AchieveYourCareer Blog

Discipline is the key to any success in life, but especially in regard to an online education. For those attending college on campus, degree seekers receive notices to arrive at campus locations where information is provided immediately by a campus representative. Books are purchased in line at the bookstore, student fees are paid at the Bursar’s office, and social activity takes place en route to any of these destinations in addition to the Student Union. Coursework is learned in classrooms according to the university’s and the professor’s schedule. Discipline of course is required; however, guidance and information are more easily obtained and identified on campus comparable to the online milieu.

Online learning is a wonderful and innovative way to obtain your degree, and certainly the primary benefit is flexibility. Yet, success occurs most often when flexibility on one end is pared closely with discipline on the other. Since specific schedules are not set by the professor, the student must set them and be diligent in keeping up with the coursework and classroom discussions and virtual class participations. Financial aid as well as billing is handled exclusively online, and while this is convenient it sometimes requires a bit of e-sleuthing to locate the information and websites you are seeking. Often there are no reminders of testing and projects ongoing as might happen in a campus classroom; for this reason the student’s best friend is a good planner.

The first semester online can be a bit daunting, as the student will discover that much of the information must be located online and with perhaps a bit more work than just walking into a building and asking questions. It takes time to learn to navigate “Blackboard”, the e-Education platform, as well as the threaded discussions and virtual classrooms. However, after the first semester or two, the student finds he or she becomes quite adapt at online navigation. The technology can be challenging but is also very exciting and opens the student to a new world of learning. One college graduate, Francesca, shares this experience:

“My college had more and more distance learning.   Having had done it, I say that it is actually harder in some subjects.  It is accelerated and a lot of the learning is your own understanding of the discipline.  If the discipline is one you are interested in - like psychology - then you do well.   If it is statistics, then some on campus or tutoring can help.   My son does distance learning with MIT and now they have chat rooms and the teacher may have a web CAM and you can see her and if you have CAM they can see you.   Sometimes the teacher has a white board and can draw diagrams for the class.  It’s really neat. In any and all events, you have to have discipline, discipline, discipline”.

For the student who wants to attend college but needs more flexibility than the campus can offer, online learning is a wonderful alternative. Discipline in study and scheduling will ensure the success that is necessary to complete curriculum goals.

Western Governors University is helping place more highly qualified teachers into classrooms, especially in the high needs areas of math and science, by offering the WGU Scholarship for Urban Mathematics and Science Educators. These scholarships are designed to help working adults attend college online to become mathematics or science teachers in America’s urban schools.

These scholarships are specifically aimed at individuals living in urban communities who wish to earn a license to teach math or science in their school districts. Also eligible for the scholarship are licensed teachers living and teaching in urban areas who want to earn a master’s degree. Each scholarship is valued up to $3,000.
The WGU Teachers College is one of the largest providers of online teaching degrees, with graduates who have become licensed teachers in nearly every state. It is the only exclusively online teacher education institution to be accredited by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE).
WGU’s online degree programs focus on the needs of adult learners by providing flexible, technology-based instruction. WGU’s competency-based education approach makes it possible for students to complete the requirements for their degree at a quicker pace and accelerate their program based on their prior experience, academic background, and time commitment to study.
Multiple scholarships will be awarded. However, this is a competitive program and scholarships will be awarded based on a candidate’s academic record, readiness for online study at WGU, and current competency, in addition to other considerations.
For more information or eligibility requirements on the WGU Scholarship for Urban Mathematics and Science Educators, please visit www.wgu.edu/urbaneducator.

Penn Foster is the most well known career diploma and high school diploma institution online. They have helped thousands of people earn essetial career diplomas and even their high school diplomas.

Penn Foster offers over 80 quality distance education programs designed to give you the skills you need for a new career in today’s fastest growing fields.  You decide which method best suits your learning style, online or in-print. Our expert faculty and friendly support staff are dedicated to helping you successfully complete your program and earn your diploma.

You’ll also learn about opportunities in your chosen field and get important tips on achieving your career goals. Many of our programs also feature “hands-on” experience with today’s technology.

The success of our students proves that Penn Foster training works. It is designed for busy people who know what they want out of life, but don’t have the time to attend classes. Here are just a few of the benefits of choosing Penn Foster:

Benefits of Penn Foster:

-Low Tuition - You can train for a new career with Penn Foster at a price that won’t break your budget. Your books, equipment, and learning aids are included in your low tuition price.
-Convenience - The lessons and learning aids you need to complete your training are sent right to your home. There’s no commute to classes, no need to rearrange your schedule. Study where and when you choose, and still have time for your family and social life.
-Reliability - You’ll benefit from training with the world’s leader in at-home education. Penn Foster training methods have helped men and women to better jobs and better lives for over a century. When you enroll with Penn Foster, you can be certain of receiving high-quality education that could help you get where you want to go.
-Support - Even though you learn at home, you’re never alone. You can be assured of getting all the help you need from your instructors, consultants, and the rest of our dedicated staff when you need it. When you have a question, help is just a toll-free phone call or an email away.

There’s never been a better time to start working toward a new career or business of your own. And you can start immediately – today if you want.

Making the decision to return to college can be a complicated one. If you have an unfinished degree with college credits sitting in your academic bank not earning “interest” (forgive the economic pun), certainly the idea gnaws at you from time to time. You abhor the idea of wasting the credits you’ve spent time and money for with no degree to show for it.

This decision is complicated; however, there are factors to consider that may assist in helping you come to some conclusions and feel good about them. One factor is financial in nature (thankfully, there are many financial aid options available today). Another is time. Third might simply be whether you have the incentive or the desire to finish. There may be other factors that pertain specifically to you.

For many years I struggled with the decision to return to school. Having left FSU with 96 credits, you can imagine how I carried around my choice to leave before I graduated for years afterward. There were personal reasons for doing so which made perfect sense to me then and even now, and I never regretted leaving when I did sans degree.

Over the years I toyed with returned to college (I had since moved, so FSU was no longer an option), however, it never seemed to be quite the right time, or I didn’t have the funds, or there was always some life event or issue that was paramount to my education. The truth is, the desire simply wasn’t strong enough.

It strikes me as ironic that when the desire did finally hit me to finish college, I was married with two young children and a very busy life. But I had spent all the time and had 96 credits, and I said to myself, “You know you want this and have always wanted it, so Just Go for It”. I didn’t want to have the regret of an unfinished degree following me for the rest of my life, and my children were starting to ask about my college education. I knew if I was going to encourage them to finish college I needed to walk, literally, as well as talk.

When I decided to “go for it” then, after many many years of toying with the idea, everything seemed to just fall into place. I think that’s how it happens–if you have the desire it will happen and you will make it happen. I was very pleased that I could return to FSU through their online program, and they were able to apply many of my credits toward matriculation. Their online program made it easier, more convenient, and more time-friendly than physically going to classes. Financial aid forms are filled out online, also very convenient. The coursework was tough and challenging, but I wasn’t going back to college to catch a free ride to my degree. And thanks to online options, I arrived at my destination with diploma in hand.

Sallie Mae offers 5 tips to help newly minted alumni begin student loan repayment and build a healthy credit history and to help customers get off on the right path for student loan repayment:

1. Automatic debit: Set up monthly loan payments with
automatic debit as an easy way to make on-time payments. Your
monthly student loan payments are electronically deducted from
your checking or savings account, saving you time and stamps.

2. Run the numbers: Sallie Mae’s Loan
Repayment Calculator estimates the monthly payments and total
interest costs under the different repayment plans available.
Before selecting a repayment plan, run the numbers and see which
repayment plan gives you a monthly payment that fits into your
budget.

3. Link your loan to Upromise: Join Upromise,
then link your Sallie Mae loan account to your Upromise account
and use your Upromise rewards to transfer savings automatically to
help pay down your eligible Sallie Mae student loans. Upromise
helps students and families save money for education expenses by
earning rewards on everyday purchases from participating
companies. Visit www.SallieMae.com/upromise
to learn more.

4. Stay in touch: Immediately notify your student loan
servicer(s) of any change to your name, address, telephone number,
employer, or Social Security number. This will ensure that you
receive all communication from your loan provider and that you are
aware of your payment amount, payment due date and repayment
options.

5. Prepay or pay extra when possible: You may prepay your
loans in part or in full at any time without penalty. This will
lower the overall cost of the loan. Adding a little extra to each
monthly payment can help.

USA Funds(R), the nation’s leading education loan guarantor, announces that it supported $17.2 billion in loans to help students and parents pay for college during the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, 2008. The figure represents an increase of more than 10 percent in college financing supported by USA Funds compared with the previous fiscal year.

KeyBank will no longer offer private loans for students because of the long-term unstable credit market.

Existing loans from KeyBank will still be honored through the rest of this and the Spring 2009 semesters. After Oct. 31, KeyBank will stop taking applications for private student loans.

Students usually apply for private student loans when they cannot get more money from federal loans.

Mark Evans, student financial aid director, said about 2,000 to 3,000 Kent State families have private student loans. Ninety-five percent of those families get them from KeyBank, CitiBank or Sallie Mae. Kent State works with these banks to provide private student loans.

“Over the years, the cost of going to college has increased,” Evans said. “More students and their families turn to private loan programs to gain access to additional funding.”

Laura Mimura, vice president of marketing and communications at KeyBank, said the bank will still participate in the federal loan market.

“We are still making loans to students to go to Kent State through FFELP (Federal Family Education Loan Program),” she said. “Students at Kent State and other Title IV schools can get Stafford Loans and Federal PLUS loans.”

To assist students in minimizing debt, Mimura said a service called BorrowSmart may help. BorrowSmart’s program helps minimize debt by looking at available grants and scholarships, then students can calculate the amount they can pay per month. To access BorrowSmart, students can go to www.key.com/borrowsmart.

Mimura and Evans both said students have to be informed and do research to get the financial aid that works for them.

“You have to do the work,” Mimura said. “This (BorrowSmart) is not a magic pill.”

Evans suggested students go to the Kent State Student Financial Aid Web site, www.sfa.kent.edu, for current information on available aid. He also said students should come to the financial aid office and talk to a financial aid representative if they have questions.

Mimura said KeyBank’s decision to exit the private student loan market was made about a year ago.

“We are still committed to education,” Mimura said. “But we have to make decisions to protect the strength of Key.”

Although some students may have to apply for private student loans from a different company next year, Evans said students shouldn’t be worried about getting another loan.

As Internet users become more savvy and social media sites dominate, colleges are taking a second look at the structure of online courses.

Just two years ago the typical online degree course involved mostly reading assignments. Students were able to interact with each other through discussion posts and chat rooms, but now that is all changing.

Students have different learning styles

By providing these cool new tools, students can learn by interacting with the media, by watching videos and listening to audio samples, by observing digital lectures, and much more. We are making the courses a more engaging experience.

To provide a more realistic approach to learning, the development team has built widgets, which enable students to take practice quizzes and perform exercises to help them learn

One of the coolest things we have done for our online Medical Administration students recently is that we built a virtual hospital. They can do through the hospital and look through patient files, meet financial personnel, and get a realistic view of what working in a health care facility is like.

Online coursework is evolving rapidly

More colleges are offering online programs, and to stay ahead of the game we have to continue to invest focused attention on providing the latest developments in online learning to our students. We are just getting started.

Several colleges offering online coursework are now incorporating the assets of social media into their platforms. Widgets, interactive programs, and digital media are helping engage students with different learning styles and allowing them to network with other students and instructors.

Rasmussen College, a private, regionally accredited college with campuses across the Midwest and Southeast and online college, is one of these schools.

“Students have different learning styles,” Rasmussen College Director for Online Course Development Steve Wettergren said. “By providing these cool new tools, students can learn by interacting with the media, by watching videos and listening to audio samples, by observing digital lectures, and much more. We are making the courses a more engaging experience.”

For the past twelve months, Rasmussen College has increased its focus on delivering these new tools for online classes. Some of the additions have come from working with the publishers who provide supplemental media. Rasmussen College also has an instructional design team and a development team that has been able to build its own custom media pieces based on the needs of faculty and students.

“To provide a more realistic approach to learning, the development team has built widgets, which enable students to take practice quizzes and perform exercises to help them learn,” Wettergren said.

“One of the coolest things we have done for our online Medical Administration students recently is that we built a virtual hospital. They can do through the hospital and look through patient files, meet financial personnel, and get a realistic view of what working in a health care facility is like.”

So far student feedback about the new interactive elements has been positive. Faculty has appreciated the new addition as it gives them a new way to present material and a better method for networking with students.

Many online colleges are now moving away from curriculum that is too text heavy. Utilizing the new technologies allows them to engage students in a dynamic manner.

“Online coursework is evolving rapidly,” Wettergren said. “More colleges are offering online programs, and to stay ahead of the game we have to continue to invest focused attention on providing the latest developments in online learning to our students. We are just getting started.”

Unless you have been living under a rock or in the remote regions of the Appalachians, you realize the United States is in a serious credit crisis.  This crisis is affecting all markets, including higher education.  If you are contemplating going back to school, you may be worried with the economy in its current state it doesn’t make much fiscal sense to attempt financing college.  While it’s true that because of the credit crisis the cost of student loans, especially private loans (i.e. loans by such companies as Sally Mae or your local bank), are more expensive because of an increase in interest charged, college still remains a sound investment in your future.  Federal loans are still reasonable and are always an option.  According to www.education.yahoo.net, those who obtain a bachelor’s degree earn an average of 88 percent more a year than high school graduates!  It is true that there are infinitely more opportunities for individuals with a college degree than just a high school diploma, so invest in yourself.  If you are still uncertain if you can afford to back to school, I strongly encourage you to make an appointment with a financial aid counselor at your school of choice.  They will be more than willing to explain the financial aid process and how educational loans can fit into your budget.