online college

[ringaswan]

Where do you live?

State University of New York (SUNY) Empire State College is designed for people like your husband. Don't know what the out of state tuition costs might be, but it's a very reasonable alternative if you're a NY state resident.

 

[Tissa]

I'm taking online classes from my local community college. I chose that route due to price and that there are some classes that I need to be inside a classroom for me to grasp it(algebra). I just took that at night two nights a week.

 

[My3kiddos]

I've done all my classes online except for 3 (2 are now offered online the other is a lab). I completed my AS at Kentucky Community and Technical College and then transfered to Morehead State University to do their online completer program for a BA in Finance. My tuition at MSU is $6500 a year and at KCTC it was something like $3000 a year. My suggestion is to check your local colleges that way if you have a problem and need to see someone in person you are able to do that.

 

[Spaceace5150]

What type of degree is your husband looking for? I would look for the correct accreditation as well - if it is a business degree, AACSB - Education - NCATE, etc...

 

[magik]

I am currently getting my Masters degree completely online through Florida State University. I love the program, but I do think it is more challenging and more work doing it online than if I were getting the same degree in person. The only reason I'm doing an online program is because my state does not have *any* graduate programs in what I was interested in, and I need to keep my current job in order to pay for school, so moving wasn't an option.

I would recommend, rather than strictly limiting to online schools, check out what your local schools have to offer for people working full time. Some online schools can be *VERY* expensive, especially if they are state schools that you would be considered out-of-state for. I will most likely have to take one required course through University of Phoenix Online because FSU doesn't offer it online, and that one course will cost me twice as much as I spend on an FSU course. Cost-wise, it can really make sense to look at local community colleges, at least for the first two years, and then transfer to a four year school to complete the degree. A lot of community colleges do offer at least some classes online and many offer classes in-person in the evenings.

I have found that you have to a) be super organized and good at budgeting your time and b) be extremely self-motivated in order to do well in an online program. In many cases, classes can be very much "self taught" - you do the readings and the assignments without much, if any, input from the professor - no lecture and not much interaction with the professor unless you email a question or post a question on a classroom discussion board. Just something to keep in mind when deciding whether an online program is right. This also depends on the school. The program I am doing at FSU is run almost like an in-person class - we "meet" in a virtual classroom once a week either from 6-8 or 8-10 pm depending on the class and the professor speaks into a microphone to lecture/answer questions and sometimes has a powerpoint presentation to share. Those with microphones on their computers can also ask questions with the mic, or type it into a chat box. Most programs I've seen are asynchronous/on your own time kind of things where you just need to log in and read/post to a discussion board or e-mail list a specified number of times each week.

This site has good information about accreditation.

 

[Plantlady]

Check your state colleges/private colleges in your area ect. They will have online programs as well.

I got my Master's from Kansas State University, and it was an online course. I did have to go twice a year for a one week session.. but.. 99% online.

Keep in mind, when you do an online program, you have to be very good at motivating yourself. I found it MUCH harder to do online than to go to class, and be held accountable on a weekly basis. I did it because I had three young children at home, and it worked better with our schedule.. but.. it was hard, carving out that time to go do work.. when you knew that no one but yourself would know if you did it, or didn't do it.

 

[big_red_s]

I got my bachelor’s on line through Kaplan University and they were great.

Just one word of caution: on line school is not for everybody. You have to be disciplined, do a lot of work and reading and make sure you don’t fall behind.