Online universities have become a place for many busy working individuals who are short of time and tight with their job and family responsibilities to continue their education. If you are one of the groups that want to continue their education through an online university; Here are some important pointers that you can use in your consideration while choosing your online university.
1. Accreditation
If you try to read any online education guide, I believe you have become familiar with the term “accreditation”. Almost all education guides will ask you to make sure that the online university or online degree program you are going to enroll in must be accredited by any agency accredited by the US Department of Education. In fact, all those guides are perfect and it is the most important factor when you make your selection.
Basically, accreditation is a formal review process on school programs and policies by one of the agencies accredited by the US Department of Education to see if these programs are meeting certain criteria. When a school is found to meet these criteria, it is granted recognition. If your degree is from an accredited online university, your degree will be accepted by most employers. Therefore, you eliminate the risk of the issue of an unrecognized degree or fake degree while applying for a job after graduation.
2. Get an Online Degree That Will Look Good on Your Resume
With so many online universities and colleges available, sometimes you will find it difficult to decide which school to choose for your degree. Well, ask yourself, if you’re an employer looking for a candidate for a position at a company when you interview job applicants and review their degrees, which school the degree from will get you. Would you feel better, degrees from renowned universities like the University of Phoenix and Kaplan University or an unknown university like ABC University? I’m the guest. If you’re the hiring manager, you’d probably choose the candidate who’s getting a degree from a well-known university, right?
A degree from a well-known and reputed online university will make your resume look good. A candidate from a “good brand” online university will certainly impress the hiring manager and make it easier for you. Therefore, you can do some analysis and get some feedback from any of the online degree forums about the universities listed online to see which one is the best known and best accepted before making your decision.
3. Lab Works (If Any) Near Your Location
Some degree programs require you to complete a few hours of laboratory work before earning a degree. If so and if your busy work schedule doesn’t allow you to travel far, you need to consider an online university that has a local facility or arrangement with a local institution to do your lab work.
4. Credit Transfer
There are many online universities that allow you to transfer your credit earned from a previous degree to save some credit hours and credit costs. You may consider this if you have credits that can transfer to your new degree program. Always check with the admissions officer for this information before enrolling in the program.
5. Good Academic Support
You will attend online classes by logging into the Online University Teaching and Learning System. Technology sometimes creates difficulties such as being unable to download learning materials or upload assignments to you. Sometimes, you may need help from the school to solve problems. Therefore, good support from an online university is very important to ensure the smoothness of your learning process.
Summary
Sometimes choosing an online university for your degree is a difficult decision: there are so many options available, too many degree programs that seem to meet your need. I hope the above pointers will help you to narrow down the scope of your choice and finally arrive at the final decision as to which online university to pursue your degree.
Tips to Compare Online Universities
Although there are many online universities available, your preference can be a challenge to choose the best online university that offers online degree programs. You may know what type of program you are looking for, but narrowing your list to programs that include courses that meet your needs can be difficult. Here are five ideas that can help you compare online universities based on a few key factors.
1. Compare Online Universities Accreditation
I believe you may have seen the term “accreditation” mentioned in many online education guides and articles. This is the most important factor when comparing online universities. If you earn a degree from an online university with regional accreditation, your degree will be widely accepted in the job market, and this helps you find a job easily after graduation. You may want to continue a higher education in the future, which you will most likely use your degree in to apply for graduate programs, and a degree from an accredited online university will enable you to transfer your credit easily because These online degrees are accepted by most schools.
2. Compare Online Universities Residency Requirements
Not all online degree programs are offered 100% online, with some universities requiring their online students to attend a few hours of physical classes on campus; Others may need to have a group meeting between students on group research discussion once a week or to do their lab work at school. Therefore, when comparing online universities, you need to consider the residency requirements that best suit your program, especially if you are a working person or traveling to campus is a concern for you.
3. Compare Online Study Schedules
Although one of the key features of an online education program is a “flexible schedule,” not all online universities allow you complete flexibility to study at your own pace, you may be required to meet strict deadlines, or You may be required to log on to online classes at a certain time to participate in real-time learning sessions. If you are a working person whose working hours are not fixed or a frequent traveler for jobs, you may prefer online universities which allow you to study completely at your own pace.
4. Compare How Online Universities Do Exams
There are online universities that allow students to take course exams completely online with open-book tests, while others may require their students to appear for exams at a protected testing center. If you prefer to take open-book exams, online universities that require you to take closed-book tests may not be the best option for you.
5. Compare Admission Requirements of Online Universities
Each online university has its own admission requirements; Some schools have a very lengthy application process that requires you to attend an interview, write an essay, or receive a recommendation letter for your admissions application, while others may have a simpler and easier admissions process. When comparing these online universities, you need to ensure that you are able to meet the admission requirements before submitting your application.
What The Online University Must Have?
1. The University is Accredited
The best online university must be accredited by one of six regionally accredited affiliates (Central State, New England, North Central, North West, Southern, Western). These allies make up the most important recognition in the United States. Universities that have been accredited by one of these associations have proven the quality of their degree programs and their degrees are fully recognized in the job market.
2. Proven Online Success
Although many universities make their degree programs available in an online format, their online learning system can have major flaws in terms of convenience and efficiency. When you find that the online learning system is hard to navigate from page to page, and it’s hard to download learning materials or upload completed assignments, you can be very disappointed. Therefore, when choosing an online university, you must consider the easy setup of the program and do not require any technical support. It would be better if universities let you try out their online learning system in demo mode before signing up with their degree program to make sure you are satisfied with the system.
3. Certified Online Faculty
Many online universities can recruit local classroom teachers to teach in an online environment. Since these teachers have not received the training to facilitate a productive online classroom, they may have problems in providing effective teaching in an online format. Therefore, make sure that your selected online university instructors have the required qualifications and certifications for online teaching.
4. Financial Aid Options
Earning a degree involves a substantial investment of money. Although online students may have fewer options for accessing financial aid, there are a number of attractive financing packages offered by online universities that you can apply for. Make sure your selected online university offers its students low-interest financing options or scholarships.
5. Satisfied Graduates
Is the online university you are interested in pursuing your degree in a good one? Don’t believe what the university claims because every university will say they are good. Try to get word of mouth from current students and alumni about how they view the university. You can request the results of a postgraduate survey from students and alumni as a reference for the university’s evaluation before signing on to its degree program. If you do not know a university graduate, ask the university to provide the names of graduates you can contact.