Archive for the ‘Local vs. National Online Programs’ Category
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 Jeff Davis on March 25th, 2009
When I first began my search into selecting an online school and furthering my education, it was important to me that the college I chose have a strong internet presence as well as a local presence. You can call it personal preference or what have you, but I just preferred a more locally recognized school over one that wasn’t. Why? I guess I believed that an online school without a local campus presence wouldn’t offer me quite the same opportunities or that potential employers wouldn’t take me as serious. Boy was I wrong! What I found out after graduation was that the same opportunities existed for students regardless of whether the program had a local campus or was strictly online and that employers were more concerned with what I learned rather than the name of the institution on my degree.
So, although I attended an online program with a local campus, it didn’t really make a difference. In fact, I never once even visited the institution’s local campus facility or ever had the need to. Everything I ever needed for my online classes was always available online. Now that I look back on my own experience, I believe all that matters is for students to attend an accredited and respected school and one of their own choosing. As long as you are happy with your final decision, then that is all that matters. I don’t believe that it’s necessary for the chosen school to have a local campus presence in order to be advantageous to the learning environment.
This has been my personal experience and I found a wealth of resources and information available online in helping me make my final decision for finding the right online program. I found my personal experience to be educational and rewarding and would highly recommend an online college to anyone who is thinking of returning to school.
Tags: advantageous, advantages, local campus, local presence, online school, personal preference, strong internet presence, University of Phoenix, university of phoenix online, UoP, uop online
Categories: Local vs. National Online Programs
Posted by Sharon Cece on March 24th, 2009
Sentiment is a strong motivator. Sentiment drives you to do what you wouldn’t otherwise take the time, energy or money to do, since what drives you is emotional rather than practical.
It would have made more sense to finish my degree through a local online program. For one, the cost is much more attractive. For another, the cost is much more attractive. Finally, the cost is…okay, you get the point. Instead, I registered with Florida State University’s online program, which was based six hundred miles away and cost twice as much as a local program. Now, why would a relatively sane, budget-conscious gal like myself choose to do such a thing?
Sentiment, you say. And I say, Right on. I could have registered with North Carolina State, saved money, time, all the rest. But I’ll let you in on a little secret. When I left FSU in 1989 after two years of attendance, for years afterward I dreamed of going back there to get my degree. I dreamed of going back there. You could say that I dreamed in Garnet and Gold.
I left my childhood home at 20, traveling 1200 miles alone for the first time to Tallahassee, Florida; an independent rite of passage. I worked so hard those two years, defining myself, drawing those early experiences into my life, not just remembering but fusing them into who I was. In my heart I was a Seminole. Fourteen years later when I decided to finish what I started, that quixotic spirit, that pride, never left me. In a way–and this may make no sense at all–if I had gone the pragmatic route and chosen a local program, it would have erased all I originally set out to do. Yes, I would have graduated; of course, I would have my degree. But it wouldn’t have been the same. It wouldn’t have been Garnet and Gold.
I look up now at my FSU Diploma, hanging in my custom matted FSU frame, a splurge. It almost brings tears to my eyes. It is so much more than just a piece of paper to me, so much more than academics. The paper in that frame symbolizes idealistic enterprise, hardship and sacrifice, adventure, endurance, perseverance, success. Completing what I originally set out to do. Fulfilling a long-held dream.
I was in spirit, but now officially am on paper, a Seminole.
It cost twice as much to enroll in Florida State’s online program and took more effort compared to local programs. I had to drive 600 miles just to reach out my hand and grab hold of that paper.
Was it worth it?
Oh, you bet it was.
I attended online classes with a local campus and online classes with a national campus. I found very little difference between the two. The online classes were a less intimate approach to getting an education. The tradeoff for less intimacy was more effective time management.
With the local university there was one on site meeting, to orientate the classmates to the online environment. Because I saw my classmates only once, I did not really remember them when the online part of the class commenced. I did establish an online relationship with the instructor and we talked about presenting together at a conference. That opportunity never materialized and after the class I had no other contact with her.
Interestingly enough I recently had contact with an instructor from a national campus, where I participated in two online classes. I enrolled in an online class this summer, starting a certificate to be certified as an instructor in e learning. This is at the University of Wisconsin–Stout, It is not really local, nor is it national. This instructor took a new position at this new University. I received an email from her and when I replied back I told her I remembered her from the national university. I don’t think she really remembered me, but this is normal when instructors have hundreds of students over the years. It does feel like it is a small world when you make a new contact with a former teacher.
The online environment has flattened the world, and now a lot of people are my neighbors and classmates digitally. There are local friends who I only see online. If we wanted to and had the time we could get together. At my age with my busy schedule, Internet platforms and email keep me in touch without committing more time. My online classes do the same, and have flattened the classroom to the whole world.
When I was selecting a school, I did consider whether the school had a local presence or not. In my area, there weren’t a lot of options for PhD programs. I could choose to do a face-to-face program at our public universities - one was close by, the other was about 90 miles away. Neither school had exactly the program I was looking for. The online schools I was considering had no local campus presence anywhere, they were fully online. So my options were somewhat limited, but that made the decision easier.
I know that it can be reassuring to have a local campus nearby. Several of the schools I teach for have online and face-to-face components. The students do feel a benefit from being able to go to a campus, see real people, and get the help they need.
In my situation, that wasn’t the case. That’s not to say that having some resources close by wouldn’t be helpful, but we’re so accustomed to doing correspondence via the phone or the web, that in-person contact seems to be a thing of the past.
I actually treasure the fact that my school is fully online and has no local campuses. It puts everyone on the same playing field. We all have access to the same resources. Knowing what I know now, I would still choose Capella.
Our world has flattened, so to speak, thanks to the internet, and I’ve had opportunities to talk with people from around the globe. Some of these people have become quite dear to me. One such person is Srini from India. He was complimentary of the slideshows I posted on Slideshare.net and an email friendship developed.
Srini connected me with a young woman from the Netherlands, and the three of us created an inspirational slide show and posted it collaboratively. We never sat down face to face, but together we created a project thousands of miles apart. When I viewed the recent violence India I emailed Srini to make sure he was okay. He said he was safe and that many others from Slideshare had also expressed concern. I feel like he is “local” just as all my online classes and communities feel local. Columbus never found India, but I did!
Two of my first online classes were not local, and one was. In all three, I developed intellectual relationships. I have been keeping in touch via email with one teacher I met in a since 2001 non-local class. Since the class, I haven’t had contact with any of the students from my local class. After my experiences I have no preference as to whether the classes are local or not.
What is important to me is content. I want classes that specifically help me improve my skills as a teacher. As technology changes, I find it important to stay ahead of my students, many of whom are learning on their own. Interestingly enough, I am looking at a progam in e-learning offered through a state university system here in Wisconsin. The consideration of this program has nothing to do with the location of the university. So far, it’s the program that piques my interest. I have read all the course descriptions and what fascinates me is that many of the skills I already learned through online classes were provided by my very own school district.
Posted by Jeff Davis on December 31st, 2008
When I first began my search into selecting an online school and furthering my education, it was important to me that the college I choose have a strong internet presence as well as a local presence. After all, there are many online colleges to choose from but not all offer a quality education. Call it personal preference or what you will but I preferred a more recognized school over a mere local educational institution. Not that a local school would have been a bad experience or anything, but it just would not have fit into my life’s schedule as well.
After much research, I determined that there were quite a few online schools that actually had a good reputation for offering a quality education but not all met my personal criteria. I based my final decision on factors that were important to me at the time such as class sizes, accreditation, cost, available online resources, and the simplicity of being able to get help and/or support if necessary. Most of my ideals leaned me towards selecting the University of Phoenix and so I chose to pursue my degree within this environment. Locating an excellent online school that will meet your educational goals should really be no trouble if you do your research and find out all the answers to your questions beforehand.
Based on the items mentioned above, this has been my personal experience and I found a wealth of resources available on the internet in helping me make to make a final decision. There are numerous guidelines available for further consideration but the college websites were full of pertinent information and staff support is just a phone call away. I found my online college experience to be educational and self-rewarding. I would highly recommend attending an online college to anyone who is considering of returning to school.
Posted by Jen Zeman on December 30th, 2008
Having an online school close to home was not a driving factor on where I would attend; however, I did consider in-state schools before considering out-of-state schools. For me, it was more of a comfort factor. I was working at a local community college when I was looking at schools to transfer my associate’s degree credits to. While at the community college, I had a great deal of information available to me about local universities and the programs they offered, so I felt a great deal of familiarity with local universities. With this information, I found UMUC and the perfect online degree program. Knowing I could easily transfer almost all my credits to UMUC was reassuring – I wouldn’t have to spend time and money on a bunch of additional classes. Plus, the tuition wasn’t too far out of reach for me. Because I found the ideal online school within my home state I had no need to look out-of-state.
My advice to others:
- Start your search with local colleges and universities to see what online programs they have to offer and if they coincide with your desired program. But don’t settle if they don’t! If local institutions are not offering an online program in the discipline you want to study, broaden your search to out-of-state institutions. A complete online program will not require you to attend or even visit the physical campus. I have even found that some online schools do not charge a higher tuition for out-of-state students attending online programs (i.e. you pay what in-state students pay).
- If you are currently attending a community college and need help searching, enlist the assistance of an academic advisor with your search. Most have a good grasp on what’s being offered at various institutions and can offer advice on your search.
- Make a list of important criteria for an online school before starting your search will also make the process easier. This way, you won’t settle for an institution that may not fulfill all your needs.
Posted by Sharon Cece on December 29th, 2008
The great thing about going to college today is the nearly infinite number of choices students have in attaining and experiencing their educations. From local community colleges to world-wide programs, the sky’s the “un”-limit.
I was fortunate in that I was able to attend college both locally and out-of-state. While I highly recommend doing both–or all, for I wish I had also attended college internationally (and who knows, still might)– students must also make pragmatic choices that serve their specific needs and life situations. Single students have more flexibility than married, full-time students have more intense scheduling issues than part-timers, etc.
Here is where online learning offers it’s greatest benefit: unlimited program options. Before online alternatives, as suggested above, one either had to attend school at a local college or completely transfer out-of-state. I did both, which were invaluable experiences. Yet, once I was married with kids I couldn’t just pick up and move back to Tallahassee to finish my degree. Therefore, “college online” satisfied all of my educational needs and brought the out-of-state right to my front door. What a concept.
That’s not to say locality wasn’t an important consideration for me. Initially I did lean toward local schools since those programs are always more cost-effective. Out-of-state students, even online, usually pay twice as much as local students. An added benefit to local colleges are the extra-curricular events, concerts, lectures and programs that are accessible to students; obviously, I couldn’t attend any of those as a distance learning student and so missed out on the experiences they offered. On the other hand, I did take advantage of those events and programs while I was a student living in Tallahassee, and so when I returned as on online student to get my degree years later I had a singular goal in mind–graduating! The other benefits were secondary at that point in my life, and financial aid and academic grants assisted me with the higher out-of-state fees.
Choices today are as varied as the many programs offered to students. It’s a great time to go to college!
