Second Life Forums Archive

Angel Psaltery

wishful thinker

Join date: 8 Apr 2005

Posts: 29

07-06-2005 17:10

Just sending this out here to see what your opinions are on this. I'm searching for a way to get my Masters degree in a convenient fashion. I have a full time job and a full time family, and so I was wondering if these online institutions like Capella and Walden Universities are credible and if they are recognized by employers as a "true" masters degree as opposed to paying for a piece of paper.

Any help on this would be greatly appreciated.

~Angel

Fiona Peregrine

Java Junkie

Join date: 9 Jan 2004

Posts: 99

07-06-2005 17:46

Some courses of study are considered more valid than others via distance learning. Depending on the course of study, you can have fairly extensive residency travel requirements. You are also required to be very active in the message boards for the course and comment to the discussions on a daily basis.

You need to check credentialing for the specific program, not the university itself. If the board governing the program does not recognize its validity, you may still be able to graduate with a degree but would be unable to get your coursework approved for licensure. If licensing is involved, ask very specific questions and contact the board governing the profession. In some cases these degrees work, in other cases I've seen people have to take extra courses regionally to make up deficiencies, which is hardly worth the high price tag of the program. Those two are the recognized leaders but it's entirely dependent on what program whether most employers consider the degree to have merit.

_____________________

Well behaved women rarely make history-

Laurel Thatcher Ulrich

Xtopherxaos Ixtab

D- in English

Join date: 7 Oct 2004

Posts: 884

07-07-2005 13:17

Check out University of Phoenix Online.

_____________________

Chaos Science

katherine Mullen

Registered User

Join date: 13 Apr 2005

Posts: 45

07-07-2005 13:26

Empire State College ... has had regional accreditation by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, since 1971

http://www.esc.edu/esconline/online2.nsf/html/isescforyou.html

home page: http://www.esc.edu

Arcadia Codesmith

Not a guest

Join date: 8 Dec 2004

Posts: 766

07-07-2005 13:46

Check also with your regional colleges and universities. A growing number of them have distance degree programs, and you might get a break on resident tuition. Last I looked, the pickings were slimmer for graduate programs, but it's worth checking out.

Zak Escher

Builder and Scripter

Join date: 3 Aug 2003

Posts: 181

07-07-2005 13:50

I work in the College of Business at East Carolina University. We offer several online degrees.

East Carolina University

_____________________

Zak Escher
Unity Shapes
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Hatteras%20Island/125/46/31
http://unityshapes.blogspot.com/
See what I have for sale at SLExchange

Madame Maracas

Not who you think I am...

Join date: 7 Jun 2004

Posts: 1,953

07-17-2005 02:12

I'm attending AIU, I'm about 1/2 way through a Bachelor's in Visual Communications. It's very different than going to a brick and mortar school, I did that when I was 18-21. It's condensed and moves very quickly. Overall it's been a good to great experience w/one exception. I had a complete moron for one class, I took it over, got a great teacher the second time around, made all the difference in the world.

The time demands are variable, some weeks I spend 12 hours on course work, many I spend about 20, and about 3 were upwards of 40, and for my effort, I've been getting straight A's. Class meetings are twice a week, are recorded (voice and text or just text chat) so you can review them when you want and as much as you like. The other students are very nice, sharp, interesting and folks collaborate quite a bit. They're very SL-like in their diverisity and talent/experience/age range.

I'd reccommend it, although it's not cheap, it's less than a full blown 4 year university stint. They send you the software (full Adobe CS suite and Full Macromedia MX suite, I about died and went to heaven right there) and books (which are very good), too. Overall I'd say any chance one has for more learning, go for it, but that's me!

Good luck!

_____________________

RadioRadio - http://radioradiosl.com

M 6 Hobbes Abattoir
T 7 Sezmra Svorag
W 4 Brian Mason
W 6 Moira Stern
W 8 Nala Galatea
Th 6 Chet Neurocam
F 6 Vertigo Paris
F 9 Madame Maracas
S 5 Madame Maracas
S 8 TriNala
Su 6 Trinity Serpentine

http://madamemaracas.wordpress.com - Madame Maracas Blaaagh

Plurk - http://www.plurk.com/user/MadameMaracas

Welcome to the Second Life Forums Archive

Online Degrees

Online Degrees
Angel Psaltery wishful thinker Join date: 8 Apr 2005 Posts: 29	07-06-2005 17:10 Just sending this out here to see what your opinions are on this. I'm searching for a way to get my Masters degree in a convenient fashion. I have a full time job and a full time family, and so I was wondering if these online institutions like Capella and Walden Universities are credible and if they are recognized by employers as a "true" masters degree as opposed to paying for a piece of paper. Any help on this would be greatly appreciated. ~Angel
Fiona Peregrine Java Junkie Join date: 9 Jan 2004 Posts: 99	07-06-2005 17:46 Some courses of study are considered more valid than others via distance learning. Depending on the course of study, you can have fairly extensive residency travel requirements. You are also required to be very active in the message boards for the course and comment to the discussions on a daily basis. You need to check credentialing for the specific program, not the university itself. If the board governing the program does not recognize its validity, you may still be able to graduate with a degree but would be unable to get your coursework approved for licensure. If licensing is involved, ask very specific questions and contact the board governing the profession. In some cases these degrees work, in other cases I've seen people have to take extra courses regionally to make up deficiencies, which is hardly worth the high price tag of the program. Those two are the recognized leaders but it's entirely dependent on what program whether most employers consider the degree to have merit. _____________________ Well behaved women rarely make history- Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
Xtopherxaos Ixtab D- in English Join date: 7 Oct 2004 Posts: 884	07-07-2005 13:17 Check out University of Phoenix Online. _____________________ Chaos Science
katherine Mullen Registered User Join date: 13 Apr 2005 Posts: 45	07-07-2005 13:26 Empire State College ... has had regional accreditation by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, since 1971 http://www.esc.edu/esconline/online2.nsf/html/isescforyou.html home page: http://www.esc.edu
Arcadia Codesmith Not a guest Join date: 8 Dec 2004 Posts: 766	07-07-2005 13:46 Check also with your regional colleges and universities. A growing number of them have distance degree programs, and you might get a break on resident tuition. Last I looked, the pickings were slimmer for graduate programs, but it's worth checking out.
Zak Escher Builder and Scripter Join date: 3 Aug 2003 Posts: 181	07-07-2005 13:50 I work in the College of Business at East Carolina University. We offer several online degrees. East Carolina University _____________________ Zak Escher Unity Shapes http://slurl.com/secondlife/Hatteras%20Island/125/46/31 http://unityshapes.blogspot.com/ See what I have for sale at SLExchange
Madame Maracas Not who you think I am... Join date: 7 Jun 2004 Posts: 1,953	07-17-2005 02:12 I'm attending AIU, I'm about 1/2 way through a Bachelor's in Visual Communications. It's very different than going to a brick and mortar school, I did that when I was 18-21. It's condensed and moves very quickly. Overall it's been a good to great experience w/one exception. I had a complete moron for one class, I took it over, got a great teacher the second time around, made all the difference in the world. The time demands are variable, some weeks I spend 12 hours on course work, many I spend about 20, and about 3 were upwards of 40, and for my effort, I've been getting straight A's. Class meetings are twice a week, are recorded (voice and text or just text chat) so you can review them when you want and as much as you like. The other students are very nice, sharp, interesting and folks collaborate quite a bit. They're very SL-like in their diverisity and talent/experience/age range. I'd reccommend it, although it's not cheap, it's less than a full blown 4 year university stint. They send you the software (full Adobe CS suite and Full Macromedia MX suite, I about died and went to heaven right there) and books (which are very good), too. Overall I'd say any chance one has for more learning, go for it, but that's me! Good luck! _____________________ RadioRadio - http://radioradiosl.com M 6 Hobbes Abattoir T 7 Sezmra Svorag W 4 Brian Mason W 6 Moira Stern W 8 Nala Galatea Th 6 Chet Neurocam F 6 Vertigo Paris F 9 Madame Maracas S 5 Madame Maracas S 8 TriNala Su 6 Trinity Serpentine http://madamemaracas.wordpress.com - Madame Maracas Blaaagh Plurk - http://www.plurk.com/user/MadameMaracas