So you’re thinking about getting a college degree but don’t like the idea of sitting in a crowded classroom or possibly asking a stupid question in front of 125 strangers?

If you’ve got a computer with Internet access, there’s no reason to leave the comforts of your home, provided you don’t want a degree in something that’s too technical, like medical school. From individual courses to full Ph.D. programs, online universities are a growing trend in higher education that is forcing traditional campuses to get into the market.

It’s estimated that more than 1.2 million people are enrolled in online college courses.
When looking for an online education, “it’s buyer beware,” said Larry Tremblay, director of a Louisiana Board of Regents division that reviews accreditation of institutions that operate in the state.

In past years, the Board of Regents shut down a number of what Tremblay called “fly-by-night institutions” that were essentially diploma mills that offered degrees for a fee with no work involved. But with the advent of the Internet, numerous offers of degrees within days or weeks are circulating.

“Typically, if you can’t find out where an institution is located, you need to beware,” he said. “Research the quality and history of an institution.”

Because of past problems, “some people have the perception that if the instruction is anything other than traditional lecture and lab, it’s of lower quality,” he said. “If it’s a regionally accredited institution, that’s not the case.”

Numerous well-established private online colleges and universities are operating around the country and provide convenience and quality education, Tremblay said.

“That’s why the University of Phoenix is the largest private university in the country,” he said.

An accredited private online school offering limited classes in Louisiana is Remington College.

Online campuses and traditional universities that are getting into the online business don’t offer every type of course or degree, but there’s a wide range of programs available.

In Louisiana, Northwestern State University leads in the number of available degree programs, and Southeastern Louisiana University offers a number of courses.

Northwestern recently graduated its first fully online student, a Warsaw, Ind., psychology major who had never set foot on campus until graduation.

Finding a degree program offered by Louisiana colleges and universities is as easy as going to the Board of Regents Web site at www.regents. state.la.us and clicking on “Electronic Learning” and then “Electronically Delivered Degree Programs.”

But Louisiana residents who choose to get online degrees from traditional universities aren’t limited by the number of courses offered by state schools, said Diane Didier of the Board of Regents’ Office of Information and Learning Technology. The state is part of the Academic Common Market that ties numerous universities in the South.

“If you can’t find it in Louisiana, go to another state,” she said.

The Board of Regents Web site also connects to the Southern Regional Education Board’s Electronic Campus on the same page that has the link to the state’s online programs.

A search tab at the top right of the SREB page (www.electroniccampus.org) shows all the courses and degree programs available from numerous universities.

An option shows all the courses available through the Academic Common Market program.

The advantage of participating in an Academic Common Market degree program, Didier said, is that students in the participating states don’t pay out-of-state fees for taking a course or getting a degree from schools like Florida State, Georgia or Tennessee.

Like enrolling in a regular university, online students pay tuition and fees. Some courses require the purchase of a book but others use a CD or DVD.

The NSU online psychology degree requires 124 credit hours for graduation. At $367 in-state tuition and fees per three-hour course, plus about $75 per course for books, obtaining the degree would cost about $18,000.

Didier said some students who contact her office have no idea what they want as a major, so she recommends that they enroll in a two-year general studies associate degree program. Most four-year degrees require the same basic courses, so a general studies associate degree leads into almost every full degree program.

“At least with an associate degree, if you go job hunting you have a degree and not just a few courses here and there,” she said.

This entry was posted on Sunday, July 23rd, 2006 at 10:18 pm and is filed under Education, Online Education. Tags: College, Education, Online Education, Student. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.