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deborah_r
01-28-2011, 05:08 PM
I guess in my mind I have not accepted "online universities" as real education. Am I the minority opinion?

Believe me, I want to hear that I'm wrong, because I would like to further my education and think that would be a great way to do it, so I am so not trying to offend anyone!

I have a Bachelor of Fine Arts from a very good state school. This was in 1994. I have been working in the accounting field for over 10 years, and I am not going to get any further without some formal education in accounting. I'm thinking an Associates Degree is what I should look into? Or since I already have a BFA, can I do like two years of accounting clasees and get another Bachelor's? I have no idea how this works. I would think at least introductory courses would be easily handled online.

I'm just kind of old school on the class discussions being a very valuable part of the process, and not sure how this happens with online school. Also don't want to waste money on a degree that will not be taken seriously. Would love to hear people's thoughts on this.

justlearning
01-28-2011, 05:17 PM
My degrees were from traditional graduate programs, but my brother got his MBA online through a good university (the same university that I got my degrees). That specific MBA program is very competitive so that degree is not looked down upon at all. He did have to attend a few in-person sessions but the rest of discussions took place in virtual groups.

He graduated in 2005 with that MBA so my guess is that online degrees are even more accepted now and that all of the social media would make it very easy to engage in group discussions.

I don't know anything about your specific major or how it will work to get another degree. I may be wrong but I don't think that you can just easily get another bachelor's in accounting, hoping to reuse your old general ed credits that went towards your other degree. (I'm assuming that they're old--mine would be!) So perhaps you could get a master's degree at this point? Hopefully someone with more info can chime in.

wellyes
01-28-2011, 05:21 PM
An online degree from a regular accredited university is fine. Not the experience I'd want for me, but your diploma won't come with a "but it was got online" asterisk.

Any degree from a for-profit school, in person or online, won't get you as far.



I read an article recently about how students at a large university- I want to say Penn State? - take classes online from their dorm rooms. The lecture halls are full but they can "attend" virtually. I'll try to find it.

sunshine873
01-28-2011, 05:26 PM
I got my degree from University of Phoenix, after spending years taking classes part-time in a traditional classroom.

I learned more and had to work harder in just about every single online class I took. We had required discussion questions every week and were required to respond to a certain number (as a minimum) so that really did get discussions going. We were also required to do group projects, so it wasn't exactly an isolated environment.

I was working full-time as well, and taking classes right after spending 8 hours at work was not working. I enjoyed being able to "go to class" when my brain could process the info. Sometimes that was right after work, sometimes it was after dinner, sometimes I did the bare minimum during the week & saved the majority of the work for the weekend.

I really enjoyed going to school there. But...I'm a writer (obviously) so having to type out my thoughts in papers & discussions was a benefit for me.

JBaxter
01-28-2011, 05:28 PM
My mother and sister finished their BS in nursing online. I know the hours of work the both put in.

american_mama
01-28-2011, 05:30 PM
>> I guess in my mind I have not accepted "online universities" as real education. Am I the minority opinion?... I would like to further my education and think that would be a great way to do it. ..... I'm just kind of old school on the class discussions being a very valuable part of the process, and not sure how this happens with online school. Also don't want to waste money on a degree that will not be taken seriously.

I have the same thoughts, with the exception that I am not currently considering further my education, but do think online would be a great avenue for those who want to.

I read in a friend's Christmas letter that his wife is getting her BFA or MFA online in a "low residency" program, so she visits the actual university 2-3 times a year for 2-4 weeks. That seems like a good combination to me.

I have asked a parent at my daughter's school about this because she is getting her master's online. I think she has to spend one summer in residency at the university. She likes it, first and foremost because it is practical for her life, and secondly because she thinks it works well. She did say all her conversations with professors are text-based and email and that she's never called them on the phone. She also misses some of the group dynamic and thinks the online ways to replicate that work ok, but not as good as in person. I also mentioned an online grant review I did for contract work a few years ago, and said I knew half the group had their phone on mute and was doing something totally different while others were presenting their material. She laughed and said she does that too, so acknowledged that you could "check out" of an online class more than an in-person class.

WolfpackMom
01-28-2011, 05:31 PM
It depends - online program from a reputable, regular accredited school, I would totally say go for it.
Online program from one of those for-profit schools you see commercials for on tv, I wouldnt do.

TBH part of one of my former jobs was doing some company recruiting and we weeded out degrees from places like Phoenx, Kaplan, Strayer...That may not be fair, but thats just how the company worked. Employers may take a degree from a traditional university more seriously - and plenty of traditional universities have online degrees now.

AnnieW625
01-28-2011, 05:46 PM
A very good friend of mine graduated from the University of Phoenix, and now she is a marketing Vice President for a regional bank with a very solid history in California. I have another friend who got her degree in psychology from Univ. of Phoenix and is now working on her PhD in psychology from the Chicago School of Professional Psychology.

My sister looked at getting her MFA from a few different low residency programs right out of college and was rejected from all of them. She graduated from a CSU school with a creative writing degree just shy of cum laude honors and was told by each college (all of them accredited colleges) that she didn't have enough life experience to do the online low residency program so just because it's based online doesn't mean that it's not credible, or competitive to get into.

I personally could not see myself getting a degree online, and I really enjoyed my regular university experience, and honestly I'd be a little ticked if I was paying oodles of money for my child to live away from home and they took all of their classes online; but that's just me.

For the OP, I have a friend who graduated from UCLA with a degree in sociology and just took the minimum amount of accounting classes in order to get her CPA so I know it can be done. She is now a senior manager at one of the big 5 firms so I know it can be done. Good luck!

Snow mom
01-28-2011, 05:50 PM
I would ask if you really need another degree or just need more coursework that pertains to your field of work. Maybe you could take some specialized courses at a local university that could be listed as professional development. I would get an advanced degree over another bachelor's if you truly need to go the degree route. That might require taking a few pre-recs before enrolling. If at all possible I'd attend a local university and agree with PPs that for-profit schools should be avoided.

MontrealMum
01-28-2011, 06:19 PM
, but your diploma won't come with a "but it was got online" asterisk.


Actually, some do. I want to say that it's Harvard that I read about in the Chronicle, but that may not be right.

Nearly every university offers online courses nowadays. When you think online, you don't have to necessarily go with places that advertise on tv or in magazines. I prefer the traditional classroom, myself, but online at an accredited school might be a good way to knock a few classes off. I'd target some schools and talk to some admissions people in departments that you're considering.

daisymommy
01-28-2011, 06:48 PM
There are certainly some very well-respected, very competitive online degree programs, from major universities--especially for business related degrees.

My dad is a government contractor, working with top tier guys in the Pentagon. Some of the people they hire have their MBA's and other such degrees from online.

MSWR0319
01-28-2011, 06:59 PM
I got my MBA from the University of Wisconsin with all of the coursework done online. I chose this because at the time we were living in Missouri and felt the colleges around us offered less than stellar programs and that I could get a much better education with this program. I am so happy I did it. The classes were very much like any class I've taken on campus. I started my MBA with Indiana University, a very well known MBA program, and felt my classes through UW were actually better. We had group work, projects, presentations, etc and I didn't have to waste hours sitting in class listening to professors complain about all the politics that go on at their daily corporate job. I felt it was a much better experience.

That being said, I don't broadcast that it was an online program, unless asked. I'm from a rural area and have talked to a couple manager's and all they do is talk down about programs online, mostly because they are uneducated about the differences in them and that there are good programs out there. You wouldn't be able to hide a degree from the University of Phoenix if you encounter a person who looks down on online degrees. I really hate that people automatically think online degree's are worthless. I took online classes when I was in undergrad living on campus just because it fit into my schedule better, and no one looks down upon that.

That being said I think you should look into well accredited schools (AACSB for business), especially if you live in an area that doesn't always see online degrees in a positive way. There are different types of accreditations for business so just make sure your school has them.

mmommy
01-28-2011, 07:01 PM
It depends - online program from a reputable, regular accredited school, I would totally say go for it.
Online program from one of those for-profit schools you see commercials for on tv, I wouldnt do.


:yeahthat:

Cam&Clay
01-28-2011, 07:11 PM
Don't judge an online class until you've taken one! With my MLS, I only had one online class. It was my hardest one, and my only B for my entire degree.

DH has his degree from a military online university. How else was he going to get his education when they kept sending him overseas? I saw how hard he worked. I think as long as the university has a good reputation, you're fine.

MSWR0319
01-28-2011, 07:50 PM
Don't judge an online class until you've taken one! With my MLS, I only had one online class. It was my hardest one, and my only B for my entire degree.

DH has his degree from a military online university. How else was he going to get his education when they kept sending him overseas? I saw how hard he worked. I think as long as the university has a good reputation, you're fine.

:yeahthat:

I did a couple group projects with a guy who as in Iraq when I was working on mine. I thought it was pretty neat! Neither of us were on campus but we were both learning from each other and working together.

niccig
01-28-2011, 09:07 PM
Don't judge an online class until you've taken one! With my MLS, I only had one online class. It was my hardest one, and my only B for my entire degree.


Yes, Online classes are usually MORE work in my experience. There's a lot more reading, and you have to be very disciplined with your time. I helped teach a few online classes and it took me much longer to prepare the material than it did for face-to-face.

You might also find that online classes cost more money. This is my first week in school and I'm driving out to CSUN twice a week. The MS program I hope to get into eventually also has an online cohort but it costs more than the face-to-face MS will cost - well at the moment, with the increase in tuititon, who knows.