With college tuition climbing, prospective students may be wondering whether that college degree is really worth it. The short answer: yes. Bachelor’s degree holders earn an average of 88 percent more than high school graduates, an additional $23,300 per year. Over a lifetime, they net $2.1 million compared to $1.2 for a high school graduate.

The gap widens further for degrees in areas such as business, healthcare, and technology. Here’s a look at which degrees get the most mileage in the marketplace.

1. Master of Business Administration (MBA)

There’s a reason the MBA is the most popular graduate degree program on campus. Business school graduates experience an average 35 percent increase from their pre-MBA salary. Entry-level MBAs can expect a paycheck 71 percent higher than they would have received with a bachelor’s degree. Those bonuses more than offset the cost of tuition.

Financially savvy MBA candidates can lessen the impact of tuition costs by continuing to work and taking advantage of low-interest student loans. A U.S. Department of Education study found that three out of four business school students worked more than 35 hours per week while completing their MBA. Online MBA programs play a role in this trend, allowing working adults to work toward the degree after business hours.

Bottom Line: Two years in business school will pay dividends for a lifetime–both in terms of higher pay and broader career opportunities.

2. Bachelor of Science in Engineering (BS in Engineering)

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, starting salaries for engineers are among the highest for all college graduates. Four years in the college engineering classroom can net graduates an average starting salary of around $50,000. Petroleum engineers lead the pack with a median salary of $60,718 in 2007, with chemical engineers not far behind. Overall, engineers in the various specialties earn median salaries ranging from $65,000 to $100,000.

Bottom Line: A bachelor’s degree in engineering provides the right balance of applied job skills and general college education to unlock real value in the job market.

3. Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree

Nursing is the success story of the current economy; the BLS calls the job outlook “excellent,” citing 23 percent job growth overall, up to 39 percent in physician offices. The booming demand for nurses, which already constitutes the largest sector of the health care job market at 2.9 million, translates into salaries, benefits, student loan forgiveness programs, and even signing bonuses.

A four-year BSN is one of three routes to licensure as a registered nurse. Other options include the two- to three-years Bachelor of Science in Engineering (BS in Engineering) or the three-year Registered Nursing diploma. The BSN offers the broadest opportunities of the three.

Bottom Line: An aging population promises a strong future-and a stable income-for nurses, even amid economic downturn.

4. Associate Degree in Paralegal Studies

Paralegals are taking on more tasks previously reserved for attorneys-with a college education that costs a fraction of their J.D.-holding colleagues. A two-year associate degree in Paralegal Studies is the most common route into a paralegal career. Full-fledged attorneys, by contrast, spend six years in college-four years to earn a bachelor’s degree and then two years at a professional law school. Nevertheless, paralegals are entrusted with high-level roles such as research analysis and preparing legal documents.

An experienced paralegal makes an average salary of $65,368. Considering that the average total cost for an associate degree at an online or campus-based college is $26,400, the degree will pay for itself many times over.

Bottom Line:Paralegals enjoy a direct route from community college classroom to courtroom, without missing out on the benefits of a legal paycheck.

5. Associate of Applied Science in Information Technology (AAS in IT)

The IT department is no longer the province of high-school computer geeks and prodigies without a college degree. Advancing technology and job market competition have made an associate or bachelor’s degree a basic qualification for an IT career. Even college dropout Bill Gates has since gone on to finish his Harvard bachelor’s degree. Two years in school can afford techies with a wealth of applied skills in network, database, and systems administration; computer programming, Web design, and more. An IT specialist makes an average salary of $62,521; managers average $83,350.

Bottom Line: Applied training in Information Technology carries significant value in an information economy, and IT salaries show it.

Higher education is worth the investment in nearly any field-but some degrees are worth more than others. Some job skills can be learned “live,” in the workplace, but a college degree affords the foundation for on-the-job training-and a foot in the door.

Thank you to Yahoo! Education for this original post.

McKenzie says, “It’s official.”

This Rhinelander mother of two recently graduated from the University of Phoenix with high honors.

McKenzie says, “After he handed me the actual diploma and I walked back down the stairs it was amazing, I knew I had finally finished.”

It’s a bittersweet journey she started 24 years ago at the University of Stevens Point. With only 9 credits to go – the work force was calling her name.

McKenzie says, “I’m kind of doing it backwards. I didn’t really know what I wanted to do when I grow up. It took me a litte longer.”

But 18 months ago she took charge. Nancy joined thousands of others who want to go back to school but can’t quit their current jobs and signed up online to complete her degree.

McKenzie says, “School can work itself into your life. You don’t have to work your life around school. It’s convenience.”

But she’ll tell you it’s not always easy.

McKenzie says, “It got to the point of what can I give up?”

For more than a year and half she cracked open her book – or we’ll say laptop – seven days a week for three to four hours a day.

The traditional face to face student teacher contact isn’t totally lost in cyber space. Nancy says there’s always a student or teacher ready to help somewhere beyond this screen.

McKenzie says, “It would be like someone raising their hand in the classroom and answering a question only you just don’t see them raising their hand. That’s the only difference.”

With family watching her cross this stage it only seems fitting now to reminisce by watching her dreams come true online.

McKenzie says, “For a lesson for my two children I wanted them to see that at no matter what age when you start something you can always finish it.”

McKenzie says she’s planning on going back to get her masters online.

Thank you to WJFW Channel 12 for this original post.

The factor that will close that “enthusiasm gap” is the growing use of distance education by well-respected universities, Mr. Zogby predicts in the book, The Way We’ll Be: The Zogby Report on the Transformation of the American Dream (Random House).

The book, which is based on Zogby International polls and other studies, also touches on public attitudes toward politics, consumer habits, spirituality, and international affairs, and on what men and women really want from each other. Mr. Zogby says polls detect signs of society’s emerging resistance to big institutions, and its de-emphasis on things and places. “We’re redefining geography and space,” he says — and a widening acceptance of online education is part of that trend.

Today there is still a “cultural lag” between the public’s desire for flexible ways to take college courses and what the most-established players offer, Mr. Zogby said in an interview with The Chronicle. “There’s a sense that those who define the standard haven’t caught on yet,” he said.

But Mr. Zogby writes that polling by his organization shows that attitudes about online education are changing fast. His polling also points to other challenges that colleges will face as they race to serve a worldwise generation of 18-to-29-year-olds that Mr. Zogby calls “First Globals.”

In one 2007 poll of more 5,000 adults, Zogby International found that 30 percent of respondents were taking or had taken an online course, and an additional 50 percent said they would consider taking one. Those numbers might skew a little high, he said, because the poll was conducted online and the definition of an online course was broad, including certificate programs or training modules offered by employers.

Only 27 percent of respondents agreed that “online universities and colleges provide the same quality of education” as traditional institutions. Among those 18 to 24 years old, only 23 percent agreed.

An even greater proportion of those polled said it was their perception that employers and academic professionals thought more highly of traditional institutions than online ones.

Rapid Shift in Attitude

Yet in another national poll in December 2007, conducted for Excelsior College, 45 percent of the 1,004 adults surveyed believed “an online class carries the same value as a traditional-classroom class,” and 43 percent of 1,545 chief executives and small-business owners agreed that a degree earned by distance learning “is as credible” as one from a traditional campus-based program.

Differing attitudes in two polls taken within a year, Mr. Zogby said, show that “the gap was closing” — and he said that wasn’t as surprising as it might seem. As with changing perceptions about other cultural phenomena, “these paradigm shifts really are moving at lightning speed.”

That, said Mr. Zogby, is why he writes about online universities in a chapter — “Dematerializing the Paradigm” — that discusses the rise of car-sharing companies like Flexcar (now merged with Zipcar), the emergence of Internet blogs as a source of news and information, and the popularity of microbrewed beer.

And while it may be true that microbrews and Zipcars, at least, are still very much niche products, Mr. Zogby says they are signs of transcendent change — just like the distance-education courses that are being offered by more and more institutions across the country. “When you add up all the niche products, it’s a market unto itself,” he said.

In the book, Mr. Zogby also highlights the emerging influence of the First Globals, whom his book calls “the most outward-looking and accepting generation in American history.” First Globals, he says, are more socially tolerant and internationally aware.

It is these First Globals, he writes, who are shaping what he says is nothing short of a “fundamental reorientation of the American character away from wanton consumption and toward a new global citizenry in an age of limited resources.”

Higher education, he said in the interview, needs to take notice and adapt. These days, he said, students are much more likely to have experienced other cultures firsthand, either as tourists or because they have immigrated from someplace else. Whether college for them is a traditional complex of buildings or an interactive online message board, said Mr. Zogby, “there is a different student on campus.”

Thank you to The Chronicle of Higher Education for this original post

Between traveling across the country, training and showing horses and being a teenager, Katelyn Hood fits school in where she can. It’s usually in the evenings through iQ Academy, an online program geared toward students who have situations that prevent them from going to a bricks and mortar high school.

Katelyn is an award-winning horse showman and trainer from Westmoreland who is working to complete her high school education through the online program. The local iQ Academy runs through Manhattan High School.

Katelyn and her mare, Just Say It, recently won fifth place in a field of 80 at the World Show for Showmanship in the 15-18 year old category She was also top five at the World Show for the Halter competition.

Thanks to the availability of online courses at Lower Columbia College, he’s been able to pursue a degree in human services while continuing to work full-time as a piping inspector in the maintenance department.

“For someone in my station in life it would be almost impossible to earn the degree without the online option,” Nichols said.

With a 216 percent increase in online enrollment this summer over last summer, LCC is leading the state in online course growth. The college now has 235 online students, 110 more than a year ago.

The growth increase is “absolutely unheard of,” said Cable Green, eLearning director for the State Board of Community and Technical Colleges.

“(Online) course numbers typically go up 15 percent each year.”

“The big question people are asking is, ‘Is it the gas price?’ The answer seems to be ‘yes,’” Green said, based on a recent survey by the state board.

Saving gas may be especially helpful for students who live in rural counties, such as Cowlitz and Wahkiakum counties, which have less access to public transportation, said Scott Dennis, eLearning manager at LCC.

Sheila Vanderford, 52, of Clatskanie says going to LCC online helps her save gas. The cost of the classes is the same as going to school in person, but both Vanderford and Nichols say they like the flexible schedule of online education.

“The time availability is a huge thing,” said Nichols, who is limited by his job to taking classes at night.

Students with jobs and families especially appreciate the flexibility of an online schedule, Green said.

Nationwide, online course enrollment has been growing, especially in community colleges, Dennis said. The Sloan Consortium, an organization that promotes the expansion of online learning, reports two-year colleges account for over half of all online enrollments in higher education the last five years.

Academic leaders say the most critical ingredient to online learning is the need for extra discipline on the part of students, according to the Sloan Consortium report.

“Distance learning courses by their nature require the student to be more self-motivated and disciplined than most on-ground courses,” Dennis said. “Consequently, many advisors will not advise students into distance courses if they think self-motivation may be a problem.”

Ideally, an online student will take a more active role in their education, Dennis said. “The online instructor goes from being the ‘sage on the stage’ to the ‘guide on the side.’ “

Dennis said LCC’s faculty has risen to meet the demand for online courses. At LCC, “a lot higher portion of faculty are engaged or trained in online learning,” he said. Unlike many colleges, LCC offers biology labs and language courses online, he said.

Getting comfortable with online learning is “a steady progression,” Dennis said. “A professor might be resistant and next quarter more comfortable.”

The college offers some degrees completely online, like a program for registered nurses, but most students take classes partially online, Dennis said. Such “hybrid” courses require students to go to the classroom part-time and take classes online part-time.

Vanderford takes a “hybrid” human relations course and said she regrets not meeting her online classmates face-to-face.

Alleviating feelings of isolation on the part of the students and making sure they have good pathways of communication is a big concern, Dennis said.

Going to school online has required Nichols to bridge the generation gap in technology.

“We didn’t even have computers until I was in my 30s,” he said. “It’s not intimidating like people think. …ANGEL at LCC is extremely straightforward.”

ANGEL is an online learning management system introduced at the college with the help of a recently-expired, five-year federal grant.

This year an online system shared by 34 colleges statewide switched to ANGEL. Having adopted it four years ago, LCC is ahead of the curve in learning the system, Dennis said.

The federal grant also helped the college get ahead in updating classroom technology, training faculty, and eliminating student fees, Dennis said.

In community colleges, “technology is typically paid for with student fees,” he said. “When technology is paid for with student fees some faculty are less likely to adopt it to save the students from being assessed the fee.”

Though the federal grant has expired, Dennis said the college plans to continue to pay technology fees through its regular operating budget.

“If it wasn’t for this option I wouldn’t have a chance,” Nichols said. “This way I can get my next career in line before I retire.”

Thank you to The Daily News Online for this original post.

Are you interested in finding out more about Furthering your Career?

The website presents a new channel through which customers can shop for Apple products, and will be available exclusively to students and teachers in the UAE in its initial stages.

Patrick Beyrouti, Education Manager, Arab Business Machine Ltd (ABM) commented on the changing trends in the education field, saying, “Students in this region are becoming more and more technologically advanced and as a result, they are adjusting their study habits to fit in with their more digitally focused lifestyles.”

“A new generation of students expects a learning environment that integrates today’s digital tools, accommodates a mobile lifestyle, adapts to individual learning styles and encourages collaboration and teamwork.”

“At this stage, only Apple product and solutions provide all the resources that educators need to create a twenty-first century learning environment with reliable, cost-effective hardware, built-in digital authoring tools, basic skills solutions, distribution, access and management products, including professional development tools,” adds Beyrouti.

There is a growing number of educational institutions in the Middle East offering more chances at a higher education. Education hubs are emerging across the region and Apple’s immersion in the Middle East education market is one of the ways in which it hopes to enrich academic lives through Apple technologies.

“The students of today will be the decision-makers of tomorrow; we recognize the importance of technological support for the education market in this region, and are excited to be a part of its development and expansion,” says Beyrouti, “urging educational institutions and individuals to adopt Apple early on; eventually the graduating students will be demanding and using Apple hardware and software products in their jobs.

Thank you to Al Bawaba for this original post.

BEREA, Ky. — Berea College, founded 150 years ago to educate freed slaves and “poor white mountaineers,” accepts only applicants from low-income families, and it charges no tuition.

“You can literally come to Berea with nothing but what you can carry, and graduate debt free,” said Joseph P. Bagnoli Jr., the associate provost for enrollment management. “We call it the best education money can’t buy.”

Actually, what buys that education is Berea’s $1.1 billion endowment, which puts the college among the nation’s wealthiest. But unlike most well-endowed colleges, Berea has no football team, coed dorms, hot tubs or climbing walls. Instead, it has a no-frills budget, with food from the college farm, handmade furniture from the college crafts workshops, and 10-hour-a-week campus jobs for every student.

Berea’s approach provides an unusual perspective on the growing debate over whether the wealthiest universities are doing enough for the public good to warrant their tax exemption, or simply hoarding money to serve an elite few. As many elite universities scramble to recruit more low-income students, Berea’s no-tuition model has attracted increasing attention.

“Asking whether that’s where our values lead us is a powerful way to consider what our values are,” said Anthony Marx, the president of Amherst College, who considered the possibility of using Amherst’s $1 million-per-student endowment to offer free tuition but concluded that it would make no sense, given Amherst’s more affluent student body and the fact that the college already subsidizes about half the cost of each student’s education.

“We’re not Berea, much as we respect them,” Mr. Marx said, adding there would be no social justification for giving free tuition to students from wealthy families.

Although this year’s market drop is taking its toll, the growth in university endowments in recent years has been spectacular. Harvard’s $35 billion endowment, Yale’s $23 billion, Stanford’s $17 billion and Princeton’s $16 billion put them among the world’s richest institutions.

Such endowments have helped make higher education one of the nation’s crown jewels. As Harvard’s president, Drew Gilpin Faust, said in her spring commencement speech this year, endowments at Harvard and other research universities help fuel scientific advances as government support is eroding, and help drive economic growth and expansion in a difficult economy.

Although most universities have only modest endowments, the wealth of the richest has made them increasingly vulnerable to criticism from parents upset about rising tuition costs, lawmakers pushing them to spend more of their money and policy experts arguing that they should be helping more needy students.

“How much do you need to save for future generations, and at what point are you gouging today’s generation?” said Lynne Munson, of the Center for College Affordability and Productivity in Washington.

In January, the Senate Finance Committee requested detailed endowment and spending data from 136 colleges and universities with endowments of at least $500 million, with a possible eye to forcing them to spend at least 5 percent of their assets each year, as foundations are required to do. Large, tax-free endowments “should mean affordable education for more students, not just a security blanket for colleges,” said Senator Charles E. Grassley, Republican of Iowa, who is reviewing the data.

The commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service’s tax-exempt section said this spring that he wanted his agency to be more aggressive in ensuring that universities made “appropriate use” of their endowments. And officials in Massachusetts are studying a proposal for a 2.5 percent tax on the part of university endowments greater than $1 billion — a threshold exceeded by nine of the state’s universities.

“The endowments have grown to such an astonishing extent that people are asking, if the wealth and the value of the tax exemption are increasing, is the public benefit increasing, as well?” said Evelyn Brody, a tax professor at Chicago-Kent College of Law.

This year, Ms. Brody said, the debate has entered new territory. Traditionally, discussion about endowments has focused on the balance between using the money for the current generation versus saving it for the benefit of future generations.

“Endowment spending has usually been a ‘when’ question, about when the money would be used for a charitable purpose,” she said. “But now, it’s also being viewed as a ‘what’ question. What is the money for? And I think that’s new.”

In part, it is simply a question of itchy fingers. When one sector amasses great wealth, other sectors find it irresistible.

“That’s why Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries in the 16th century,” Ms. Brody said. “In those days, it was real estate, which was not easy to hide. Now it’s the disclosure, which makes the universities’ wealth impossible to hide.”

The mounting scrutiny by lawmakers has already prompted some action. Dozens of wealthy colleges have increased their aid to low- and middle-income students, many substituting grants for loans. Many have announced plans to expand their student bodies, and some are doing broader outreach and working with nearby K-12 schools to improve academic preparation.

Nonetheless, according to 2002 data, only one in 10 of the students at the nation’s most selective institutions come from the bottom 40 percent of the income scale. And the proportion of low-income undergraduates at the nation’s wealthiest colleges has been declining, as measured by the percentage receiving federal Pell Grants, for families with income under about $40,000. At most top colleges, only 8 to 15 percent of students receive Pell grants.

At Berea, more than three-quarters of the students receive Pell grants.

Overall, Berea’s statistics speak worlds about the demand for affordable higher education; this year, the college accepted only 22 percent of its applicants. Among those accepted, 85 percent attended Berea, a yield higher than Harvard’s.

Berea can be a haven for the lower-income students at high schools where expensive clothes and fancy homes demarcate the social territory.

“When I first heard about Berea, I didn’t think I wanted to come here,” said Candice Roots, who will be a junior in the fall. “But I visited in my senior year, and as soon as I got here, I knew this was what I wanted. Everybody was like me. You don’t have to have all this money to fit in.”

With its hilly campus, Georgian president’s mansion and old brick buildings, Berea looks much like any elite New England college. But its operating budget is less than half that of Amherst, which has a $1.7 billion endowment and about 100 more students. Faculty pay is much lower, and the student-faculty ratio higher. With no rich parents and no legacy admission slots, fund-raising is far more difficult at Berea.

Lacking tuition, Berea receives 80 percent of its $43 million education and general budget, and about two-thirds of its $55 million operating budget, from the endowment income.

Families bringing a student to a campus interview may stay, free, in a four-bedroom house, complete with flat-screen television and handmade sleigh bed. Students who are single parents have their own residences.

To satisfy the work requirement, some students have jobs in the academic departments, administrative offices and labs, while others are assigned to the college farm, the workshops that make and sell traditional mountain crafts (its handmade brooms, especially, are well-known treasures) or the college-owned hotel, which anchors the town square.

Mr. Marx, in homage, keeps a Berea broom in his Amherst office.

While Mr. Marx is not trying to match Berea’s student population, he is proud of Amherst’s efforts to attract top students from all income brackets. The college has increased the proportion of Pell recipients to nearly 20 percent of its student body, from about 15 percent five years ago, for example. With more than half of Amherst’s students on financial aid, the college announced last year that it would replace loans in all aid packages with grants. A full-time staff member recruits community college graduates as transfer students. Admissions are need-blind, for both American and international applicants.

Although he, like other college presidents, opposes the idea of a required 5 percent payout, Mr. Marx said the current debate over the use of endowments was healthy.

“Congress, the media, the public all have an interest in knowing whether we’re using our resources to make sure the best students have access to the best education,” he said. “They should be asking, are we really affordable? Are we offering the highest quality education? Are we directing graduates to think about their social responsibilities?”

Berea’s president, Larry D. Shinn, also opposes a required 5 percent payout but wants colleges pushed to do more for needy students.

“You see some of these selective liberal arts colleges building new physical education facilities with these huge sheets of glass and these coffee and juice bars, and charging students $40,000 a year, and you have to ask, does this contribute to the public good, or is it just a way for the college to keep up with the Joneses?” Mr. Shinn said. “We are a tax-exempt institution, so I think the public has a right to demand that our educational mission be at the heart of all of our expenditures.”

Thank you to Tamar Lewin of The New York Times for this original post.
]]> http://onlinemastersmind.wordpress.com/2008/07/21/free-school/feed/ 0 mastersmind http://onlinemastersmind.wordpress.com/2008/07/08/how-to-get-cheaper-online-textbooks/ http://onlinemastersmind.wordpress.com/2008/07/08/how-to-get-cheaper-online-textbooks/#comments Tue, 08 Jul 2008 19:00:40 +0000 mastersmind http://onlinemastersmind.wordpress.com/?p=8 ]]> The high cost of textbooks is driving some students to download illegal copies of textbooks online, and others to rent them for only a semester.

Colorado Community Colleges Online is offering students another option. The distance-learning program, a consortium of 13 institutions in the Colorado Community College System, has teamed up with Pearson Education to offer digital textbooks at a one-time cost of $49 per student. The deal is the first of its kind between a major publisher and a public college system according to Rhonda M. Epper, co-executive director of learning technology for the Colorado online system. The $49 fee is rolled in with tuition.

Students can print any and all sections of the digital textbooks. They can also purchase custom black-and-white print versions via participating campus bookstores.

The program is being phased in gradually, beginning this summer. At the end of the 2008-9 academic year, students in 17 courses will be able to take advantage of the digital textbooks. By the spring of 2011, the Colorado online system expects that most students will be using the digital texts. To make course material more affordable, the Colorado online system is also using wikibooks and content from the National Repository of Online Courses.

Thank you to Wired Campus for the original post.

A. Online degrees can be a boon to your career and your life, as long you choose the right program and understand the commitment that will be involved.

Before you make the leap, be prepared to spend at least 10 to 20 hours a week, for at least one or two years, on your online learning — and possibly more, depending on the degree. And be aware that this type of education requires much more self-direction and self-discipline than traditional classes would.

Q. What does the online education process entail?

A. A lot of time in front of the computer. In most cases, educators record lectures off-line and upload them to a password-protected Web site for students to view when time permits.

Independent of these sessions, students are required to read supplemental texts, many of which are also available in electronic form — and downloadable from the class site.

A majority of online degree programs also involve discussion groups, in which students post comments and feedback to a Web-based discussion board.

Trent E. Gabert, associate dean of the College of Liberal Studies at the University of Oklahoma, Norman, notes that a growing number of discussion sessions occur in real time — in chat rooms where students can interact with one another and, sometimes, with their professor.

“All of these interactions are about the dialogue,” Mr. Gabert said. “When people communicate and work together, they learn.”

Q. How much do online degrees cost?

A. The price varies widely, but in many cases tuition fees are comparable to those at brick-and-mortar schools — minus the added cost of things like room and board. In online programs affiliated with state universities, fees can be less expensive for in-state residents.

Richard Garrett, program director and senior analyst at Eduventures, an education-oriented research firm in Boston, noted that with gasoline prices on the rise, indirect costs of online education might be lower, because students who work on degree programs from home don’t have to spend money on travel.

Q. How do employers view these degrees?

A. While every employer is different, Susan Kryczka, director of distance education at Boston University, said that most treat online degrees as equivalent to degrees obtained by attending classes in classrooms.

Ms. Kryczka said that many employers would cover online education as part of existing tuition reimbursement programs, provided that employees could prove that the online degree pertained to their current job.

Once employees have completed their degrees, she added, many are rewarded with additional compensation for advancing their education.

“Our students have reported very little pushback on the part of their employers,” said Ms. Kryczka, whose program offers eight graduate degrees online.

When employers are considering job applicants, online degrees are also becoming more accepted. Bob Leber, director of education and work-force development at Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding in Newport News, Va., says that when employers are evaluating prospective employees, most don’t ask applicants to specify how they obtained their degrees, just where they obtained them.

“It’s not like you have to put on your résumé that you got your master’s online,” Mr. Leber said. “All that matters is that you have a degree.”

Q. What are the downsides to online degree programs?

A. Professionals who opt for online degrees will almost certainly miss out on many of the impromptu lunches, barroom debates and other serendipitous learning experiences that occur on a college campus. You may also be less likely to make lasting personal and professional connections with your online classmates.

And be aware that your time-management skills will be put to the test. It won’t always be easy to concentrate on your schoolwork after a long day at the office.

But perhaps the biggest risk associated with online degree programs is that not all of the programs are created equal.

John Bear, co-author of “Bear’s Guide to Earning Degrees by Distance Learning” (Ten Speed Press), said prospective students should consider working toward online degrees only from accredited institutions, and should contact the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (www.chea.org) to make sure that the accreditations are legitimate.

“The popularity of online degrees has made the bad guys swarm out of the woodwork to the point where there’s now a whole world of bad and fake degrees,” said Mr. Bear, an educational technology consultant in El Cerrito, Calif. “Before you invest time and money, make sure you’re putting it in the right place.”

Thank you to The New York Times for this original post

Due to rising gas prices, online degree programs and distance learning options are skyrocketing according to a recent survey by Degree.com

Of those surveyed, 60 percent cited the high cost of gas as the reason for their interest in the internet education alternative

FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Degree.com, a website focusing on online degree programs and distance learning education, had 38 percent more visitors during April-May 2008 compared to February-March 2008, after adjusting for seasonal differences. In an informal survey of site visitors, the #1 reason for being interested in an online degree was “higher gas prices,” cited by 60 percent of those responding in May 2008. Other reasons given were convenience, parking, scheduling, babysitting and the cost of classes (http://www.degree.com).

In a comparable 2007 survey of visitors to Degree.com, the number 1 reason for interest in an online degree was “convenience,” with gas prices not even mentioned when the top five reasons were compiled. The surveys used a fill-in-the-blanks format rather than multiple choice, to increase the reliability of respondents’ answers.

“Gas is costing people upwards of $1000 a month,” says Sheila Danzig, who runs the Degree.com site. “And students are the last group who can afford that. Taking classes at home and other distance learning options allow students to avoid spending limited funds on gas and to have more time for a part-time job that helps pay the tuition bill. For the adult learner, online degree programs provide a perfect answer to a scarcity of time and resources, particularly for those who also work and have a family.”

Degree.com offers descriptions of dozens of accredited online degree programs in subjects ranging from art to nursing to business, along with the opportunity to request more information directly from each school. In response to the steep rise of interest in online higher education, the site has launched a blog at http://www.degree.com/blog on which it welcomes comments and questions from those exploring Internet-based college and university programs.

For free information about online degree programs and online programs for associates, bachelor, masters and doctoral degrees, or to share experiences of distance learning programs, go to http://www.degree.com.

Thank you to Business Wire for this original post.