HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO EARN A DEGREE ONLINE?
Since online learning is designed to help working adults manage their time, many different timeframes are offered for completing online degrees. Some programs are full-time, but most are part-time. Some are only offered in the summertime for the benefit of schoolteachers. Thus, depending on the degree, people might complete their studies in as little as nine months or over several years.
Many online degree programs are self-paced. This means that students have the flexibility of taking just one course at a time or several courses simultaneously. Many of these programs also offer courses with many starting times. For example, a course might begin on the first of each month. With frequent starting times, students aren’t restricted by traditional semesters or quarters.
A professor’s delivery schedule and technique can also impact a student’s progress through a course. For example, some classes can be downloaded onto an MP3 player and therefore listened to during a commute to work or during physical exercise. Other classes require students to virtually attend class at a particular time of day or night.
HOW MUCH DO ONLINE DEGREES COST?
The cost of an online education varies widely. It may cost much less than a degree earned in a traditional classroom, a little less, or the same. In any case, federal aid is available to students at all accredited universities, and members of the military and their spouses may receive additional discounts. Companies may also offer tuition reimbursement to their employees.
WHO OFFERS ONLINE DEGREES?
Online degrees are offered by a wide variety of institutions, from online-only schools to traditional community colleges and Ivy League universities. According to a study published in 2005, the vast majority of large universities (those serving 15,000 or more students) offered online courses. Some of these schools required occasional attendance on campus, but others did not.
Online degrees are available for every level of education from the GED (high school equivalency degree) to vocational and associate’s degrees, bachelor’s, master’s, and doctorates. People can also earn non-degree certificates for personal growth and career advancement.
Degrees are available in virtually every subject. Here is just a small sampling:
Examples of online vocational degrees:
- Automotive technology
- Bridal consulting
- Culinary arts
- Hotel and restaurant management
- Physical therapy
Examples of online bachelor’s degrees:
- Business
- Criminal justice
- Psychology
- Religion and theology
- Web design
Examples of online graduate degrees:
- Master’s of Science in Engineering Management
- Master’s of Arts in Special Education with a focus on Emotional Behavioral Disorders
- Master’s of Science in Agricultural Management with a focus on Biosecurity
- Ph.D. in Public Health
- Ph.D. in Nursing Education
Most of us have been taught that a college degree is our ticket to a successful life of achievement and fulfillment in a career that we have chosen rather than for which we have just settled. However, as it often does, life has a way of stepping in and changing the direction of even the best laid plans. While we may have certainly planned on heading straight to college following high school – as is the socially acceptable norm – the reality of our situation at the time may have meant that we had to make different plans.
That being said, not earning a college degree does not necessarily mean a life without success. But it can tend to limit options. And for those of us who were not able – or did not choose – to earn a college degree initially, the possibility doing so may still be foremost in our minds. Luckily, the modern world has given those interested in earning a college degree another option – an online degree.
The computer has most certainly changed the way that we live, play, communicate, and even work. Doors that were once logistically closed to us are now open as the Internet brings the world around us into clearer focus, essentially eliminating geographical boundaries. No longer is it necessary to commute to a college for weekly classes when accredited universities and colleges – that offer traditional classes on campus, online classes, or a combination of both – have made the earning of an online degree an option.
To earn an online degree students are asked to “attend” online lectures where they are free to read the material and complete the assignments at times that are convenient for them; an unmatched benefit for those juggling work, school, and family priorities.