Monday, September 17, 2012

Analyzing Online Education Opportunities

As the demand for online education has grown, so has the supply of online education opportunities. Take advantage of this large number of new online education opportunities by finding a program that is tailored to your needs. Here are four things to do before choosing the online education opportunity that meets your needs:
1. Clearly Define Your Educational Goals
You need to know exactly what you want to gain from your education. How much are you willing to spend? Are you trying to sharpen or reinforce your professional skills with a couple of classes? Are you trying to take a whole new career direction? Are you trying to advance your career with a new degree? Are you trying to add a more prestigious college to your resume? If you don't readily know the answers to all of these questions you may need to do some thinking over them before you're ready to proceed. Don't invest too much money in an educational program that may not meet your goals.
2. List All of the Likely Solutions to Your Educational Goals
Look over the materials provided to you in brochures and on the Internet from all universities that appear to relate to your educational goals. If they have academic advisors, take advantage of them to bounce your thoughts on your education off of them and get advice. Gather as much information from as many online educational institutions as possible. Compare their scholastic offerings, educational styles, costs, and educational support systems to your educational goals. Use this information to narrow your list down to a few schools that seem most suited to you.
3. Research the Schools Thoroughly
There are probably more fake online degree programs than legitimate online degree programs. If you aren't sure of the reputation of the college with which you're dealing, do some accreditation research. Once you know that the institution is legitimate, make sure that the site you're visiting is actually the site of the institution to which it claims to belong. A quick call to the school's listed phone number on a national educational institution listing site should let you verify that you are indeed dealing with the school with which you believe you're dealing.
4. Go with Either a Big Name or Accreditation
If your school of choice isn't a big name school such as Harvard, make sure that the school offering the online education opportunity has proper accreditation. Accreditation is how most employers and other educational institutions determine whether schools they've never heard of are providing adequate education. Accreditation may not be as important for local private colleges, but it is generally vital for online degree programs from small colleges.

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