Are online graduate schools okay or a rip off?

Question

I'm a stay at home mom and would like to get my Master's Degree. The closest college with my degree program is 100 miles away. Are the online colleges any good? I don't want to lose a lot of money. I will need loans to pay for it anyway.

Answer 1

I depends totally on the context in which the degree will be applied. Since online graduate programs tend to focus on professional job skills, and are catered for those already working a full-time job, or otherwise unable to attend a traditional graduate program they are extremely relevant to those trying to advance an already existing profession. Most employers that I know of don't make a distinction between where you get your degree -- they just care that you have a degree. However, there will always be places that would favor certain academic institutions over others -- for instance, one applicant has a Masters Degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California, San Diego, and the other has the same degree but from University of Phoenix. In most cases the former would be the preferred candidate (instead of the latter). All things taken into consideration though a Masters degree is still a Masters.

Within the academic community online (and other unconventional) programs are severely looked down upon. If you are looking to become a post-secondary educator (Junior College or University) you really don't want an online diploma (undergrad or graduate). I can tell you most graduate programs at reputable Universities will not accept credits from an on-line school. Furthermore, they usually won't even look at your application for employment if you don't have a degree from a "real" university. They are treated as second-class diplomas.

Answer 2

It really depends on two things, the school, and your effort.

There are alot of good "brick and mortar" (traditional) schools that have on-line programs now as the world has become more mobile. These programs have basically the same requirements of the on campus programs, except you won't get the same degree of interaction with the professors and other students.

There are widely ranging accreditation requirements for different schools based on their accrediting institution, and some are substantially better than others. Look up the accreditation of any school you are considering (and for the actual program when possible) and then see what other schools are accredited by that same organization. Then I'd even recommend checking out the websites of different schools with the same programs and seeing if the program requirements are similar. If your schools program seems much easier or different than other schools (particularly schools you already know to have a good reputation), then that is probably a good indicator that you should look elsewhere.

If you ask these newer online schools about their reputation and the quality of their education they will tell you that they are far supperior to what you can anywhere else. This is a bit frustrating because I'd rather choose a school based on it meeting my needs, and not it trying to convince me of something that with just a little bit of research I could prove concretely isn't true, or at least not true to the level that they are trying to sell it.

If I were you, I would definitely recommend you look for a traditional school that offers the degree you want on-line, and steer clear from the newer schools who have made their name almost entirely from their on-line offerings and have unfortunately become degree mills more than institutes of higher (and higher quality) learning. You should keep in mind too that alot of programs, regardless of where they are taught, do require at least a small amount of on-campus attendance. You may need to go for a few weeks at the beinning of the program, and then perhaps again at the beinning of the last year.

No matter where you go, the harder you're willing to work, the more you will get out of it, so before you give anyone your money, decide if you really want to put the extra effort and discipline into taking classes by yourself at home, or you'll end up losing alot of money even at a great school.

Answer 3

You can't NOT get your degree through an on-line program. As long as you pay your money (translated as PAY YOUR MONEY), you'll get your degree. They're diploma mills, in my opinion.

Answer 4

UNIVERSITY OF PHOENIX IS A GOOD ONE. I JUST GRADUATED FROM THEIR ONLINE PROGRAM AND IT WAS REALLY HELPFUL IN GETTING A JOB. THE COMPANIES THAT I TALKED TO THINK IT WAS A GOOD WAY TO JUDGE MY CHARACTER BECAUSE I WENT TO SCHOOL AND STILL WORKED FULL TIME.

Answer 5

It might be worth checking out www.graduate-education.org where there are some good short articles and links.

www.graduate-education.org