getahead Guide to Career Advancement
How to Choose an Online Program Doing Your Research is Key to Success By Katie Alice Walker
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s there anything you can’t do online these days?
Going back to school to advance your career or finish a degree once meant taking classes at night or rearranging your work schedule to suit your course schedule. For busy adults with families and other responsibilities, that model often just isn’t ideal. The past decade has brought amazing changes, with numerous institutions — including traditional four-year colleges and universities — offering more courses online than ever. In fact, many institutions now offer entire certificate and degree programs online. But with so many choices for learning available, how do you know if the degree you’ll walk away with is legit? Read on to learn what you need to know before you sign up for online courses.
How do I know if the institution is reputable? When you’re deciding to work on a degree online, you’ll need to determine if the school is accredited. There are several accrediting organizations that conduct reviews and site visits to scope out stuAugust 6-12, 2014
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dent support services, curricula and the school’s facilities. But, be careful: Even some of those organizations aren’t legit. With a little research, you can find a list of credible governing bodies. The Council for Higher Education Accreditation (chea.org) and the U.S. Department of Education (ope.ed.gov/ accreditation) recognize all legitimate accrediting agencies, so check for their stamp of approval. You’ll find a great list of legitimate accrediting organizations at chea.org. The regional accrediting organization for the Southeast is the South Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (sacscoc.org). You’ll want an accredited school not only because of its educational quality, but also to ensure that other accredited universities will accept your transfer credits, should you need to go that route, and to help facilitate government-backed loans.
Is it safe to earn an entire degree online? If you’re thinking of furthering your education to advance your career, what potential employers will think of your degree or certificate is what matters, right? Do a little research and see what employers in your field are saying. While it’s safe to say that earning entire degrees online is becoming more common and twitter.com/freetimessc
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accepted in the workplace, it’s also true that in many quarters online degrees are still seen as less valuable than those from traditional institutions. Many employers will look more favorably on a candidate with a traditional degree augmented by online professional training than on a candidate with only online higher education. In addition to making sure the online university is accredited by a legitimate accrediting agency, you’ll also want to make sure that online learning is right for you. Is face-to-face interaction best for your learning style? Even if you can work at your own pace effectively, you’ll want to feel comfortable that any questions you have while working on an online degree
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will be answered quickly, in real-time, if possible. The most accepted scenario in the world of online learning is attending a traditional college or university that also offers online courses for busy professionals. Fortunately, the University of South Carolina, Clemson University and many other schools and technical colleges in our area offer online courses and have solid reputations. A mix of online coursework and actually attending classes might be an option to consider.
Is your learning style suited for online coursework? Here’s the deal: Taking courses online or in person requires a financial com-
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