Jen Zeman's Archive
Posted by Jen Zeman on May 6th, 2009
My online bachelor’s degree in Legal Studies did not provide me with a career as a paralegal as I had originally anticipated. What I learned are most law firms, especially the larger ones that pay well, look primarily for experience over having a degree. I had no experience in a law firm which worked against me, even as I vividly described the legal experience gained with my online courses. Many firms would offer entry-level clerical positions, but I was at a point in my career where I was not willing to start over again in terms of salary (i.e. it would have been a significant decrease in pay).
In spite of this, I still found earning my degree extremely rewarding. It was one of my major life goals, both personally and professionally. Obtaining the degree after years of hard work and sacrifice was a truly joyous occasion, making me feel I was capable of just about anything I put my mind on. Ultimately the degree paid off as I was able to obtain a well-paying, highly-coveted federal government position that requires individuals to have a bachelor’s degree. The research and analytical skills I learned online at UMUC have proven to be in-demand within my current position and in many other career positions within the government. I am confident that advancement opportunities abound with the education I received.
If you do not end up in the career field you anticipated upon graduation, don’t despair. A variety of opportunities may appear at your feet instead – just keep your mind and eyes open. Obtaining an online degree will never be a wrong decision.
Posted by Jen Zeman on May 1st, 2009
Online degree programs are a major convenience for anyone who cannot access a traditional college classroom. However, online degree programs are not suited for everyone. One of the largest mistakes people make in judging online programs is the classes must be easier because you do not have to sit through a traditional lecture. This is not the case! Online courses are just as difficult, if not more so, than traditional classes. There is a tremendous amount of reading that is required each week and most courses require active participation on discussion boards each week as well (these discussion boards/groups usually take the place of traditional classroom discussions). If you are someone who needs the face-to-face interaction with an instructor during a pre-designated time slot each week in order to keep you on the ball, then you may have a difficult time being successful within online courses. With online courses, you are on your own to manage your workload and learn the material. If you are not a disciplined individual who can motivate themselves to get a job done, then online courses may not be for you for the same reason mentioned above. You will find yourself falling behind which is disastrous in an online course setting.
However, if you consider yourself an independent learner, capable of learning new material without being latched to an instructor, you will enjoy the independence of online classes. This is true too if you cannot tolerate sitting through a lecture and having to be held back by other students who may not understand the material as well as you (i.e. the ones who ask a ton of questions in class). If you are an organized and disciplined person, online classes will be perfect for you. If you keep the material for class organized and you can easily motivate yourself to put schoolwork first above all else, then you will be quite successful with an online degree program. You’ll never want to sit through another traditional in-class course again! Good luck!
Posted by Jen Zeman on April 16th, 2009
In the fall of 2008 I considered, and was ready to begin, a graduate degree online with the University of North Carolina-Greensboro. The master’s program was in Liberal Studies and at the time I felt this was the direction I needed to go in. I felt I had completed enough research to know whether graduate school was the right choice and that Liberal Studies was the program for me. As soon as classes started, fear and loathing consumed me. I started questioning whether starting graduate school now was really right after all and suddenly I felt like I wouldn’t be able to handle it. Not a good way to start a semester – I was setting myself up for failure. After much consideration and discussion with my husband and with myself, I decided to drop the classes and withdraw completely.
In deciding to withdraw, I took a hard look at my reasons for beginning graduate school online. I hope the lessons I learned will be helpful to you when deciding to pursue a graduate degree:
- Carefully consider the reasons why you are doing it. A lot of career fields do not require a graduate degree. Do not feel pressured to obtain one just because others around you have one (i.e. do not think of it as a status symbol). If you feel pressure from others to obtain a graduate degree, you will be miserable in the process.
- Graduate school is expensive, even if your company offers some sort of tuition reimbursement. If a graduate degree isn’t necessary to get you where you want to be, think about whether the debt you will accumulate will be worth it in the end (i.e. will you recoup the money?).
- Graduate school consumes a lot of time. If you think earning your bachelor degree online was a lot of work, multiply the workload by at least two.
For me an online graduate degree is not completely out of the question. But when considering it next time around, I will spend no less than a year researching the right program; lining up adequate funding; and I will make sure I truly have the time it takes to make graduate school a rewarding experience and to make sure I do well at the same time.
Posted by Jen Zeman on April 7th, 2009
The value of today’s online education is comparable to a traditional college or university, since nearly all traditional universities offering online degrees/courses. The quality of an online degree is no less than that earned by students going to a physical classroom to earn a degree. The difference between the two is only in delivery of the course. I believe the value and quality of online degrees was initially questioned when this type of delivery was first introduced, with some comparing online delivery to the type of correspondence courses Sally Struthers use to advertise. Correspondence courses and online courses from accredited universities are not the same! The key word is “accredited”; when researching online degrees, especially at institutions you may not be familiar with, make sure they are accredited by its regional accreditation group. An example is UMUC, who is a sister university within the University of Maryland system and is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (http://www.umuc.edu/middlestates/index.shtml). I had no doubt I was receiving a high-quality, legitimate education.
Financially, online courses offer the same value dollar for dollar with traditional courses except most institutions charge some sort of “technology fee” for the online course. It varies with different institutions – some charge per course while others charge a lump sum per semester. The technology fee usually goes towards the upkeep of online classrooms (e.g. software, technical staff, etc.). Always double check the tuition and fee schedule for online courses to decipher any extra fees. For me, the extra technology fees were not an issue since I was just happy to be able to earn a bachelor’s degree from the comfort of my own home!
Posted by Jen Zeman on March 30th, 2009
I rarely had interactions with administrators or instructors at UMUC outside of the classroom. Within the classroom, questions for instructors in each of my classes were responded to quickly, whether the question was posted in the Class Announcements section or via email. One time during my two and a half years at UMUC required interaction with the administration.
I was receiving financial aid while attending UMUC and during one semester, my aid was not applied to my tuition balance in a timely manner. This created a series of phone calls and emails to the director of financial aid and then to the vice president. The error was not mine – someone had dropped the ball in the financial aid office. It took about two weeks to resolve the issue, but ultimately my account was corrected and I went on my merry way. The only difference with this interaction and any I may have had at the community college I attended was the inability to visit the financial aid office in person. However, I didn’t find this to be a problem. The phone calls and emails I sent to the UMUC financial aid office were answered promptly and I never felt like I was being ignored. I credit this to UMUC’s administration and faculty being accustomed to communicating with students at a distance. UMUC does have a traditional campus as well, but the largest portion of its student body is students attending online. Because of this, I believe faculty and administrators go out of their way to maintain lines of virtual communication.
If you do encounter a problem as an online student, here are a few tips to help resolve the issue quickly:
- Send an email as soon as a problem arises. Sometimes online classes move at a faster pace than traditional classes, so time is of the essence.
- Be clear and specific in your email or phone call. Instructors and administrators deal with a large amount of students and issues on a daily basis. Being clear and specific from the start means the issue will be resolved quicker.
- Keep accurate records of the issue/dispute. Hopefully an issue will not go on for an eternity, but helps to maintain a record of what has happened in case an issue escalates.
- Be persistent, but professional. Again, because faculty and administrators deal with hundreds of students, you don’t want your issue to get lost in the mix. Be persistent (if you don’t receive a response within 48 hours, email or call again), but don’t be a jerk! Trust me, after years of working in the customer service field, nobody likes to deal with or help a jerk.
Posted by Jen Zeman on March 26th, 2009
Living in a small, rural country town has many advantages. Having an easily accessible four-year college or university is not one of them. Accessibility became the main inspiration to pursuing an online university.
The University of Maryland University College (UMUC), while within my home state, was not local for me. Additionally, everything I needed for my educational experience was available to me online so it’s presence as an in-state institution did not prove to be either advantageous or disadvantageous. UMUC provided me everything I needed online: applications, course schedules, registration, book ordering, advising, library services, you name it. I didn’t have to step foot on the physical campus until commencement! Final exams couldn’t be taken online, but even that was convenient. I had the ability to take proctored exams at my local community college (which at the time I worked for them, making it that much more convenient). The ability to utilize the community college was an advantage. It was wonderful knowing I could achieve a bachelor’s degree (and now even master’s degree) without having to commute 45-75 miles to a physical campus. No wear and tear on my car, no extra money spent on gas, and no traffic! With all this said I consider myself very independent and enjoy learning from a distance and don’t mind conversing with students and faculty via email or online forums. If you crave face-to-face interaction at some point during the semester, an institution with a local presence may be more ideal for you.
However, if accessibility to a four-year institution is an issue for you, an online college or university is an ideal choice, whether they have a local presence or not. It will be a matter of getting accustomed to communicating completely online. It certainly beats the alternative – not getting a degree at all.
Posted by Jen Zeman on March 20th, 2009
The students in all my classes at UMUC were respectful and friendly while participating in classroom discussions and each person added fresh perspectives to the topics discussed each week. There was a feeling of camaraderie amongst us because the majority of the students were working adults who were struggling with balancing school, work, and family, just like me. All interactions were via the online discussion boards, although a few times I interacted with fellow classmates via email.
For every class I had at UMUC, group projects were a mandatory part of the curriculum. For me, this was probably the most difficult part of my classes because I tend to be solitary, preferring to work on my own. However, working in these groups was good practice for real-life workplace scenarios where group projects can be common. With nearly every group, there was always one to two people who failed to participate which made the process frustrating at times (this is when I was usually emailing other students, as a way to communicate “off-line”). However, I learned to ease my frustrations early on. If you end up in such a situation, here are some suggestions in dealing with group members who end up MIA:
- Immediately volunteer to be the group leader. Many people shy away from the leadership role, but by being the leader, you can leverage how the project will move along as well as choosing the portion of the project you would like to work on versus having someone else choose it for you.
- Post frequent notices to the MIA students that their participation is needed. This documents you made attempts to include them and to reach out to them.
- Notify the instructor as soon as possible of the non-participation. This shouldn’t be viewed as tattle-telling, but more of a heads-up to the instructor that the participating students are completing extra work to make up for the non-participation.
Following these tips should alleviate the stress of dealing with group projects. By keeping a level head and acting professionally, group projects are a valuable lesson for academic and career success.
Posted by Jen Zeman on March 9th, 2009
The online assignments I had at UMUC were no different than assignments at Harford Community College which were in a traditional classroom setting. Projects/papers were a little more in-depth since UMUC is a four-year college, but formats and general content were the same. I didn’t find that the number of major papers required each semester changed – at UMUC we usually had one big paper due at the end of the semester much like it was at Harford Community College. However, UMUC did require weekly writing assignments that weren’t completed in the traditional classroom. My guess for this requirement is to make up for the in-class lecture students participate in the traditional setting. Weekly assignments for UMUC’s online classes seemed to focus on weekly readings and were an attempt to make sure you understood the material being covered.
Preparing for final exams for UMUC wasn’t any different either (when I attended UMUC, there were no mid-term exams). However, the process was vastly different. In the traditional classroom setting, everyone showed up in class on a pre-scheduled night to take the written exam all at once. At UMUC, exams were not offered online. You had to designate a place where you would take a proctored exam and have that location approved by UMUC (I would always take mine at Harford Community College’s test center). Prior to exam week, the exam would be mailed to your designated testing location. You had to then take the exam within the designated exam week. Testing personnel would then mail the completed exam back to your professor at UMUC. Exams sometimes included multiple-choice, but were largely essay-based. None were easy, but if you studied the material the professor indicated would be covered on the final exam, the exam wasn’t as painful!
Posted by Jen Zeman on March 6th, 2009
Classes at UMUC were not flexible in the sense that students could not post discussion questions/answers or turn in specific assignments whenever they wanted. There were set deadlines to post weekly discussion threads (the week usually ran midnight Sunday to the following midnight Sunday) and major assignments and papers were due at specific intervals throughout the semester (most of UMUC’s classes are 15 weeks long).
However, for the weekly discussion questions, you could post anytime within the week – there wasn’t a set day/time each week to be online. Although the UMUC virtual classroom had a chat room available, it was never a requirement to use it (in fact, I never did). Readings were also assigned on a weekly basis. With these deadlines in place, it would be difficult for a student to just pace themselves based on their own needs. The best way to look at it is to compare it to the workplace. For most of us, we really cannot work at our own leisurely pace. Our work is usually tied to specific deadlines and/or customer needs and demands. UMUC helps students with instituting deadlines in its online courses so students can be better prepared for working with deadlines within their careers.
If you do run into a jam, most, if not all, of the professors are willing to be flexible to help you finish the class successfully. One fall semester I had carpal tunnel surgery and nerve damage repaired in my right hand and elbow and since I’m right-handed (and typing on the computer is essential for online classes!), this was going to impact my classes greatly. I emailed my professors in advance to give them a heads up on the surgery and that I may be working at a significantly slower pace for about two weeks, and all the professors were very understanding and willing to work with me to get my assignments completed and be successful in the class.
Posted by Jen Zeman on February 25th, 2009
All of my courses at UMUC required the purchase of at least one textbook, but most were two to three books. I purchased textbooks online through UMUC’s bookstore and the books were shipped to my house. The books were shipped quickly and I was never late in receiving any of them. Most times I was able to purchase used books, which, of course, saved me a ton of money. In addition to the required textbooks, all of the classes also had additional readings each week that were posted online within each classroom. These additional readings were usually articles related to the course topic and weren’t too significant a burden.
Since my degree was in Legal Studies, UMUC also offered access to Lexis (a legal database) free of charge for Legal Studies students. Lexis is an online database that houses all of the relevant materials that a well-maintained legal library would contain. Having access to Lexis online was a huge timesaver since students then didn’t have to locate and then physically go to a law library for the required legal research in each class. We also received access to WestLaw (free of charge), another legal database. Both Lexis and WestLaw are used in most large (and perhaps medium-sized) law offices; so not only were the databases a time-saver, the instructors also offered the opportunity to learn the intricacies of each database, which provided students relevant experience to carry over into their new careers.
