If not University of Phoenix for my degree, than who?

Question

After reading the New York Times article about UOP's recent legal troubles, lack of accreditation, student abuses, and fraud, my mind about them has thankfully been changed before I spent a dime. I will not be applying as I had planned.

But I do want to get a new degree. I am looking for a career shift, and was thinking of accounting. My work schedule doesn't allow me the ability to take traditional classes in a brick and mortar facility.

Do any of you know of a respectible institution that offers an online bachelors degree in accounting? Thanks.

Answer 1

You can earn your degree through "distance education" from a completely reputable state university.

The links below are the absolute best you will find. They contain more links to many well-respected state university distance education programs.

I would advise you to start by looking at your own state university system and check to see if they offer the programs and courses in which you are interested. If not, check out those of other states.(Pennsylvania and Maryland have great systems, for instance.) A degree from a state university will be recognized and respected as authentic by employers and academics everywhere.

Answer 2

It may be very difficult to find a reputable program that you can complete entirely online. Most online degrees are offered by vocational colleges like UOP and ITT Tech. Some reputable public and private colleges may offer online programs, but they are usually not very widely publicized and are generally for graduate degrees and/or certificates.

I highly recommend staying away from vocational colleges, I've taught at one a few years ago and the condition is rather horrible. You have a couple of options ... look to your local state colleges, especially the commuter schools (look at campus maps, the more parking structures they have, the more likely they are commuter schools), they are likely to offer evening, weekend and online courses that will eventually lead to a bachelor's degree (but it might take a while). Or you can consider doing a certificate program in accounting instead; many reputable colleges have extension programs that offer online certificate courses (for example: UCLA Extension). But if you are really determined to do a bachelor's degree at a reputable college, then you need to put in some time and work; find some reputable colleges and search their websites to see if any of them offer classes online that will lead to a bachelor's degree. There is no easy way to do this but to keep looking.

Good luck.

Answer 3

Don't listen to people that tell you that there are no accredited reputable schools that offer programs completely on-line. There are many schools out there that offer programs on-line (especially accounting programs) and they do publicize their programs on websites, newspapers, etc... All you have to do is research. There are many websites that can help you. One such website is www.geteducated.com. UoP has many problems but it is not a vocational school and it remains regionally accredited. I would suggest you don't go through UoP though due to its high costs and poor reputation. Here is a list of fully accredited schools that offer Bachelor degrees in accounting completely on-line. Some of these schools are "brick and mortar" schools and some are not, but they are all fully accredited. You do the research as to what school is right for you.

National University, AIB College of Business, City University, Colorado Technical University On-line, Liberty University, Mountain State University, Regis University, Saint Leo University , Southern New Hampshire University, Southwestern College, SUNY Empire State College, Thomas Edison State College, University of Maryland University College, University of Northwestern Ohio, Upper Iowa University, Western Governors University, Southern New Hampshire University, Touro University International.