Posted by Sharon Cece on May 4th, 2009
Students often begin the process of achieving an education and sometimes find, like myself, that even a single circumstance–whether it be a lack of funds or a personal roadblock or any number of other reasons–regrettably, can preempt their education. Ten years ago, I didn’t think I would return to get my degree (although, a small part of me kept that hope alive, obviously). Going to college is a lot of work, not just mentally but physically. So, I was thrilled to discover the online college option, since it offered another, completely different process which ran parallel with my original goal of graduating from college. Furthermore, it led straight to the Commencement Trail. I didn’t have to find my way back to my original path; I forged a new “online” path.
I’ve thought many times about going back to school to get my Masters degree, and I wouldn’t even consider such an undertaking without online options. My life is full right now, as a wife and mother, as household manager, as a writer and now I’m considering an additional work opportunity. Add to that, like so many other parents, the kids’ school commitments, church and community work, training our puppy ( which I threw in as metaphor for “other” obligations that take a lot more time and energy than I thought they would). Now, I could really push myself and attend school on campus, but why? When online options make it so much easier to go back to school and get a degree. Most people want to save time and energy; I, especially, want to save time and energy and quite frankly, I don’t want to push myself anymore. I want results, not an ulcer.
My online university experience was so fulfilling that I’m not certain that I would change anything in my pursuit of an advanced degree; rather, I would blueprint the process so that I could repeat the sequence, it was that effective. I would be tempted here to write, that in order to save time and money, I might consider a local program to get my Masters degree; however, in truth I would research Masters programs at FSU first and foremost. Out of sheer sentimentality, of course (see previous article “Seminole Pride”). Yet, along with being a sentimental gal, I’m also thorough and yes, entertain a pragmatic vein. So, I will look into other programs and weigh all the options, for research is our best tool for decision-making, and often the gateway to a new path that could lead to the next goal.
Posted by Sharon Cece on February 2nd, 2009
I was a typical college student from 18 to 20. I lived at home with Mom and worked at a department store while I attended a community college. At that time I majored in Business Management. A year later I hopped in my rusty little Datsun with one box of clothes and a typewriter (really) and headed to FSU, where I segued to the more general Business Program.
Then, I became somewhat non-typical and left FSU without a degree and a bunch of credits flying about looking for a home. Years passed; I traveled around the country a bit, got married and had kids. When I returned to finish my degree I was dismayed to discover that the online program I was interested in didn’t have a Business Degree Program! What to do.
Enter the wonderful, flexible Interdisciplinary Degree. Here’s what happened: I still had all these credits still flying around and now they’re getting tired. I knew that after 14 years I’d be hard-pressed to find a program that would accept all these aging credits. The Florida State Undergraduate Program Online had four options:
- Computer Science (Um, no–The last computer course I studied was Fortran, which can be found under history close to “Mayan Civilization” and “Jurassic Life“)
- Nursing (Definitely not, don’t like sticking needles in people)
- Family Development and Family Resource Management (Interesting, but would have to start over)
- ISS, or Interdisciplinary Social Science (ISS, is that a degree for snakes?)
None of those seemed applicable to Business, so I figured I struck out.
Not so. Interdisciplinary Degrees are just that–composed of two or more disciplines. Upon further inquiry, it turned out that many of my business courses, as well as the many prerequisite and general elective courses required for a business degree, were applicable toward a Florida State ISS Social Science online degree. Jackpot! Of course it helped that some of these business courses were from FSU prior; even so, it worked out much better than I had hoped.
The great part of my online experience at Florida State is that the advisors are very dedicated to helping you to graduate. My advisor spent a lot of her time reviewing my former transcripts, fitting in what could into my ISS program and helping me organize what courses I still needed. My Interdisciplinary Social Science program was flexible when it came to qualifying courses for my grad check; for example, general Economics courses that I took at my community college in NJ were applicable to secondary concentration Economics courses that I needed in order to graduate at FSU. In this way, I was well on my way to finishing an online degree in Social Science by utilizing courses I obtained originally pursuing a completely different degree.
Posted by Sharon Cece on January 22nd, 2009
The advent of online educating was, to me, what the invention of the remote control was to couch potatoes– the answer to a prayer. For the longest time I wanted to go back to school but I could not find the time or the energy to physically work it out. So, I stared at college catalogs and brochures and thought about it but never took the next step to get to the front step.
Fortunately, I never had to take that step. Leg-wise, that is.
It was a brilliant notion to have college “come to me”; everything I needed to partake in the cup of higher learning right from my bedroom office. Thus, the beginning of my online education was convenient, time-saving and close-at-hand. It also was at times frustrating, overwhelming and confusing. I’ll elaborate.
I had never participated in online study before. I just assumed to go to college you had to drive your car to university, sit in class, drive home. Do your homework, drive back, take your test. Ok, so now here I am and I can do everything from my computer. Wow. First, login. Oh wait, I need a student password. Which I didn’t have. So I have to contact a rep at the college, leave a message, someone calls back in a day or two. They refer me to someone else to whom I leave a message. That person is on vacation, so I contacted the next person on the list. This went on a little while.
Here you have a perfect introduction to online learning. Never expect an immediate reply; sometimes it’s a day, sometimes two, sometimes even a week. Often you are corresponding by email and emails have issues just like any other electronic medium; as well, computers hiccup, servers burp and e-programs take coffee breaks . As with any process, expect the unexpected.
Ok, now you have all your logins, student id numbers, passwords and sites. Next, you have to navigate. For me, this was the most confusing as a “freshman online”. At FSU, you had to find your online college site, then your specific course site, and then any other site that was an extension of your course site. There’s also the student information sites and main FSU webpage, the bookstore sites, financial information site, all the necessary emails and contact information, etc. and so on. I consider myself pretty adept at site navigation but I did feel overwhelmingly inept until I had all the sites bookmarked for easy retrieval.
Moreover, since you rarely if ever speak to your professor, TA or even advisor face-to-face, as referenced above, communication is seldom immediate. This can be a tad frustrating when you are stuck on an issue. Therefore, as a freshman, gather all the relevant contact info right away and keep it in a handy spot for reference. Also include as many students as you can; become friendly with seniors or veteran online students who have been in the program awhile as they will give you great advice. This is no time to be shy; in fact, online students need to be more bold than traditional students due to the lack of physical interaction. Be sure to contact your advisor or professors with any questions or concerns, and try not to get too frustrated if you don’t receive an answer to your question right away. Sometimes it takes a little while, but you will get an answer.
Finally, give yourself a break. As with any new adventure, time is the best teacher. Sooner than you think, you will be navigating the course sites and course work like you’ve been doing it all your life. You’ll understand how to operate Blackboard, Java, virtual classrooms, threaded discussions (don’t worry, I didn’t know what any of that was either). You’ll even know it so well that you’ll be helping other confused freshman coming in asking you for help. And you’ll do it all from the privacy of your home, office or the great outdoors, even from a friend’s house or beach house. You’ll go to college without ever having to “go” to college. You know, online educating might even be better than the remote control.
Well, unless you happen to be a very cultured couch potato–then it’s a toss up.
