Have you heard good - or bad - things about an online college? Share which online universities you feel are the best in a reputation review.
"Anybody who's thinking of enrolling in an online degree ... take a good look at GetEducated.com . Go ... get a free download of a detailed guide ."
Searching for an Online MBA?: "Several websites can help .. first, GetEducated.com offers free rankings of distance-learning MBA programs."
"Beware diploma mills... Go to GetEducated.com and ask the Diploma Mill Police."
"For a distance MBA you can pay from $6,000 to $120,000. To get the most bang for your buck ... check out GetEducated.com"
GetEducated.com – "a great source for weeding out phonies" (among online colleges).
"Thanks much for your wonderful site! I've recommended it to my students and entered a program I found at GetEducated.com." --Charles Balch, MBA, Ph.D. --Professor, Arizona Western College
Vicky Phillips -- Founder of GetEducated.com ... "for 20 years the leading consumer advocate for online college students" ... Different Paths to a College Degree, Sept. 2009
Vicky Phillips ... founder of GetEducated.com ... "one of the nation’s leading experts on educational fraud" ... . ~Joyce Lain Kennedy~ (Nov, 2009), LA Times
"Kiplinger Personal Finance" partners with Get Educated - Top 15 Picks Prestigious Online Masters Degrees
Get Educated helps LATimes Consumer Reporter David Lazarus in "Getting an Education Learning Over the Internet" -- Nov. 10, 2010
Get Educated's beloved mascot, Chester Ludlow, dog with online MBA, helps Neely Tucker, Washington Post reporter, expose murderous minister with degree mill pedigree - Dec. 2010
Questions & Answers About Online Education >
Careers
By Vicky Phillips, Online Education Analyst
Question:
I have a psychology bachelor's and want to change careers to become an RN (registered nurse). Is there any online nursing degree (specifically an online BSN) that will admit me without RN certification? I've heard there are accelerated second degree BSN programs that will admit me as an advanced second degree student and prep me to take the RN exam in a year or faster.
—Peter in Madison, WI
Answer: The good news: healthcare is booming and the nursing degree is the most popular program major in this surging career sector. Get Educated profiles 24+ accredited online BSN programs nationwide.
The American Nurses Association reports an additional 114 nursing programs are available in a hybrid format (50 to 99 percent online). Hybrid means some courses are taught online while others require campus or site attendance.
The type of nursing degrees you are asking about are often referred to as online accelerated BSN programs. These degrees are usually offered in a hybrid format. Theory courses, such as anatomy and medical coding, are taught online while you complete supervised clinicals in a hospital or healthcare facility close to your home.
These special nursing degrees are also often called "second degree BSN programs" because they only admit students who already hold a bachelor's degree with a formal major in some area other than nursing.
These second degree programs are perfect for career changers like you who want to build upon their first bachelor's degree to earn a second accelerated BSN degree that will qualify them to take the RN exam at completion.
Questions & Answers About Online Education >
Careers
By Vicky Phillips, Online Education Analyst
Question:
“I graduated college ten years ago with a Bachelor of Arts in History. I want a new career in marketing. Should I earn a second online bachelor degree with a new major in marketing?”
—Jamie C., Napa, CA Answer:
In most cases earning a second bachelor’s degree is a waste of time and money. In your case, this would almost certainly be true.
If you pursued a second bachelor degree online, you’d face several unpleasant and costly obstacles.
To earn a new bachelor’s all colleges will require you to meet new general education course requirements. Since no two colleges have identical degree requirements, be prepared to repeat more than the academic major portion of your degree.
Questions & Answers About Online Education >
Careers
By Vicky Phillips, Online Education Analyst
Question: I’m worried about employer acceptance of my online degree. I just completed my bachelors online and am ready to send out my resume. Should I use my cover letter to reveal to potential employers that I earned my degree online?
—Holly, Nashville, TN Answer:
These days, taking college or post-secondary courses online is not an oddity. In 2010, more than 85 percent of traditional residential colleges will offer college courses online or through distance learning.
Online education is no longer the future. It’s right now.
As a result, there is no need to reveal in a cover letter or resume that you “earned your degree online.” Details about why you chose any particular type of school—such as a private school versus a public school or a Christian college versus a secular college—are best left to discussion during an actual interview.
Questions & Answers About Online Education >
Careers
By Vicky Phillips, Online Education Analyst
Joe Gratz/Flickr
Question: It’s always been my dream to be a lawyer. Can you direct me to the best online law schools?
—Brice in Indiana
Answer:
It's hard to give you a list of the best online law schools because not a single online law school has yet been accredited by the ABA or American Bar Association.
Unfortunately, in order to sit for the bar exam to become a lawyer in 49 out of 50 states, you must first attend an ABA-accredited law school and earn a JD or juris doctorate degree.
If you consider ABA accreditation an essential criteria for putting together any list of the best online law schools—I certainly would—it's hard to whole-heartedly recommend any 100 percent distance learning law school as "the best" at this time.
Questions & Answers About Online Education >
Careers
By Lorna Collier
Earn an online bachelors degree in business and you’ll never have to worry about shuffling along in the unemployment line.
Well, maybe.
Adding a concentration in IT or finance is a great way to differentiate yourself from more generic, "vanilla" business degrees. (Alison Fayre/flickr)
Career counselors have always plugged business degrees as safe investments. But surveys say a generic business bachelors is not the way to get the best business jobs and starting salaries. The best business jobs go to professionals who specialize in one of three majors: accounting, finance, or IT. Earn an online bachelors degree in business with one of these three concentrations and watch your career prospects — and salary level — soar.
“People in this kind of job market have their eyes open to skill sets, not just theoretical skills, but accounting, software ... things that have high value [to potential employers]” says Michael Jaeger, dean of the colleges of business and education at Eastern Oregon University. Jaeger oversees the online bachelors degree in business program at EOU.
