Help with my online degree?

Question

I've been looking into going full-time at work and was looking at getting an online degree. As a full-timer I would get 100% reimbursment for school, so money is not an issue. I was looking into the University of Phoenix, but I've read A LOT of negative things about that school. The reason I was interested in them was because of their format. A full-time student takes one class for five weeks and then moves on one class at a time all year around. Does anyone have an suggestions of other colleges that offer a format like this that are a good ranking college? Also, I'm going for IT. Also, any actual experiences with the UOP would be appreciated. Also, I don't want the school to be strictly an online college, for resumee purposes. thank you!

Answer 1

I have no experience with UoP as an educator or a student but I do own stock in that company. I am a strong proponent of legitimate online delivery of higher education. It is the way that higher education is going in the 21st century. It IS NOT easier than classes in the classroom - it's actually harder for a number of reasons.

Almost every major university in the US now offers courses online and many offer degrees online.

The 5 week format isn't an advantage in my opinion - that makes the course even more difficult. There's no reason you can't take a full or 3/4 load on an 8 or 16 week format just as easily - it's the same course load over time.

Example: you take 1 course in five weeks and do this for 3 periods for 15 weeks. OR you take 3 courses over 16 weeks. You have accomplished the same task in the same time. It's just that the 16 week class gave you far more time to write those papers or complete a project.

The important thing is not the delivery mode (online or not) but the general reputation of the college you're attending.

Now, IT is a wide field of different majors. A few IT type online bachelor's you might want to explore are:

Austin Peay State
Cal State Chico
East Carolina
Eastern Michigan
Florida State
Kansas State
New Mexico State
NW Missouri State
Old Dominion
Southern Illinois - Carbondale
Southern New Hampshire
SUNY - Empire State
UMass - Lowell
U North Dakota
Utica
Western Kentucky

These are just a few, your options are far greater than those heavily advertised proprietary colleges.

Now, some people will tell you that online degrees aren't worth the money invested. Ask them which of the colleges on this list they don't approve of... ☺

Answer 2

I think to get an exclusively online degree is to miss out on the social aspect of college and have reduced interaction with your professor. A personal relationship with a prof or profs you like can be very rewarding. However, an online class or degree does take discipline because it typically requires daily log-ins and no follow up from the professor on projects. It is a trade off. And actually, your degree does not state whether the degree was obtained on-line or not. So your angle could be that you enjoyed the social learning and networking for a time then transitioned into the online classes so you could focus on self-development in a work situation.

Answer 3

if phoenix is near its easy travel. ignore the -ve stories u hear. its up to u to decide and do what u need to do. so no worries, u'll be ok. goodluck