

This is going to be a 3-part series on applying to take online courses at a Christian college.  There are many good Christian colleges where you can take classes taught by Christian professors, rather than getting pounded by some liberal professor pushing some agenda you don’t want.  Some people just want to take a history course, a business course, etc.  So, we are putting together some tips that you can use.

• Part 1 – Before you apply
• Part 2 – Your application
• Part 3 – Some specific Christian colleges

If you are a Christian and you have already determined that the best way for you to get a college education is by attending college online then you may be looking for some tips for getting started. Christian online colleges offer the same types of education those other colleges online may offer the biggest difference will be that they actually have the same belief system that you have and incorporate God and Jesus into their curriculum.

There are several factors that you should consider as you begin to narrow down your choose of schools to attend. The application process for any school can be long and tedious when you are filling them out so have all the necessities together before you get started. Here are a few tips to help you with choosing an online college that will meet all your needs.

• Accreditation -The first thing that you need to do is check to make sure that the college you are looking at is fully accredited. It is unfortunately but oftentimes you can run into schools that are not properly accredited and then when you are ready to either transfer to another school or present your diploma you find out that the credits you have earned are non-transferable or not recognized as legitimate credits.

One of the things about some Christian colleges is they are not accredited by one of the nationally recognized, regional acrediting bodies.  Make sure it is.  You don’t want to waste any time or money on a course that won’t transfer or count for work credit.

• Requiring Help -Another very important thing that you will need to check is if you have problems understand the curriculum or need to reach the professor for any other reason how do you do it. With an online course your professor could have hundreds of students and may be hard to reach so you need to find out what the college’s procedures are with regards to needing help.

• Financial Aid – If you are worried about the cost of getting an online degree you may be pleasantly surprised to find out that many online colleges offer financial aid. Check with them first and weigh out all your financial options, they may also be able to send you toward some Christian based scholarships that you may have been unaware of.

Part 2 is coming soon.  We are going to discuss what to do after you apply and some of the things you need to know that might be different on a college application from a Christian collge.

Here are more tips for choosing an online college.  I posted 3 other tips, in my previous post you may want to check out too.

1. The next thing that you will want to look into when selecting an online college is the type of prerequisites that institution has in place for students. If you are interested in joining a particular online college, it is important to know and understand what expectations they have in place for new students. Knowing whether or not you qualify for acceptance is a key component in ensuring that you have made the right educational choice.

2. When selecting an online college, it is important to ensure that all of the coursework that is issued to students is done in a virtual classroom. Many online colleges offer courses in the virtual classroom, as well as the traditional brick and mortar classroom. It is important to know what is expected in this area prior to committing to the university.

3. Last, but not least, you should take into consideration what others think of the online college, as well as any relevant experiences that they have had with the online college. this will give you a good idea of what to expect when you are a student yourself.

As you can see, there are many important considerations to be made when it comes to online colleges. The tips listed here will help you to determine if a particular college is right for you.