What does everybody know about online degree programs?
 

I'm in the market to further my education. I have family I can't possibly leave, so trekking across the country is out of the question and the local center of higher learning doesn't offer any interesting undergraduate programs.

I'm probably going to have to foot the bill myself, so...less expensive is better than outrageously expensive. I've been to all the obvious sites (DeVry, Walden University and the University of Phoenix), but I've also been to some not so obvious sites (UMass, Villanova, and Drexel).

I was just wondering if anyone here had any other suggestions or...better yet, have a personal experience to share.

I interview quite a few people and everything I've seen on-line has been pretty lame. I would ask a "real" college what they offer instead of looking at the advertise schools like Phoenix.

I'm currently enrolled full-time in a distance offered undergrad degree program at Memorial University in Newfoundland. I say distance offered, because the whole program is available both in person and online. My program is not widely known, partly because it is very specialized, and I'm not really sure how many students are enrolled. I know there are at least 65, but I know only 3 that are full-time on campus. The rest are spread out across the country and at least 10 are currently away working on cruise ships at the same time that they are taking their classes. I find the biggest problem with distance is getting myself motivated. This semester I'm taking 2 distance and 3 physical classes.
The other problem is the lack of a set format for distance classes and exams. The individual instructors are free to do whatever they want for exams. One of my classes opens exams over the course of a week, and the other one sets a specific time (usually 2 hours) and then the exam is closed. When I work, I need as much flexibility as possible, some of my courses offer that and some don't.

I would look at local colleges. I lived about 30 mins outside Pittsburgh, and there were eaisly 15+ colleges within 1.5 hours of my house.

So the name thing is a fairly significant factor? I'm not looking to hang my hat on this degree as it's just a stepping stone to a relatively local graduate program I'm interested in. Does it still matter as much?

I have looked at local colleges. The college I work at has a number of undergraduate programs, just not anything I could see myself doing. The closest university that offers...well, anything even remotely interesting is about 2 hours away. I guess that isn't that bad, but I thought I'd explore other avenues before committing to that kind of commute four days a week.


By the way, thanks for the replies. :)

So...you've had some success with distance learning classes? Excellent.

Personally, I can't imagine motivation being a factor since I'll be paying out of pocket. I mean, if I were to fail, I'd just be shooting myself in the foot, right?

It's good to hear a success story :)

If you want to do something with the degree at another institution, later you'll need to make sure everything you do with the first school will be accepted at the second. Nothing worse than thinking you have it all together only to find out you have to retake undergrad classes!