Online schools, scam or not?

[MilaniasSuperMomma]

I have decided to change careers since I cannot keep my current one now that I have a little one. I would like to pursue an engineering degree but cannot bare to leave my baby now that I am very attached. Has anyone actually graduated from online schools like Devry, University of Phoenix, ITT Tech, etc and actually gotten a job? Was it a good paying job or were you just hired as entry level? Were you able to pursue a masters degree at traditional college after getting a bachelors online. After a lot of research, it seems like everyone refers to these schools as scams, or their degree wasn't respected so they couldn't get a job. Do employers not hire people with degrees from these schools? I just don't know what to believe anymore. I need some honest insight into this....

[carriek38]

I wouldn't necessarily say they're a scam...they're real degrees & they do a serve a purpose. That said, there's been quite a few stories in the media over the last couple of years about for-profit colleges (many of them being these on-line options) & their higher-than-average rates of student loan default, tying it to limited post-graduation employment rates, the career services support provided by the college, and disproportionately high debt loads that grads of for-profit colleges seem to have.

And I'll be completely honest & say I'm a bit of an education snob...I would look much more critically at someone I was interviewing for a job whose degree was from University of Phoenix than a well-known state university. But I also make sure I'm pretty well-informed about the programs from which job applicants graduated, especially if they graduated in the last couple of years (looking for a rigorous education to balance out a lack of experience), & I know a lot of people I've been on interview committees with haven't done the same.

My advice would be that, if there's a clear advantage to an online program for you, to look for a campus-based college or university that has an online degree program. That is, I briefly looked at Library & Information Science Masters programs...my local university has a campus based program, but the estimated cost of attendance per year, including tuition, books, fees, etc. is in excess of $24K/yr, and that's the cost as a commuter. There are a few universities that have degree programs online, but their fee structures look very similar...except, there's one state university here that has a program...it's literally 1/3 the cost of the others, just because it's a state university & the in-state tuition is reasonable. It's not commutable, as the school is 3 hrs away from me, but they do have an option that is primarily online, except I think you need to spend 2 weekends on campus through the course of the program. That's do-able & I would have the same university degree as my campus-based counterparts w/ the same financial aid opportunities, & the same access to their internship & employment network b/c it's the same career services office. It's a pretty good deal. So yeah, I think it really pays to do your research about what program you want to do, what will work for your lifestyle, & what your best resources are, & anything else you can find out about the program & the school to make sure it fits your goals.

[Wanderlust]

University of Phoenix isn't too bad. They're the main college that military bases have on post. My DH almost has an Associates Degree with them. THe nice thing is the credits transfer to brick and mortar colleges. Not sure how the cost of credit hours compares to traditional colleges since the military pays 100% of his tuition.

You have to be careful with Devry and ITT. I believe the credits don't transfer to regular colleges. I know the military has banned a few of their campuses in the states from getting GI bill funds. This is because of their predatory practices of not offering a "real education" or recruiting people they know can't graduate or do the coursework.

One thing you may look at are some traditional state universities. Quite a few of them offer online courses

[2+2macht4]

I am doing my bachelors through Thomas Edison State College in New Jersey, they have a normal campus too, and yes it is treated like a normal degree you can do masters after. You just have to make sure you choose an accredited school, you can even use federal fin aid for online.

Most major universities now offer online courses or online degrees.

[MilaniasSuperMomma]

Originally Posted by Serenajean1 I am doing my bachelors through Thomas Edison State College in New Jersey, they have a normal campus too, and yes it is treated like a normal degree you can do masters after. You just have to make sure you choose an accredited school, you can even use federal fin aid for online. Most major universities now offer online courses or online degrees.

I have heard of this college. Are you actually taking classes there? I heard that you can buy the book and test out of the classes to earn you degree there. Not sure how legit that is.


Also I meant to point out that another reason that I was interested in these places online is because I did give up my career when I had my baby so I need to get through school rather quickly so I can start working a regular job again. Dervy has 3 year engineering programs then I can get a masters. I have already started taking classes at my local community college to save money and transfer them there but I need to finish my degree somewhere. It is very expensive! I was quoted $86,000 for a degree which is ridiculous but I am not sure what to do since I don't have a whole lot of time. I live off my savings and I make a little bit a month. I don't receive child support.

[2+2macht4]

Originally Posted by MilaniasSuperMomma I have heard of this college. Are you actually taking classes there? I heard that you can buy the book and test out of the classes to earn you degree there. Not sure how legit that is. Also I meant to point out that another reason that I was interested in these places online is because I did give up my career when I had my baby so I need to get through school rather quickly so I can start working a regular job again. Dervy has 3 year engineering programs then I can get a masters. I have already started taking classes at my local community college to save money and transfer them there but I need to finish my degree somewhere. It is very expensive! I was quoted $86,000 for a degree which is ridiculous but I am not sure what to do since I don't have a whole lot of time. I live off my savings and I make a little bit a month. I don't receive child support.

Yes it is accredited, even recognozed by the federal government I am using federal financial aid there. It is not the last night 800 number schools. It is also a brick and morter school.

And yes you can complete exams and teyt out of some courses, but many schools offer that.

And yes I am enrolled and attending, using federal financial aid.

I wanted to do open university in the uk, but you cannot use fin aid unless it is a US school.

One thing you need to watch for is that whiole many schools offer online courses they may not offer all courses for a degree online, or they may not be fully online and require you come to the campus for exams.

I went with TESC, because it was a hell of a lot better then UOP, I knew people who used it and it is accepted by international universities, including here in Germany as a Bachelors.

Saying online schools are any less better then other options is like saying a community college is less of a school.Just avoid the late night telescrip type programs, medical transcribing type stuff.

You cannot use federal aid for those programs anyway, only accreditted school are accepted by fasfa

[2+2macht4]

Heck even my 30k a year private Christian school offered online classes, most do.

YOu just need to be very self motivated and able to teach yourself. You basically read, discuss take exams and write papers.

Some have additional powerpoints or webseminars with lectures, but not all do.

Not all are these late night infomercial style schools, even community and state college do it now.

[Pikemommy]

University of Phoenix and ITT both have actual campuses in our area...... I don't know if they are just sites to take proctored tests and be online or if they are actual lecture halls but their names are all over here. I took online classes through a local community college for part of my degree as well, you don't have to go through one of the big name "on-line" schools. Almost all universities offer on-line classes but probably not an entire degree on line.
One of my degrees is from an on-line program on the other side of the state. I had to go there to take exams but everything else as on line.... really it had to be. We were all doing internships set up by the program and were scattered all over the state, without the internet it would not have worked and would have needed to be set up very different.

[PBAki]

All schools will claim they have accreditation but double check as if you wanted to transfer you'll have hard time doing so if not outright tell you they don't take the credits. Between online universities it's likely easier. If you have university/college with physical campus but offer online degrees I'd honestly consider that route.

UoP, ITT, DeVry are all expensive. Do check out Southern Columbia University. Their price is more reasonable. They get a lot of great online reviews as well.

[happysmileylady]

I thought ITT was a vocational school? I thought they were originally a regular bricks and mortar school that was vocational (like for auto maintenance, nursing asst. etc.) and have discovered that they can make more by offering more classes on line and have just slid more and more towards those types of online things. I dunno.

There are plenty of regular schools that offer lots of classes online. My aunt is getting her masters in education, and she's doing the whole thing totally online an Illinois state school (I honestly can't remember which one, she's up in the Chicago area, but I know it a regular college, the same one she got her BA and my dad got his BA from, years ago.) My DH just graduated from IUPUI, and about half his classes were offered online. He had to take them in person cause that's the type of learning that works better for him, but they offer a lot of stuff online.

One online school that might be a bit more legit than some others is WGU. It's a not for profit online university that was sponsored by state governors. It's newer, says they started accepting students in 1999. I am pretty sure that the Indiana branch is considered a state university, though wikipedia says they don't take state funds.