How respectable is this in your opinion?

2/9/2012 11:38:01 AM

depends on the school or program.

some of them are just a joke, others are just as good as the classroom assuming you put the time and effort in.

many top rate schools that have been around forever have online programs.

i teach and have taught at multiple colleges online in the past. maybe if you give me more info about what youre trying to accomplish i can be more helpful.

2/9/2012 12:46:23 PM

the ones from university of phoenix and such you mean are a joke right? I'm looking at terminal master's programs from nationally ranked, large public universities who have a campus program and an online program and that also make no distinction on the diplomas, what do you think of those? Also I'm a little concerned of the potential stigma associated with doing the classes online, like no actual classroom experience, interaction with teachers and students. is that really a big deal? thanks.

2/9/2012 2:16:01 PM

yeah university of phoenix, ecpi, strayer, horseshit like that (stay away). dont even email them- youll get bombarded by spam from every little "bobs university" in the world.

sounds like youre looking at all the right programs, and as long as thats the case, there really is no stigma attached to it.

if its a good online program youll be pretty involved. if the professor is a good online instructor there wont be any more "shortcuts" that you can take as a student compared to in class.

i would encourage you to email the instructors A LOT. since you dont meet them in a class or visit during office hours this is your best bet for interaction. a good program will have some kind of forum or chat interface between you and your fellow students as well. communicating with the professor more than usual in this way SHOULD NOT annoy them. if they put off that vibe then they are shit-

that being said... YES there is always the chance you could interview one day and some 70-year old dumbass FUCK could look over your resume and marginalize you for the online degree. of course its up to you how exactly you announce the nature of this degree on your resume... like you said, many of them make no distinction.

do you have some more specific questions maybe? yours were pretty general... im a huge fan of online classes obviously because i teach so many and my contracts (money) depend on people like you. if it makes you feel any better online classes are actually audited and scrutinized FAR MORE than normal classes because of the nature of instruction. in the beginning many students were signing up for them just to get easy access to student loans and the bail on the class like it was some kind of clever scam.

because of this LEGIT SCHOOLS have incredibly good online programs, but your level of involvement and participation is much more important (compared to a traditional class), IMO.

2/9/2012 2:29:22 PM

Why don't you get some work experience before you decide that you need a terminal masters degree. These programs have been/will be around forever and will only get better with time/technology.

2/9/2012 3:59:13 PM

I think online degrees from schools that are anchored within respected universities that aren't online exclusive might carry a better reputation. I don't know much about NCSU and online degrees, but I've at least heard of this one which I think would probably be stronger than a similar degree from an exclusively online university:

http://poole.ncsu.edu/mba/academic-programs/online/

Quote :

"NC State Online MBA Program The NC State Online MBA Program has a strong commitment to providing exceptional management education to working professionals. We offer an AACSB International-accredited, flexible program that features an award-winning faculty, innovative curriculum, and affordable tuition."

2/9/2012 11:26:19 PM

The program is online but the degree is a degree so get that out of you head. Your job interviewer won't ask "And did you earn your degree online?"

y0willy0 is right. University of Phoenix has had an ok reputation until they recently expanded aggressively.

If you're in the military and you're pretty much moving constantly and get a lot missions to send you around the globe consistently, you don't have a choice really, you have to get online courses to work toward a degree so that you can do your work, and send it in on time.

So far, I've been very impressed with the level of attention, involvement, and relevance each course demands from me and I would say that each course I've taken online has stuck with me longer in regards to recalling information.

It's hard being a dad, soldier, and student and then juggling those three acts so that everything is Zen...

I would definitely recommend doing courses at school if you're at school, but I wouldn't discount online courses... it's harder to teach yourself and to "get it" when trying to understand the material. The great thing is that email gives your instructor 24 hour office time and teaching yourself definitely sticks with you. I've known people have majors for 4 or 5 years and didn't remember one thing about their major.

2/10/2012 12:07:48 AM

the worst mistake you can make in an online program IMO is to be the equivalent of the student who sits in the back and says nothing while simply turning in what is required of him and making a low B / high C.

this student gets absolutely nothing from either experience, be it in-person or online. they get credit for the class sure, but reality hits them quit hard when they attempt to enter the workforce.

just be careful as the online experience can turn a formerly excellent classroom student into ^this!

(my 2 cents)

2/10/2012 2:13:39 PM

thanks for the informative replies. I am considering online is because I want to be working at the same time and I would do the online classes part-time, if I planned on not working of course i would do it on-campus. I never took an online or distance ed class while at State though. how would you adjust if you are used to showing up to class, turning in work? Are you saying more will be expected of the student because they don't have to physically come to the classroom and in what way, I have no problem being motivated and I do agree that when I have to teach myself things I learn the materials better.
how do you do testing? I've heard people say that you can cheat on the tests since its online so it isn't as legit.

2/10/2012 3:53:51 PM

I'm not sure how State does things, but my experience is that the exam is proctored. It means that you contact your professor/mentor and set up a date and place where the exam will take place. Then you show up at the time, show your ID and take the exam.

Now if you do it online, it will be timed for each response. The exam will be different for every semester and they may rotate questions between tests, but it will be done randomly. Cheating is more difficult... and if you're cheating... like y0willy0 said, you're just going to have a difficult time during the workforce to do your job and know nothing about it, that's if you don't get caught.

[Edited on February 10, 2012 at 8:38 PM. Reason : s]

2/10/2012 8:38:02 PM

it really depends on the exam. the online courses I've taken at state were the same as any other course as far as exams. written. you get the exact same exam as the students in the class. then again, I was taking a class that actually had a real class counterpart at state, so go figure

2/10/2012 8:44:02 PM

One online class I did through state late you take exams through the Venture Testing center on Centennial Campus, or there was a process to go through to get a qualified proctor in other areas that I believe had some extra costs. So the only times I was physically on campus for that class was midterm 1, midterm 2, and the final. So I think there are a variety of ways to do testing for online classes, just depends on the individual class.

[Edited on February 10, 2012 at 10:46 PM. Reason : .]

2/10/2012 10:45:57 PM

half my degree is online, the other is classroom.

with that said. FUCK blackboard

2/12/2012 11:01:55 PM

yeah i dont use blackboard.

i hate it and my students hate it.

it looks like it fell out of the mid 1990s but everyone seems to enjoy the hell out of moodle.

2/13/2012 2:00:30 PM

i believe one of the programs I applied to uses that system,
also what would you prefer for online, 2 classes at a time throughout a semester or 1 class every 5-6 weeks?

2/13/2012 9:07:31 PM

2 classes at a time is a reasonable workload (even online).

my gf is doing that right now and working full time. she is far from overworked (environmental studies / sustainable development & policy).

2/13/2012 10:56:14 PM

that is good to know. I applied to a 30 credit hour program but I can take 1 class per summer session so it would still take me 2 years.

what is your opinion on some online programs having softer requirements for entry than compared to the on-campus program? lower GPA or not having to take the GRE. although one I applied to had the exact same requirement as the on-campus version.

[Edited on February 14, 2012 at 11:25 AM. Reason : ]

2/14/2012 11:24:29 AM

id be weary of any grad program that waives the GRE.

also i was under the impression that entry to most grad programs was a function of gpa and gre score.

maybe you could give me a little bit more info about what youre looking at?

2/14/2012 12:45:34 PM

the GRE was only waived if I met a certain GPA requirement this was for online and on-campus in one program, another online program waived the GRE if you had a certain GPA but the on-campus version required GRE so do you think that might make the online less respectable although its the same degree?. I wanted to apply to one other online program but it required GRE for online too, but I wouldn't waste my time with the GRE since I believe those tests are a bad predictor of your future success. I only applied to schools in the top 10 graduate programs ranked by US News and World Report for my desired field and these are BCS conference schools. I can message you with more specific details or links if you want.

[Edited on February 14, 2012 at 1:37 PM. Reason : ]

2/14/2012 1:36:44 PM

>earning

ahaha. You mean buying.

All i know is at NCSU all the online classes i've taken have required no work other than a weekly post or two online and some walls of text that the TA's never actually read. Maybe a multiple choice test that you can guess/common sense your way through whereas lecture sections have qualitative and quantitative tests.

They cost a little bit more. Its like the extra work required of a lecture class can just be boughtt

I'm Krallum and I approved this message.

[Edited on February 14, 2012 at 7:47 PM. Reason : ]

2/14/2012 7:45:00 PM

^^in that case i believe you would only be "judged" as less-respectable if you ever decided to get your PHD.

if this is definitely the end of the road for you education-wise then go for it. doesnt sound unusual-

2/15/2012 8:45:22 AM

FWIW, I'm currently enrolled in a 500 level online statistics class at state. Maybe I am just used to getting abused by engineering courses, but it isn't that difficult. The material is the same as what would be covered in a traditional course.

I do appreciate the fact that I can pause and watch lectures at my own speed. I wish I had that in my undergrad courses.

[Edited on February 15, 2012 at 1:59 PM. Reason : .]

2/15/2012 1:58:54 PM

I'm taking NE419 right now and it is Pencast.

I'm Krallum and I approved this message.

2/15/2012 4:31:54 PM

I've taken grad classes online through NCSU while working full-time. They have an on-campus version and an online version of this program. You can do the non-thesis version on or off campus. You have to be on-campus if you want to do the thesis. Other than that, almost all of the required courses are the same (same instructors too).


I took some "online" courses as an undergrad, and my experience was the same as Krallum's. You do some reading (maybe), sign in and respond to a message board once a week (maybe a TA reads it), take a test once a month... maybe there was one paper... done. And the grade mainly comes from the test grades. That being said, I had the same exact experience in some on-campus classes as well. I'm sure we all had classes that only required you to show up on the day of the test. And you passed b/c the tests made up the entire grade (or most of it) and the tests were based on reading, or were just poorly written tests that were easy to pass.

My experience with the few online grad. classes I've taken through NCSU has been completely different. I feel like I spent just as much time with it, if not more, as I did with any class I took on campus that was actually challenging.

My classes required reading, essays, papers, interaction with the other students and the instructor, group projects, and there were several times during the semester which we all (or as many as possible) signed into a web-app at once that allowed us to all interact in real-time via IM, microphones, a commone "white-space", etc. This allowed for live discourse and the ability to give presentations --- webcams and "meeting" websites are far more common now. It was a full-on class, it just happened to take place online rather than in a classroom. That's more along what you will experience if the instructor approaches it properly, and is most likely what you'll get from a reputable online grad. program.

I didn't think it was any easier to pass than an equally challenging on-campus class. Assuming everything is done well, the big difference will be live-discourse and guaranteed face-time with the instructor. You'll communicate via email, maybe IM, maybe telephone or webcam (if you need to or want to do so that is). My instructors all held regular office hours (on campus). These were mainly used for phone calls, but you could set face-to-face appointments if you wanted.

And keep in mind that some classes are just easier than others. You can have more challenging material in ABC 300 compared to ABC 200 and the class is just easier to pass because of the instructor, grading, type of assignments, etc. That same thing applies to online classes.

As for testing, it seemed that the classes I took counted "tests" as a lesser portion of the grade compared to papers and discussion (we had to interact A LOT via message boards, write papers, and give presentations). And I'm fairly certain a lot of it was read by the instructors (they jumped in and out of threads of conversation regularly to make comments and steer discussion). We were expected to carry on conversation about the topics we were studying all throughout the week. Point being that tests aren't the end all be all. There are a lot of other, and possibly better, ways for an instructor to evaluate the extent to which you've mastered the material than a test. And as someone mentioned, it's not hard to simply require that a test is taken via a proctor.

[Edited on February 16, 2012 at 2:22 AM. Reason : screw it, i'm not fixing typos this late.]

2/16/2012 2:21:25 AM

thanks, I think most of the work required of me will be papers and discussion board posts according to what I've read but I would be more comfortable doing that online than a test. I had some classes require tests online through moodle in undergrad but I never felt comfortable taking tests online.

2/16/2012 4:10:28 PM

Sure, and good luck with it. FWIW, I enjoyed the experience. I felt like I was very engaged with the material and learned a lot. And it worked a lot better with my schedule than a classroom based course would have at the time.

The other thing is that grad. classes tend to be different anyhow. IME, a higher percentage of the people in those classes (compared to undergrad) actually want to be there to learn.. not just to get the credit. Due to that, discussion, presentations, etc. all seem to be more genuine and meaningful. I'm sure there are exceptions, but that was my experience.

2/16/2012 7:26:56 PM

Taking my classes online, getting my degree on my own time.

2/19/2012 9:55:07 PM

As previously stated, what matters is the reputation of the school. If you are going through a regionally accredited non-profit institution you should be fine. I've done much better in the online environment than I ever did when I was expected to come to class, and am currently working towards my PhD online from a top 25 engineering school. At the end of the day what matters is the piece of paper, not the delivery method.

2/26/2012 7:29:49 PM

I got my master's degree from Old Dominion for Engineering Management strictly online. I have never once visited the campus.

All the classes were asynchronous, so I was able to work at my own pace. Between my bachelor's degree here at state, and all my experience in the navy, I was only required to take seven classes total. They varied in difficulty and amount of time required, but I would say that overall, the courses were about on par with the difficulty level of my mechanical engineering classes at state.

The classes were what you made of them. The biggest disadvantage was not being able to ask the professors questions in real time, however the fact that I could rewind the lectures and watch any of the more complex concepts multiple times was a huge plus.

3/24/2012 2:23:33 AM

thanks for the information....looks like I'll be going to Mich St for the online masters program in intelligence. 10 classes/30 hrs total and no thesis doesn't seem difficult and I'll be doing them part-time and should still graduate in 2 years. also people should know it is from a brick and motor so they shouldn't question how I earned it.

I might do a class in the summer to get a feel for the online. Is it typical that all online classes would have lecture videos?

3/28/2012 4:13:49 PM

all my online classes involved videos...rather they be lectures, or just key videos to help understand the concept.

3/28/2012 6:08:14 PM

none of my online classes had recorded lectures. We did a lot of reading, including a lot of current research, and had a lot of discussion with each other, the instructor, in groups, etc.

3/29/2012 12:00:57 AM

interesting...seems strange with no videos because it would be like taking a course without a teacher. but your description above sounds a lot like the courses I would be talking from what I read on the program's website. I just hope there are at least some videos. I prefer to have videos so it would resemble more like a traditional class where you listened to the teacher and wrote down notes, I probably enjoyed those types of classes at NCST the most since they were very straightforward.

3/29/2012 6:15:58 PM

my online clases were more like the discussion based classes I had as an undergrad than the lecture. That could due to the topics of the courses.

Personally, I prefer discussion based courses to a teacher that is essentially a talking head. Lecture is necessary sometimes, but if the teacher comes in every day and talks for an hour why you simply take notes, I'm not sure that's a good approach. Nix that, from an education standpoint, I know that's not a good approach. But some classes certainly lend themselves better to one style than the other.

And there's actually a big trend in some places called "flipping the classroom." Students are watching the lecture at home for homework and then the class time with the teacher is used predominately for discussion, further exploration of the topic for the day, etc.

3/29/2012 7:18:27 PM

Well I found out some more information about the program I'm starting and it said that recorded lecture videos were 'rare' in the program....so I am concerned. I declined another offer that was more expensive but I believe they had lecture videos for every class and had a sample one on the website. this is weird because you don't even get to see the actual teacher speaking, what they look like etc... I'd rather spend some more time to watch video lectures so I can actually see them teaching but oh well that's why its almost half the price as the on-campus version right...

[Edited on April 1, 2012 at 10:11 PM. Reason : ]

4/1/2012 10:06:04 PM

I think you're better off this way. From what i've seen, those with a lot of video recordings don't seem to understand online learning and are trying force it into the mold they know by putting up video.

I think the leaning will be student driven, as in you'll be doing a lot of reading and research, not just taking lecture notes.

4/1/2012 11:44:09 PM

yeah I'll probably learn more this way but I would always be teaching myself the material even the hard concepts, but sometimes you need a teacher to explain that to you.

4/2/2012 12:22:06 PM

Quote :

"but sometimes you need a teacher to explain that to you."

That will be the biggest difference with online vs. traditional. With a classroom setting, you're guaranteed to see the instructor how ever often the class meets. You won't have that here so you have to make sure you take advantage of whatever they have set up (email, office hours - for phone calls, message boards, etc.).

And you may not be privy to all of the questions other students ask. But keep that in mind when you have questions as well. If you have the opportunity to ask a question via message board or a private email, everyone is more likely to benefit from the question being asked on a message board.

4/2/2012 1:07:39 PM

do you think teachers won't know you as well online or does it not matter?

and I just saw a past syllabus for one of the courses I am hoping take....your grade is composed of participating in discussion boards, assessment quizzes, a case study and a final research paper so pretty much what you said about online learning.

my only concern right now then is that it seems like the online program was designed more for working professionals in the field and they apparently expect students to draw from related real life work experiences which i have little of since I am going straight to graduate school after college.

4/3/2012 10:44:27 PM

I think the teachers will "know" you. I don't know how much you post or read on here, but there are posters I "know"/recognize because they post often in the same threads I do. There will only be like 25 people in your classes, so they'll "know" you in that sense I think. Same as a regular class the teachers know the students who interact regularly and thoughtfully.

I was working in the field while taking classes, and that was the norm. But there were a few students right out of undergrad in the classes.

[Edited on April 3, 2012 at 11:28 PM. Reason : .]

4/3/2012 11:26:40 PM

what about some online programs that have like 200 to 300 people enrolled in one class? I applied to one with those numbers of enrollment but the one I am about to do ranges from 20-50 people per class.

also when you did your online program did you at least have powerpoint slides with audio of the teacher talking? I believe that is what I will be getting since there is no video.

4/23/2012 4:52:41 PM

no, there were no "lectures." There was a ton of assigned reading and research, and guided discourse.

5/13/2012 12:36:43 PM

what was the point of the teacher besides guiding discourse then. sounds like you did a shoddy program no offence. in mine they have lecture notes, power point slides with audios, and some will even have video for the harder subjects (research and quantaitive methods).

did your teachers teach on-campus classes too or did they have special faculty just for the online classes?

5/13/2012 12:57:08 PM

nah, it's a well recognized program and they were great teachers and experts in their field. They taught classes both on campus and on-line. But they recognized the differences between those two delivery methods. They were also all published researchers in their field --- which by the way... the area of focus for some of them was e-learning/e-instruction (teaching courses online).

I think you don't have a good understanding of education, and what makes for good instruction. Power point presentations are great, but standing in front of a power point and talking is not necessarily teaching. It's exposition of knowledge. And teachers who rely on power point presentations in that manner are usually shit teachers.

The teacher's role was to design the course (what is covered, the order it's covered, the context in which it's covered, and the instructional methods used) and then implement that in a way that would allow us to learn the material to the highest level possible (from lowest to highest: knowing>understanding/comprehending>application>analysis>evaluation>creation/synthesis).

If the best you can do after your "teacher" has lectured is repeat the answers to questions, you've managed to spend hundreds or possibly thousands of dollars to learn the material to the lowest degree possible... awesome.

I got more out of those classes than any class I ever took that had an instructor who "provided power points and lecture notes." If you haven't figured out how to take notes for yourself at this point, you don't belong in grad school.




The reality is that it sounds like your program is shoddy. Instead of hiring educators who are capable of truly teaching through an online medium, they've had people copy their power points, notes, and videos of their classroom lectures and simply post them online. THAT IS NOT online education. That is what shitty teachers who don't know much about teaching online THINK is all that's required to teach online.

[Edited on May 13, 2012 at 3:16 PM. Reason : .]

5/13/2012 3:13:50 PM

It is very lacking when your teachers just make a syllabus and schedule and do not say anything except hand you the home work than guide you a little bit on your discussions, although mine will be doing that as well that is not enough and just because it is online is no excuse for not actually being taught. I do not know what is your deal with hating on teachers who use power points with their lecture but I find them useful to summarize key information and sure others do as well. in the traditional classroom the teacher would do the same thing or at least have a lecture then a discussion. in addition to power point lectures I will still have to do substantial readings and participate in group discussions that will be graded on quality of responses, for example only 15 percent is based on test/quiz which lectures and slides may be helpful for getting the answers, most other grades are based on participation, essays, etc. not things you can copy off a power point. it is only their to summarize main ideas out like Spark Notes not be used as a krutch. so it is strange to me why a program would not have some kind of actual teaching whether in the form of powerpoints, audio/video, lecture notes etc. and I have no idea why you are saying my program is shoddy. maybe you don't know but I am doing a online program offered by one of the considered "public ivy" schools and ranked one of the best online programs for that major

[Edited on May 13, 2012 at 5:23 PM. Reason : ]

5/13/2012 5:10:38 PM

Quote :

"It is very lacking when your teachers just make a syllabus and schedule and do not say anything except hand you the home work than guide you a little bit on your discussions"

What? Who said that's all they did? Who said they guided us "just a little bit?" And who said every teacher did the exact same thing? You're making ridiculous assumptions, and I think you're missing the point. The instructors did things to varying degrees.

Some of my teachers used videos or audio, and the occasional power point. But none relied on any one thing too heavily. And my bet is that most of them didn't have heavily lecture based classrooms either. They were probably largely discussion driven. Some content lends itself better to discussion, and some to lecture. It just depends. But one is not necessarily better than the other, it just depends on the situation. That being said, a lot of shitty teachers don't know when which is better and they simply always lecture for an hour straight.



We read a lot of current research. And I mean a lot, i read more for these courses than any course I took as an undergrad. The instructors almost always provided some sort of guideline, things to consider, outline for all of the reading, etc. They would often post commentary on the reading for us to read either before, along with, or after our reading (when depended on what the teacher wanted) we've done the reading ourselves. --- in a sense, those were lecture notes. The instructors were EXTREMELY involved in guiding our reading, driving our thinking about what we were reading, and our discussions. Not "just a little bit." They fully participated in the discussions, they didn't just have their TA read through and make sure we were posting stuff with a little bit of substance. It was very intensive and very involved.

As I've mentioned, multiple times now I believe, in addition to the reading and discussions, most of my instructors also included sessions in which all of the students signed in to an web-based application at the same time so that they could speak with us all directly, and we could all interact in real time (and hear each other), and write notes that everyone could see. That was used for some short lectures here and there, real-time discourse, and Q&A. ---- will you have any real-time interaction with your teachers and the entire class? Or will you just be watching/listening to/reading pre-recorded information?


Overall, the best thing I could compare it to is as if the instructor was our study/research partner, rather than someone who came into a room and spoke at us for an hour, 3 days a week.

Quote :

" although mine will be doing that as well that is not enough and just because it is online is no excuse for not actually being taught."

If you hinge teaching on the availability of power point presentations and lecture notes, video, or any one thing like that, I don't think you don't know much about teaching or learning. My instructors were all researchers who were publishing work at the time they were teaching. How do they learn the material they research? Nobody get's up and delivers a lecture to them 3 days a week, yet they learn it. And they learn it to the point that people consider them experts in the subject matter.

And you're missing my point. Being online is absolutely not an excuse for not being taught. But there are many ways of teaching (aka facilitating learning), and effectively, that do not include power point presentations, video, or even lectures. And having experiencing teaching in a classroom is no excuse for thinking you're capable of teaching online.

Quote :

"so it is strange to me why a program would not have some kind of actual teaching whether in the form of powerpoints, audio/video, lecture notes etc."

So in your mind, using a power point presentation along with a lecture to summarize what you've probably (should have) studied on your own before the lecture = teaching. But assigning reading and reading prompts, and then reading and participating in discussion with you to assess how well you know and comprehend the material, and then offering insight/direction/clarity to help get you on the right track does not = teaching? The latter sounds a lot more like "teaching" than the first thing to me. But then again, I only have a BS in secondary education and grad. work in adult education, training and development, with some focus in online instruction and work experience in developing online instruction.


Regardless of what you think about what types of approaches equals teaching and not teaching... I promise you that the online grad. courses I've taken blew the 2-3 online courses I took as an undergrad out of the water. And I learned as much if not more from these courses than all but maybe 5 or 6 of my traditional classroom courses at NCSU (which weren't better, just comparable).

Quote :

" and I have no idea why you are saying my program is shoddy."

I think that when a teacher posts videos of their classroom lectures on the internet, adds the same exact assignments, and then calls that an "online course", that they do not have a good understanding of good instructional practices as far as an online class is concerned.

Before your last post, that's what it seemed like you were getting. And if that were the case, I would vehemently believe that you're in a program with people teaching online classes that do not know much about teaching online. That, to me, is a shoddy online program. I don't care how prestigious the school itself is. Is their ONLINE program held with the same esteem as their brick and mortar program? It's an important question because, again, teaching online is different than teaching in a classroom.


That being said, it seems that your original description was not the complete picture.



And I said there is nothing wrong with using a power point. But teachers who come in, open up a powerpoint, and then read from it for an hour aren't good teachers. They aren't even teachers. They are lecturers... and there is a big difference.

If I were you, I"d look into your instructors. Are they currently conducting and publishing research in their fields? What is their background with online instruction? Have they studied it at all?

[Edited on May 13, 2012 at 6:49 PM. Reason : .]

5/13/2012 6:40:01 PM

actually I think the description of my courses matches the ones you did.
most of the power points/lectures are short (they are more like outlines) and their is a lot of reading and you will need to do several discussion posts each week. the teacher said he would be more of a facilitator role than teacher.

online program is held in the same prestige. it is a fully integrated part of the grad program. no distinctions are made on the diplomas/transcripts and some of the online classes you will even have on campus masters students in them because some of them are offered only online.

I also have discussion posts but I don't have much experience with this, I have done some of this before for some on campus classes that used an online system. they said your post won't just be a regurgitation of the readings and need to show "critical thinking".

5/18/2012 11:34:00 AM

yeah, I'm sure if it's well respected than they'll have a mix of stuff, and the overall experience will be worth what you're paying. It may be a little different than what you've experienced in the past, but I imagine it will be fundamentally sound.

5/18/2012 3:04:24 PM