Is it Worth Pursuing a Distance Learning PhD?

On the face of it a PhD would seem to be a natural fit with distance learning. After all most of the work done on a PhD is original research and writing your thesis, you can usually do this from almost anywhere. Things are not that simple however and in most cases a distance learning PhD offers fairly limited value.

The main problem with a distance learning PhD is that the main reason that people pursue a doctoral degree is so that they can get an academic position. The reality is that your chances of getting an academic position with a distance learning degree are very low. While online degrees have gained much wider acceptance over the last few years one area where they are not widely accepted is in the world of academia. In large part this is because distance learning is something of a threat to academics who obviously make their living from teaching students.

The other issue with a distance learning PhD is that if you are doing your research on your own you will not have regular contact with your thesis advisor. While this may not be a huge problem in terms of actually completing your thesis it does have an impact on your career prospects. One of the first things that will be looked at if you apply for an academic position is who you took your PhD under; there are very few top academics who will act as advisors for a distance learning degree. This will be another huge issue that you will have to overcome if you want to get an academic position.

So does this mean that distance learning PhD’s are a complete waste of time? The answer actually is no it doesn’t. Over the last few years credential inflation has been somewhat out of control. In large part online learning has been responsible for that. The result is that a PhD is not simply an academic degree anymore; it can now be a huge benefit out in the private sector as well.

Since a PhD is no longer just for academics it would be fair to say that a distance learning doctorate is worth the time and effort. Just keep in mind that it is not going to get you an academic position. If your goal is to be a college professor you are going to have to get a traditional on campus degree.

How to Find Affordable Distance Learning Programs

The first thing that you have to do if you want to find affordable distance learning programs is to determine what it is that you want to study. Depending on your desired subject you may have a lot of choices when it comes to online colleges or you may find that your choices are quite limited. Obviously the more limited your choices the less likely that it is that you are going to find an affordable program. That being said popular programs like business tend to have high price tags.

Once you know what you want to study you will want to make a list of all the schools that offer that subject so that you can choose the one that offers the best deal. In almost all cases you will find that your local state university has the lowest tuition, this should come as no surprise as state schools are heavily subsidized. If your local state university does not offer the program that you want it is a good idea to look into state universities in other states. Often they will allow out of state students to take online courses with the same tuition as in state students.

When you are comparing the cost of distance learning programs it is important to make sure that you factor in all of the courses. Obviously the big one is tuition but it is not the only expense that you have to account for. Some schools, particularly those that are set up for distance learning will include the necessary text books as part of the course fee. If you have to buy your own books this will significantly increase the cost of your degree so this is something to look into.

The other big potential expense that you have to look at is exams. Almost all distance learning programs require exams for each course, often more than one. Where you write those exams can have a huge impact on the cost of your degree. If you live near the school you can usually write the exam there for no cost. If you do not live near the school however you will likely be responsible for finding your own place to write the exam as well as a proctor to administer. This can cost anywhere from $50 to $100 per exam. If you figure on two exams a course over forty courses to complete the degree you can see where this would really add to the price.

If you are looking for an affordable online degree the schools that you definitely want to stay away from are the private for profit schools. They usually have very high costs and in truth the degrees that they are offer are rarely worth what they charge for them. If you shop around you should have no trouble finding a school that offers a better deal. 

Can you Complete an Online Degree Program at a Regular College?

A lot of people are working towards online degrees these days. Unfortunately a lot of people are finding that online degree programs may not be the best option for them. This does raise the question of whether or not it is possible to transfer the credits you have earned towards an online degree to a regular college to earn your degree.

There are a few reasons that an online degree program may not work out for many people, the main one is that the lack the discipline to finish it. Being able to work on your degree at your own pace and in your own time sounds appealing, the problem is that you have to actually find the time to do it. Most people do better with the rigid schedule that a regular college offers.

The other problem that online degree programs have is that they simply don't have the credibility that a regular college degree has. As much progress as online degrees have made over the last few years in terms of acceptance the reality is that a lot of people still look down on them, online learners really haven't helped themselves in this respect. In a lot of cases this is not that big of a deal, for a lot of jobs just having the degree is all that matters, potential employers likely won't care where it came from. For some jobs however where you got your degree will matter and in these cases an online degree may not be a good option.

Just because an online degree may not be your goal does not mean that you cannot take advantage of online learning however. Most schools will allow you to transfer the credits that you earned in an online degree program as long as the school you took them at was regionally accredited. It is important however to check on this before you enrol as some schools are far less willing to accept transfer credit in general. It is much easier to transfer credit to your local state university than it is to Harvard for example.

It is also important to make sure that you look at the residency requirement before you start taking an online degree if your goal is to transfer down the road. Most schools limit the amount of transfer credit that they will accept. Usually they require that you complete at least half of the degree with their courses. Some schools will accept even less transfer credit and a small number even more. You can get around this problem and take the bulk of your courses online and still earn a regular college degree however if you take the courses at a school that offers both online and regular courses.

How Does Home Learning Work?

Home learning is really just another name for distance education which encompasses a whole variety of different ways that you can learn. Regardless of the option that you choose the idea is that you can take classes from wherever you happen to be, for most people obviously this is as at home.

Far and away the most common method of home learning these days is online. The internet has opened up all kinds of opportunity for learning in places other than school. This is mainly because unlike traditional distance learning courses the internet allows for interaction with your instructor and other students. Normally when you take online courses you will be required to watch taped lectures and in most case to take part in video chats. There are however a huge number of different ways in which these courses can be structured so it is best to look into exactly how the course that you are planning to take works.

If you are not interested in online learning, and there are a lot of people who aren't, you do still have the option of taking traditional distance learning courses if you prefer. These are usually paper based, you will be given a study guide and a list of textbooks and expected to work through the material on your own. Most schools will provide a tutor that you can call if you get stuck however. This is a good option for independent learners who are not interested in a lot of interaction.

When you are choosing a school for your home learning courses it is important to make sure that you look at how the courses are scheduled. Some schools stick to the traditional school calender which means that you will have to stick to their schedule. Other schools offer self paced courses that you can start whenever you want and work through at your own pace. Obviously the self paced courses give you more flexibility but they also require a lot more discipline to make sure that you keep up with your studies.

Almost all home learning courses that you take are going to require that you submit assignments. How many will of course depend on the school and the particular course. It is a good idea to check how many assignments there are are before you enrol in a course to see how much work will be involved. The number of assignments is usually listed in the course catalogue under the course descriptions.

In all likelihood you will have to take a final exam for your course as well, this is probably the trickiest part of taking a home learning course. If you live near the school you can usually write it there so there will be no problem. If you don't live near the school you will probably be responsible for making your own arrangements, this almost always means finding a proctor. This can be a major headache so make sure that you find out about exams and have a plan in place for writing them before you register for a home learning course.

What are Massively Open Online Courses?

One of the hottest trends in distance learning over the last few years have been massively open online courses (MOOC). Many people believe they are going to revolutionize not just online learning but the entire education system. There is a long way to go before that happens but it is still a good idea to know just what these courses are.

Massively open online courses are intended to have the broadest level of participation possible, this usually means that they are taught over the internet and in most cases are free. As the name implies they also have open enrolment, meaning that anybody who wants to enrol can.

The part that attracts the attention of most people is the free part, yes it is possible to take online university courses for free. There is however a major catch, you don't earn university credit for them. You will however get a certificate of completion that you can use to prove that you have taken and passed the course.

Who Offers Massively Open Online Courses?

There are a number of places that you can take MOOC's, the big ones are Udacity and Coursera. Both are are private companies that offer courses that are taught by some of the top universities in the world. One of fastest growing MOOC provider is edX which was started by MIT but now includes participation from several top universities like Harvard and Stanford. There are lots of other providers that offer courses, a quick online search will bring up dozens of them.

Who Takes Massively Open Online Courses?

There are all kinds of people who take courses through MOOC providers, the most common are people who simply have an interest in the subject and want to learn more. Many people also use them for career development. While you will not get university credit for the courses that you take you do get a certificate of completion. This certificate can be helpful career wise for many people. These courses tend to be best suited for people who already have a degree and want to increase the knowledge or learn new skills.

It is also pretty clear that a lot of the people who take massively open online courses are just dabblers and not all that serious about them. Statistics show that the courses have a very low completion rate with less than ten percent of people who sign up completing the course.

Getting Credit for Massively Open Online Courses

As mentioned earlier it is not normally possible to get college credit for MOOCs however this is starting to change. The downside however is that it will not be free. Udacity have partnered with San Jose State University to grant credit for at least some of their courses. In order to get the credit however you will need to take a proctored exam which costs about a hundred dollars. Still this is quite a bit cheaper than taking a regular college course.

Some of the other MOOC providers are also starting to find ways to grant credit on a limited basis. Some have had their courses recommended for college transfer credit by outside agencies for example although again this requires a proctored exam. It is also possible in many cases to use what you have learned to challenge for credit at a university, most will allow you to do this. Still if your goal is college credit massively open online courses may not be the best option.

Is it Worth Taking Free Online College Classes?

Over the last few years a lot of online colleges have started to offer free courses and many people have started taking them. Before you get too excited it is important to keep in mind that these courses do not carry any credit. This means that you can't use them towards a degree and they are not likely going to be much use for getting a new job or a promotion. The main reason for this is that there is no evaluation on the courses, they teach the subject but they don't have any exams so there is no way of establishing whether you actually learned the material.

If you can't get credit for the free online college classes that you take why would anybody take them? The answer in most cases is that there are a lot of people who just like learning new things and this is a great way to do it. If you are one of these people than the courses are clearly worth taking.

Another reason that they may well be worth taking is that if you are enrolled at a college, whether a regular one or an online one they may be a way to help you with a course you are struggling with. If you just aren't understanding what you are being taught by your professor it is very possible that having it taught by a different professor might be useful, in these cases the free classes may be very useful.

In some cases it may also be able to use the free online classes to obtain actually college credit although you will have to do it in a round about way. The most common way to do it is to take a free online course and then go write the CLEP that covers that subject. Most colleges will accept CLEP's for credit. If there is no CLEP for course you want credit for you can also look into DANTES, ECE or Ohio University exam programs.

It may also be possible to use a challenge for credit option to get credit. Many schools will allow this and normally it involves writing an exam to be granted credit, although in some cases you may also be required to submit some assignments, how you will be assessed will depend on the professor of the class.

Can you Take Online College Classes While Still in High School?

As a general rule no you cannot take online college classes while you are still a high school student. There are however some exceptions to this. The main one is that some community colleges will allow high school students to take one or two classes online with the permission of their high school. Usually this is limited to very good students who find the high school classes too easy.

While you are not technically allowed to take online college classes while in high school in most cases the reality is that there are ways around this. The main one is to simply start taking classes at a college that offers open enrolment. There are a number of online colleges that do not have any admission requirements, anybody who wants to can enrol, although normally you are required to be at least 18 years of age. Since you don't have to have a high school diploma for admission they will really have no way of knowing that you are still in high school. As for the age requirement, few schools ever ask you to prove your age so this should not be an issue.

Although there are ways that you can enrol in online college classes while you are still in high school you do have to think about whether or not it is a good idea. The first issue is simply whether you are academically ready for college classes, there is a reason after all that you normally have to finish high school first.

The other issue if you choose to lie about still being in high school is that it may affect your ability to transfer your college credits down the road. A sharp admissions officer is likely to notice that you earned the college credits before your high school diploma and may have some awkward questions. That being said in a lot of cases nobody pays that close attention and if you earn enough college credits you may even be able to transfer without even having to send in your high school diploma.

So, we have established that you can take online college classes while in high school if you really want to. We have also established that it is not a good idea for most people. We also have no doubt that there will be plenty of people who will do it in an attempt to get a leg up on college and get it done as quickly as possible.

Do you Qualify for a Tax Credit if you Take Online College Courses?

Unfortunately this is one of those questions that is hard to answer, the best that can be said is maybe. It is going to depend on both the school that you attended and the number of courses that you took during the year. You will have to do some research in order to determine whether or not you qualify.

The first thing that you have to make sure of in order to qualify for a tax credit on your tuition is whether or not you are attending an eligible institution. The IRS keeps a list of which schools qualify so you will want to contact them to get a copy of the list. What you are looking for is what is called publication 970, this should tell you everything you need to know about whether or not you qualify.

The other big thing to make sure of is that you are taking enough courses to qualify for a tax credit. In general as long as you take a course in each semester of the school year you should be fine. This does however get a bit tricky if you are taking self paced courses. There is a formula for working this out, you can find that in publication 970 as well.

It is a good idea to make sure that you check into all of this stuff before you start taking classes. The tax credit can be a great way to reduce the cost of your degree, particularly if you are a working adult with a large enough income for the tax credits to be important. The last thing that you are going to want is to find out after that fact that you can't get a tax credit because you enrolled at the wrong school.

Can you get an Online Degree that Does not Require Math?

This is one of the most common questions that is asked in the distance learning forums, it seems there are a lot of people out there looking for degrees that do not require them to take math. Unfortunately the answer to that question is yes you can.

It makes sense that a lot of people ask about getting an online degree without taking any math classes, most people struggle with math and if you have been out of school for a long period of time it can be intimidating to have to start taking it again. The good news for these people is that there are plenty of online degree programs that do not require you to take any math classes.

I actually think that it is a bad thing that you can get an online degree without a math requirement. One of the keys to online learning being taken seriously is that standards have to be the same as they are for students at a regular college and there are few if any regular colleges that will grant a degree with no math credits. Since a large number of online schools are for profit businesses however and their customers clearly want a degree that does not require math they have made this possible.

If you are looking for a degree program without a math requirement your best bet is the private, for profit schools. In general state universities have the same standards for online students as they do for off line students and this almost always requires at least one math class.

While you can certainly get an online degree without taking math I would strongly recommend that you not follow this approach. Taking a degree that has the same standards as a regular college degree will give you a lot more credibility and it will help to improve the image of online learning in general. Besides in most cases the math requirement is only one course and as math courses go it is not usually a particularly difficult one. Equally important there is a reason that most regular colleges require you to take math, it is something that you really do need to know.

Is Online College Cheaper than Regular College?

It would seem like online college should be less expensive than a regular college, after all they don't have the overhead that a regular college does, unfortunately this is rarely the case. In most cases you will find that online college is more expensive than a regular college, there are a few reasons for this.

The main reason that online colleges are more expensive than regular college is that most of the purely online colleges are run as for profit businesses. They charge the amount that people are willing to pay in order to maximize their profits. Since online colleges generally target working adults who have more money than the average college student they can get away with charging higher tuition.

Oddly even the cost of taking online college courses at a state university is often higher than it is for regular students. In most cases the tuition is the same for both online and offline classes however there is usually an extra fee, most likely called a technology fee that you have to pay in order to take online classes. The amount is not all that great on a per class basis but it does add up.

While online classes are generally more expensive the news is not all bad. For example while most state universities charge an extra fee for online classes most don't charge out of state rates. Therefore you can usually, although not always, take online classes through a state university in another state and pay the same rates as in state students pay which is often much lower than out of state rates.

The other big savings when you take online college courses is that you don't have to actually attend the college. This means that you don't have to worry about things like commuting or moving to be closer to the school. You can continue to live wherever you are and take classes.

Online college also makes it possible for you to work full time while taking classes if you want. While this does not reduce the cost of the classes it does make it much easier to pay for them. That being said working full time will slow down how fast you can actually complete your degree.

In terms of the total cost for a degree online colleges are about the same as regular colleges. It therefore does not make a ton of sense to get one just as a way to save money. We would also recommend that you stick to the low cost state schools rather than the private online colleges, they are simply not worth the amount that they charge.

Can you Get Financial Aid for Online College?

As a general rule online colleges are treated just like any other school when it comes to qualifying for financial aid. This means that all of the grants and student loans that are available for students at regular colleges are also available for online students. There are however a few things that you will want to keep in mind before you run out and apply for a student loan.

The first thing to think about is whether or not it actually makes sense to take out as student loan. We have all heard the stories of graduates with huge amounts of debt, more than they are likely to ever be able to pay off in most cases, this is something that you want to avoid. Fortunately one of the advantages of online college programs is that they offer a way to do this.

One of the main reasons that people choose online college is that it allows them to work full time while they are in school. This should make it possible to cover the cost of your tuition without requiring that you take out a student loan. Of course this assumes that you don't choose a very expensive online college.

A lot of people pay far more than they have to in order to get an online degree and this is one of the reasons that they often have to take student loans, or worse remortgage their house in order to pay for school. The reality is that there is simply no good reason to pay tens of thousands dollars a year for an online degree. It might well be worth it to pay that much for a degree from Harvard but not from the University of Phoenix. Online degrees just don't have a good enough reputation to justify that kind of price.

There are lots of reasonably priced online degrees available, the best values are from the state universities. These should allow you to get the degree that you need without running up huge amounts of debt.

One other thing to consider if you are planning to work full time while you take classes at an online college is that this may reduce the amount you qualify for when it comes to student loans. Most student loan programs are based on the idea that you will be a full time student and not working full time. Even if you carry a full time course load if you also have a full time job there will be loan programs that you ineligible for. This is another good reason to not rely on student loans to get an online degree.

In all honesty if you are going to rely on student loans and are not planning to work full time you would be better off attending a traditional college. Most students find it easier to learn this way and the degree will carry more respect.

Can Online College Credits be Transferred to a Regular College?

There are a lot of things to consider when you are choosing an online college, one of the most important is to make sure that the credits that you earn can be transferred to a traditional college. This is true even if you are not planning to transfer, you never know what you may want to do down the road. More importantly you have to be concerned about the quality of an online college if other schools won't accept their credits.

In most cases you will find that the credits you earn at an online college can be transferred to other schools but you are going to want to make sure that you check before you actually register with an online college. Your safest bet is to register with a school that offers both online and traditional classes as they usually have the same courses for both. Credits earned online from as state university are the most reliable.

If you are considering a purely online college this is where you are going to have to be really concerned about whether or not your credits can be transferred. In most cases if the school is regionally accredited you should have no problem. Very few traditional colleges will accept transfer credit from a school that is not regionally accredited so they are best avoided altogether.

The best bet for making sure that the courses you take can be transferred is to simply contact the school you plan to transfer to and ask them if they will accept transfer credit from the online college you are considering. If there is no school that you are planning to transfer to contact your local state university and ask them.

The last thing that you want is to spend the time and money to earn credits that you can't transfer if you need to. It is therefore important to make sure that you take the time to do the necessary research before you start taking classes, this will save you a lot of disappointment down the road.

Do Employers Care if you got an Online Degree?

One of the biggest concerns that people have about online colleges is how potential employers are going to view their degree. This makes perfect sense of course since the reason that most people go to the trouble of getting a degree is to get a better job. The question is should you be concerned about what employers think of online degrees.

If you go to any distance learning forum one of the most common questions is whether the degree says that it was earned online, this seems to be mainly because they don't want potential employers to know that it is an online degree. In reality this is not that big of a deal as few employers will ever ask to see the degree anyway.

In general employers are not going to know one way or the other how you got your degree, in most cases they simply aren't interested enough to bother looking into. Therefore unless you tell them that you got an online degree it not likely to be a factor. There are of course exceptions to this, you will find it very difficult to get an academic position with an online degree and jobs like an investment banker pretty much require an Ivy League degree.

Even if you do tell a potential employer that you got your degree online it is not likely to matter too much in the hiring process. There is much more acceptance for online degrees than there was a few years ago. More importantly in most cases employers place far less weight on academic qualifications than most people think they do. As long as you meet the minimum qualifications you should be fine regardless of where the degree came from for most jobs. This is particularly true if you have a fair amount of work experience.

The best advice is to not worry too much about whether an employer finds out that you got an online degree, most of them don't care either way. You will find that your work experience is far more valuable and one of the benefits of an online education is that you can get this work experience while you are studying which should put you ahead of the game.

Can you Enrol at an Online College With a GED?

Whether or not you can enrol at an online college with a GED is going to depend on the school. Most require that you have a high school diploma in order to be able to enrol, whether a GED is acceptable or not is going to depend on the school. This is something that you are going to have to check. To be sure however there are some schools that will accept a GED.

In general schools that offer both online classes and regular classes will have the same admission requirements for both. Therefore if GED is not acceptable for regular classes it won't be for online classes either. Most online only schools follow similar admission guidelines.

There are however some online schools that offer open admission. This means that they will allow anybody who wants to to register. The logic here is that if you can successfully complete the course it really shouldn't matter whether you have a high school diploma. The big thing to consider here of course is whether or not you really can complete the course successfully.

If you don't want to enrol at one of the open admission online colleges it may well still be possible to get into one that requires a high school diploma even if all you have is GED. In most cases schools allow for admission as a mature student. Normally you qualify if you are over the age of 21, in this case no high school diploma is normally required.

The only way to determine whether or not you will be able to get into a particular online school is to go to their website and look at their admission requirements. If you meet them there is a pretty good chance that you will be accepted as one of the great benefits that online colleges have over regular colleges is that they don't have to limit the number of students they accept as they don't have space limitations.

Fitting Online College Around your Work Schedule

One of the great things about taking online classes is that you can work full time while you study. In order to do this however you have to make sure that you choose a school that will fit in with your work schedule, fortunately there are lots of options available in this regard.

The most practical way for most people to fit online college around their work schedule is to take classes from as school that has no fixed schedule. There are lots of schools that will allow you to log on whenever it is convenient for you so you can do your studies in your free time.

Other schools may require you to be online at a specific time, this may be problematic for some people. As the schools are well aware that most of their students are working usually they require that you be online in the evenings. This of course is a problem if you have a non-standard work schedule so this may not be a great option for you.

While it might seem like taking classes at a school that requires you to be online at a specific time would be a negative it actually offers a couple of advantages that are well worth considering. The biggest advantage is that it helps you manage your time. The single biggest reason that people fail when taking online classes is poor time management.

The other big benefit of taking classes that have a set schedule is that usually this schedule is set because it allows for interaction with the professor and other students, usually in the form of video chat. This makes the online classes more like regular college classes and most student learn better this way.

It is up to you to decide which option is best for you, once you do you need to make sure that you find a school that offers courses structured the way that you like. Usually there is section their website explaining how their courses work, if not you can get a pretty good idea from the course description of what the schedule is going to be like.

The Pros and Cons of Online College

Online colleges have become very popular over the last few years as they have opened the door to higher education for a large number of people. If you are considering an online degree however it is important to keep in mind that there are pros and cons and you need to make sure that consider both before making a commitment.

The Pros:

• Convenient, you can take classes when it is convenient for you. This is a huge plus for a lot of adults in particular as it allows them to fit school into all of their other responsibilities.

• You can work full time while you are attending school. This will make it much easier to pay for your classes and in most cases make it unnecessary to run up huge amounts of student loan debt. Of course working full time is also going to slow down the pace at which you can complete your degree.

• You can work at your own pace. Most online colleges offer self paced courses which means that if you want to tear through the courses really quickly you can. You can also work at a slower pace if this is necessary.

The Cons:

• Most people lack the necessary discipline for online learning. While the convenience of being able to set your own schedule and work at your own pace may sound appealing the reality is that a lot of people find that without a rigid schedule and somebody telling them when to do the work it is difficult to make time for their studies.

• Online colleges are not as respected as traditional colleges. Although acceptance of online learning has increased in recent years the reality is that in the eyes of a lot of people a degree earned through an online college is not as good as one earned at a regular college.

How Long Does it Take to Complete an Online College Class?

How long it takes to complete an online college class is going to depend on a number of factors, the first is the how the class is structured and secondly how fast you can work through the material. Many online colleges still use the traditional semester system, if this is the case it is going to take you 16 weeks to complete each course that you register for.

A lot of online colleges have started to moved towards a system in which they offer a more compressed time line for the courses, usually eight weeks. In this case you would take half as many courses but complete them twice as fast as you would on a traditional semester system. Ultimately it will take you the same amount of time to complete the degree but if you do need to complete one or two courses quickly this can be a great option.

The fastest way to complete an online college course is by choosing a school that offers self paced courses. These are courses that you can start at any time and which you work through at your own pace. Normally have six months to complete the course but if you can do it much faster than that if you choose. How fast will depend on a number of factors.

If you enrol in a course where you are already comfortable with the material it may be possible to complete the course in less than a week. This however will depend on how many assignments there are if any. It may not be possible to work through them that fast and even if you can you may not be able to submit the next one until you have received the last one back. If you want to take a course really quickly look for one that has few assignments, none would be best.

If you enrol in a self paced course and you are not familiar with the material it is probably unrealistic that you can work through the course in a week. If you really need to you may be able to devote full time study to it for a week to get through it but this is not practical for most people. Realistically depending on how many classes you are enrolled in you should expect to spend the 8 to 16 weeks that it would take if enrolled in a semestered course. 

Related Posts:

How Fast Can you Get an Online Degree

Are Fast Online Degrees Legitimate

Quick Online Degree - What Are The Quickest Online Bachelor Degrees You Can Do?

How Do Online College Classes Work?

One of the things that concerns a lot of people when they are considering taking an online college course is just how the classes will work. There are some pretty big differences between online classes and regular college classes and it is important to be prepared for these differences.

In truth there are a lot of different ways that online classes can work so you have to make sure that before you choose an online college college that you do some research to determine just how the classes work. For example some schools will have all of the course material online available for you to access whenever it is convenient for you. This usually includes video lectures as well as course notes and a list of text book readings. Other schools however will require you to be online at a specific time each day.

A lot of online colleges have started to take advantage of the interaction that is available over the internet by requiring students to take part in things like video chats or to participate on message boards. In a lot of ways this replicates the way that things would be done at a regular college. The downside to this however is that it does require that you stick to a set schedule. Of course for some people this can be a good thing as one of the biggest challenges that many online learners have is making time for their course work.

In most cases, although by no means all you will also be expected to submit your homework online. This greatly speeds up the process over traditional distance learning which usually required you to mail in your assignments. It also allows you to get feedback on your assignments very quickly.

The area of most concern for most people when they take online college courses is how they do their exams and this is definitely something that you want to look into before you register for a course. Many schools will allow you to take your exams online. This may or may not require a proctor. If it does require a proctor you will be responsible for finding one on your own in most cases, this can be a major headache and a not inconsiderable expense.

Many colleges that offer online courses will require that you write your exams at the school itself, this will save you the trouble of having to use a proctor but it does mean that you have to get to the school. If you live too far away you will be allowed to use a proctor in this case as well. In many cases when schools require you take the exam at their location the exam is still paper based so be prepared for that.