37 yr old needing help!!!!

[luvbnhome2]

I have decided that I want to begin working on a degree while I am homeschooling my DC. I figure that I have about 6-8 years before it is time for me to enter into the working world, and as it stands right now with my experience, I can make about $8 an hour working in a preschool/day care center. Yikes!! So, I really need some advice on how to go about this. I want to do this mostly online if possible, but I read the thread concerning online degrees and it sounds kind of bleak!! Does anyone know of REAL universities that offer this type of program(I am in TN)? How about a community college(really do not want to go this route), will the degree transfer? I filled out a form on University of Pheonix's website and had a call within 30 secs. Everything sounds great~I like the fact that you just do 2 courses at a time for a nine week "block", but is it too good to be true? Could I just earn an associate's degree and move on from there? Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated!! My oldest dd is 12, so we are just beginning to look into this for her, so I hardly have any knowledge on this subject!!!! I haven't thought of college for 20 years!!!!! Thank you!

[KAR120C]

In NC at least, there are several universities (the whole UNC system) that offer a lot of classes online. Maybe not a whole degree program, although I think there could be one or two, but at least a lot of the basics... so it wouldn't get you the whole degree, but it would get you started.

 

I did a few math classes online last year and only had to show up for tests and final exams (3 or 4 tests a semester). If I had lived farther from the university, I could have had them proctored locally, so the commute would have been even shorter.

 

Do you know what degree you're interested in? That would be a good starting place... you could figure out where your options are and whether you can get anything done now at home.

[emubird]

Some community colleges have a guarantee that you will be able to transfer certain courses to certain local 4 year colleges, so you don't feel like you're limited to either getting a 2 year associate's degree, or else wasting your time at cc and having to repeat everything at a 4 year school later. If you have a cc near you, you might look into that.

 

And I get the feeling there are a lot more distance learning courses opening up, even at cc's -- so many people are going back to school right now there isn't physically room in the buildings for them all. Even here in the big city where we are, there are people I know doing courses online at very close cc's.

 

BTW -- many cc's are great. Some may not be so hot, which is where a lot of the overall bad reputation comes from, but if you've got a decent one near you, it's definitely worth looking into.

[edithcrawley]

What degree are you looking at? Also, before you seriously consider U of Phoenix-you might want to watch the PBS Frontline special on For Profit colleges-you can watch it for free on the Frontline website. Some states will let the classes at the CC transfer to a State Univ. It depends on the state-check with both the State Univ. and the CC to see how the transfer works out. As far as being able to do an entire degree online-it would depend on what degree you want to do.

 

Good luck!!

[luvbnhome2]

I have finally decided to go to our local cc for either an AA or an AS. I called our town's university and was told that the degree will transfer so that I can finish up there. I am way too skeptical to go ahead with University of Pheonix~it's a lot of money for something that may not hold water!!!! I am nervous about starting all of this! Thanks so much for all of the advice!!!!

[Alyce]

I did some research on this several years ago. I googled my major and added on-line universities. I came up with several that looked good. Most of them did require a couple of weeks at the actual campus itself. The ones I remember are University of Maryland and East Carolina University in NC. I know several people who have used the U of M. It is well respected and has lots of options and for many of the degrees it didn't require campus work. The one downside of doing an college like that is that the price is still about the same as normal colleges costs.

The CC suggestion would be the best route if you're not in a hurry and am strapped for money. Most of the courses our CC have online courses. Be warned though. Our experience with online courses has not been good. The teacher assigned a lot of busy work. The students were required to go to a site every week and discuss what the teacher asked to be discussed. My dc were very disappointed. All that the students would do was say I agree once someone posted something. They have come out with a hate for online courses. At least in our situation the on line courses were much more difficult. The teachers didn't seem to care what was happening and were very slow to give grades and never gave any feedback.

[QueenCat]

The main thing with any university, online or not, is that it is regionally accredited. That is what matters in most transfer situations and respectability for many employers. I go online, completely, at American Public University (sister school of American Military University). They are regionally accredited. I'm in TN too, and couldn't find a 4 year Bachelors program at any TN brick and mortar that I could do completely online (although many advertised that it could be done).

[QueenCat]

Most of the courses our CC have online courses. Be warned though. Our experience with online courses has not been good. The teacher assigned a lot of busy work. The students were required to go to a site every week and discuss what the teacher asked to be discussed. My dc were very disappointed. All that the students would do was say I agree once someone posted something. They have come out with a hate for online courses. At least in our situation the on line courses were much more difficult. The teachers didn't seem to care what was happening and were very slow to give grades and never gave any feedback.

 

 

My discussion board responses must be substantial, adding to the discussion, and not an "I agree" or I don't get credit for making a response. It really can be better than what your dc experienced but then my classes are at a 4 year university, not a cc, so that might be the difference.

[luvbnhome2]

I found (through a search on here, actually) the TN Board of Regents that has an online program through quite a few CC and universities around TN. U of M, which is our local university has an agreement with our local CC so that an actual associate's degree will transfer. I will be starting at the CC, and then procede on to U of M for my bachelor's degree. I will have to go on campus for various exams(although not all), and to give a speech for oral communication. My husband took a couple of online classes through the cc last year, and they seemed to be very active and interesting. Cathie, I would love to hear how you manage homeschooling and your education as well. I see that your children are older~mine are 8 and 12~so I guess that would be somewhat different. I know that I will be working through Elementary and Intermediate Algebra with my oldest dd, as I will have to begin with a basic math course. Are you taking a full course load?

[QueenCat]

Cathie, I would love to hear how you manage homeschooling and your education as well. I see that your children are older~mine are 8 and 12~so I guess that would be somewhat different. I know that I will be working through Elementary and Intermediate Algebra with my oldest dd, as I will have to begin with a basic math course. Are you taking a full course load?

 

One class at a time.... I'll increase the load after the youngest graduates in another year. I transferred in 68 credits from my younger years, and have completed 7 more. I need a total of 124. I had 18 classes to take when I went back in January, and have 16 to go. At American Public University, some classes are 8 weeks, some are 16, and some have the option of 8 or 16, so I have some flexibility too.