Sift Through the Hype and Get Your Online Degree

Like you, I was very frustrated when I first tried to wade into online education. I actually took a few classes via distance learning when I was getting my first degree. It was not until I decided to get a second degree in an unrelated field that I realized how difficult finding a good school might actually be. Due to concerns relating to work, I decided that getting an online degree would be far better for me than trying to commute an hour and a half to the closest college with a matching program. After months and months of beating around the bush and doing research, I finally chose the online degree that was right for me. The online degree I chose would obviously not be right for everyone and the school I chose may not be right for you, but I think these three principles will help you in your search to find the right online degree and online college to meet your needs.

Look At All Options

This may seem abundantly obvious to anyone who is searching for the right online degree program but it is not as easy as it looks. The big online schools, like the University of Phoenix Online, do a fantastic job at promoting their business. It may be really easy to be blinded by the dazzle. In the case of the University of Phoenix Online, some of that dazzle may be justified. However, that fancy marketing becomes part of your tuition and may not necessarily indicate a superior online education. When looking at all options, be sure to look for regional accreditation. This means that the school, and consequently your future online degree, are legitimate. Apart from that, consider degrees offered by public universities. Tuition rates tend to be lower and the online degree you are trying to get will carry the prestige associated with that college or university.

Cost is King

This should be obvious to anyone, but I am shocked to see how many people shell out so much money when they could save that money by making better choices. Most of us are choosing an online education because it helps our career prospects. Since most employers are interested primarily in the legitimacy of the degree, as long as your choice is accredited, then you are probably safe. There are, of course, exceptions to this rule, but on the whole the least expensive accredited option will do. Typically, the least expensive options are public institutions which are running as non-profits or are heavily subsidized by their respective states.

Consider Other Perks

Be conscious of what comes with the degree. In the case of Western Governors University (more on this at the end), some online degrees include books and testing fees with the tuition. Think about that for a minute. Textbooks are mythically expensive but you can avoid that cost altogether, in some cases, by simply choosing the right school. Other online schools offer extensive experience, either through limited residency programs or rich online education experiences. Does the degree include professional certifications as well? In the case of Western Governors University, the IT programs include lots and lots of very useful and marketable industry-standard certifications from CompTIA, CIW, Sun and Microsoft. By themselves, those certifications dramatically enhance your career prospects and the the testing fees are included with the tuition! Anyone who has ever forked over a few hundred dollars for a chance at one of those exams can appreciate the generosity there.

My Choice

In my long and grueling search for an online school, one choice kept coming back. I was very impressed with the IT choices at University of Phoenix Online but the tuition scared me a bit. I looked for good programs at public universities but I was a bit disappointed with the limited choices. Most were offering online classes but not online degrees. Western Governors University had the online degree for me. Their IT programs are spectacularly well designed. You get several highly valuable industry certifications and the coursework is entirely competency based which means that if you can pass the test, you get credit. They accepted nearly all my general education credit transfers and the tuition is dirt cheap. Because it is an online school created by a consortium of state governors, the tuition is unbeatable. The professionalism among the mentoring staff is phenomenal as well. Another very attractive feature for me was the fact that you pay for a term of 6 months. You can go as fast as you want in that 6 months and you do not have to pay any extra. In fact, you could get your entire online degree in one term if you could swing it. Books are included with the tuition, at least in that program.

Bottom Line

The bottom line is that you need to do your research before committing. Do not blindly go with what you see on television or on the Internet. Try to wade through the hype and consider the options, cost and perks. You will be very happy with your choice if you look at it through those lenses. Please stay tuned. I have several other blogs but I consider this a very important topic so I am going to try to get this one off the ground as well. If you are interested in writing a blog post for me, please send me an email using the form below.