Liz CA Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 I am wondering if there are any reputable online universities. I know Walden is accredited in many degree programs. I don't know about any of the others. I only heard negative things about Phoenix...so is everyone still stuck commuting to campuses or not? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 For me the issue is whether the online university is for-profit of not. These are the schools that are currently under government scrutiny. Another issue is the field itself. I would investigate whether an online degree is considered "valid" in your field of interest. It seems that for people who are older and have a number of years of experience in a particular field but cannot advance because of the lack of a degree, an online degree program may be fine. But for students of traditional age, I am not as confident that an online degree would be considered of the same quality as one from a brick and mortar school. Some tomatoes may be thrown, but this is my perception. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarreymere Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 Many established schools, including state universities, offer online classes and degree programs. What are you looking for? I'm not familiar with a school that exists only in cyberspace but I have taken classes online at a couple schools including a state university (in PA) and the private four year college I originally graduated from. Why don't you look around at schools that have degree programs in a field that you are interested in and then see if those schools offer online classes. If you are a PA resident, Penn State itself has a number of online classes and programs and the individual state universities here also have online classes. I would be surprised to find that CA didn't have the same thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 For me the issue is whether the online university is for-profit of not. These are the schools that are currently under government scrutiny. Another issue is the field itself. I would investigate whether an online degree is considered "valid" in your field of interest. It seems that for people who are older and have a number of years of experience in a particular field but cannot advance because of the lack of a degree, an online degree program may be fine. But for students of traditional age, I am not as confident that an online degree would be considered of the same quality as one from a brick and mortar school. Some tomatoes may be thrown, but this is my perception. :iagree: In our experience (Engineering) online degrees are not considered good mainly because they lack the "hands on" experience of "in-person" classes and labs. With those I know IRL who hire in other fields, they'll take an online degree for someone with years of experience who got the degree after they had the experience (just needed the piece of paper) but will not consider a new hire with one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asta Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 If your child is looking into one of the other 84% of fields in academia, they might want to check out: University of Oklahoma Texas A&M University of Kansas Indiana University University of Arizona Pretty much any major university now has an "outreach" or "distance" or "online" program. Some of them allow for the entire program except one or two summer "seminars" to be done either by extension (do the work, email it in), or online (utilizing Blackboard for interactive chat with other students & the professor). They've all (more or less) figured out that it is a massive money maker that requires fewer resources (once it is set up, anyway) and has a great return monetarily. asta Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abacus2 Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 I would start by checking with local colleges and universities. Most seem to have at least some classes online and more are starting to have fully online degree programs. These are reputable, being regular colleges or universities. Also, an employer looking at your eduction history won't automatically know you studied online if that would bother them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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