Online colleges, do they really work? I can’t help but think that employers, at least here in Overland Park, Kansas, might look down on degrees earned through the internet. Can anyone comment on this?

Julius

Overland Park, KS

Did you know that distance education through course correspondence has actually existed since the late eighteen-hundred? A lot of people have taken distance learning as their primary means of education, and the invention of the internet has made this type of learning experience richer, more convenient and more accessible to many who are just unable to attend a traditional college/ university.

Over the years, more and more colleges and major universities have started offering degrees and classes online, the benefit is that this is just like taking regular college classes and subjects are accredited and transferable.

I’m sure that if you search you’ll find a lot of reputable colleges and universities there in Overland Park, Kansas that are offering degrees online. As for employers looking down on someone who have earned an online degree, this may be a matter of how you convince your employer of the advantages you got and the skills you’ve learned from earning your degree online, such as time management skills, as well as the ability to work or learn with minimal supervision. It would also be a factor if your degree came from a major or reputable institution however it is more of what you have learned and how you can apply it, rather than how and where you got your degree, that should be the deciding factor for an employer to consider hiring you.

I would really like to finish my degree but my job requires me to stay here in Phoenix, Arizona, so I’m interested in getting to an online college instead, how do online colleges work? Are there any free college classes available to me?

Snyder
Phoenix, AZ

The structure and delivery of online classes really depends on the institution or university who will be providing the classes. Before, distance learning used to work through regular mail correspondence however, with the great improvements of internet technology, and ever increasing availability of faster internet connections had made distance education a practical and attractive way of earning a college degree.

The classes themselves differ, some universities such as the University of Phoenix in Phoenix, Arizona, have classes lasting about five or six weeks which usually starts when an instructor sends an email to the students outlining the week’s topics and assignments. Short lectures can be posted online; students themselves are the one to manage their time in studying for the said topics and completing all related coursework. Some universities will actually have chat and video conferencing sessions, usually scheduled once a week where students get to be in a virtual classroom. Exams can be taken either online as well or more often students will actually have to go to the university on specified dates to take major examinations for their online course. Take note that most online courses are designed to be as flexible as possible for busy, working people however you have to have self-discipline in completing the work on your own.