OT......Online Degrees......

XtremeIN

Member
Join Date
Jun 2005
Location
Indiana
Posts
217
Hello all,
Due to some personal issues I am unable to attend "go to" a campus at this time but I want to finish my degree. I started forever ago studying Electrical Engineering Technology in the Purdue Statewide Technology Program. I was curious if anyone could suggest a good online school that I could use to finsh my degree or atleast take some classes and then transfer the credit when my life gets back to normal.
Thanks,
Micheal
 
Most "on line" schools I have looked at, fit my work schedule type, credits are not transferable. They are recoqnized and accredited by some state authority but credits do not transfer.

Kind of like ITT, and DeVry degrees. recognized, accepted but if you want to upgrade, you have to go there for the next level.

If your company has tuition assist, see what schools they will accept. Due to some on line schools not having minimum time to complete a course some companies won't accept them for tuition assist either.

There are some really excellent programs out there and the "credit for life expereince" can be generous.

I my self like Kennedy and Western's program over Un of Phoenix.
 
Micheal,

I'm mostly a lurker on this board, but felt I could chime in here. I would beware of the online schools. I have an ASET, and wanted more to open myself up to process engineering jobs. I felt computer programming would be more accepted in a non-accredited degree, than electrical engineering, and although I was familiar with a few programming languages, wanted to learn C+. I signed up for Kennedy Westerns BSCE this is what I found.

Kennedy Western, being an completly online course, the tests are open book. Therefore test question are meant to make sure you read the book, not that you know the subject or are proficient in it. I also found about 5 questions per test, that are fairly questionable, to keep test scores down. I found that I spent most of my time studing for the test, and not learning what I needed to. I simply didn't have enough time to do both and work.

Also, if you do look into a online school, beware of discounts for payment in full... You can only get a partial refund for 60 days at K.W. I found this out the hard way, and payed $6000 for a couple of C++ books. I tried to switch to the remaining funds to a BSEE, but it would have cost me $2000 more (which I'm sure they would want up front), and I started a demanding new job.

Overall, I was not very impressed with the whole online degree experience.

Best of Luck
brian
 
I've also looked into online schools. I went to DeVry for Electronics Engineering Technology, and got my bachelors. Since I graduated, I have been considering going back to school for a MS in Electrical Engineering, but there aren't any local schools that offer it. When I was looking for online schools, I found a few that offer basically the entire course online, but you must spend at least on semester on campus, either to complete a project or to defend your thesis, depending on the school and program. My suggestion would be to go with an actual, accredited school (preferably a school local to you) if you want to finish your degree and get something worthwhile. All I heard from DeVry before I started was how proud they were of their accreditation. Now that I've got my degree from there, very few other schools want to touch it. At the most, they're willing to give me partial credit towards a Bachelors degree in Electrical Engineering. Just my $.02
 
nswu1 said:
Leadfoot, what classes have you taken with them?

Actually none. I did a detailed comparason of the two courses. U of P was impersonnel to talk with. At least the rep in Houston was when I was checking them out a few years ago. K - W rep spent an hour on several occasions discussing my previous training and had detailed questions about work experience that I never thought to bring up. The second long talk was answering the questions he immediately could not the first go around.

When I reviewed the actual course descriptions, K-W was actually better suited for my current job and long term here. U of P was too generic and proposed about 1.5 x's the courses and 2x's the $$$.
 
As an Instructor, I have resisted giong to a virtual classroom for a number of reasons. We have found that that students learn more in the classroom environment because most outside distractions are eliminated. Having immediate access to the teacher and subject matter resources. Creditability of testing and evaluation of skills is monitored and maintained. I can even individualize tests and assignments for different levels and learning styles. Besides, staying local is cheaper and I need the money! (my kids won't quit eating!!)
 
I don't see much difference between the on-line degree programs and the old "correspondence school" programs of the past. In general, employers don't take these programs very seriously if they happen to appear on resumes - especially the "advanced" degrees.

If you are looking to sweeten the resume, then these programs don't amount to much. If you are trying to educate yourself, save your money and find some relevant books or manuals and study them such that you can apply your new knowledge to real life challenges.

BTW - I'm a big believer in formal education in a classroom environment if you can pull it off.
 
Last edited:
Thanks for all the replies. I would much rather be a class room then online but at this time I cannot. After looking into several online programs I have not found much of anything to my liking. So, I think for now I will just have to wait till my schedule changes to the point where I can return. Thanks guys.
Later,
Micheal
 
University of North Dakota

The University of North Dakota is the only program online for electrical engineering that I have found. Basically, the curriculum is identical to the curriculum I have at U.W.Platteville. The catch is that it's not completely online. I believe that over the summer months online students are required to spend 2 or 3 weeks on campus completing the labs that normal students have already completed. At some point, I'll probably get sick of the drive to Platteville and try to finish my degree this way, but I gotta tell you, I am by no means a dummy, but I know for a fact I'd struggle with some of the classes required if I had taken them online. Then to take classes which build on knowledge that I had not totally grasped 100% in another class would spell almost certain failure.

When selecting a school at all, I'd really emphasise the ABET accreditation. If it doesn't get this, it's not worth the money or the time. That is the one accreditation that guarantees credit transferability to almost anywhere. KW(who I also looked at) is not ABET accredited, thus, I'd not recommend it.
 
russrmartin said:
When selecting a school at all, I'd really emphasise the ABET accreditation. If it doesn't get this, it's not worth the money or the time. That is the one accreditation that guarantees credit transferability to almost anywhere. KW(who I also looked at) is not ABET accredited, thus, I'd not recommend it.

I'd be careful, even with ABET. The DeVry program I took was ABET accredited, and I've still had very little luck getting other schools to accept the degree. Personally, I would recommend that if you have any thoughts of furthering your degree, try to get your degree and/or take classes at a school with advanced programs in the same field. IE: take classes toward a BSEE at a school that also offers an MSEE. That way, there SHOULDN'T be any question about credits transferring, degree acceptance, etc.
 
It appears many are confused about some issues, degrees never get transfered, credits do. The problems come in when the classes you took for credits do not match with the school you transfered too.

Personally would not attempt to obtain a degree online, at least not in Engineering. That said if wanting to obtain a BS or MS degree from an accredited U or State college there are some options. All 4 year degrees require "core" classes in Math, English, History, Psych, etc It is highly unlikely any 2 year degree addressed these requirements therefore I would not hesitate to take any of these classes online from a local college or University. If working full time then you do not want to take more than 2 classes a semester, the core classes alone will take a few semesters to complete.

I am assuming you have not looked at all the requirements involved with obtaining a BS or MS from a state college or university. You can expect it to take 4-6 years minimum to advance your degree if working full time. So look at local schools that offer those "core" classes and get credits for those established as soon as you can.
 
I agree, somewhat.

rsdoran said:
It appears many are confused about some issues, degrees never get transfered, credits do.

Very true.

rsdoran said:
All 4 year degrees require "core" classes in Math, English, History, Psych, etc It is highly unlikely any 2 year degree addressed these requirements therefore I would not hesitate to take any of these classes online from a local college or University.

I'd still be careful here. U.W.P.'s accreditation from ABET includes the math and science courses. Hence, for a BS anything, these courses need to be up to snuff. I only mention this because something called "college calculus" at one university may be worth nothing to an ABET accredited program which requires "Calculus 1."

rsdoran said:
If working full time then you do not want to take more than 2 classes a semester, the core classes alone will take a few semesters to complete.

I agree whole heartedly. 9-10 credits is the most I've been able to handle and still keep a respectable GPA.


Finally, I am not aware of any college in the country which offers a BSEE(this is the only degree I've looked into) that will not accept credits that are accredited from this organization. I will admit, I have not looked into Ivy league schools, but any other math or science university in the nation should recognize these credits. Whether or not they apply to your degree may vary, but I'll put my money on it that if you walk away from one school with 10 ABET accredited credits, you'll walk into the next one with that same 10 on your transcripts.
 
For the last 4 years I have been working on my Associates in Electronic Engineering Technology. This May I finally finish. (3.7 GPA) I have been working in the field for years, but I figured that the degree would make me look more attractive to my present and/or any future employer.
My second Associates degree, the first one was in Industrial Maintenance.

One of the classes I took was entirely online. Psychology. It was the hardest class of all of them. To take an online class you have to really condition yourself to setting aside "class time." I found that it was impossible at home. Grass needed cutting, wife wants something done, etc. I would spend extra time at my desk after work hours or go sit at the college library to get my work done. When I didn't do that I never got my homework done. I found that there are way too many distractions at home. Couple of times I did lock myself in the bedroom but I have found that online classes can be harder than seated classes.

Next fall I start on my Bachelors at UNC Charlotte. They offer a 2+2 program with the local community college. The next step in my education will be entirely online. Two classes per semeter. Four years to get it completed. 64 credit hours transfer and the remainder (~64) have to be taken thru Charlotte. I believe that it is required that I have to go there on two weekends every semester for lab work (Sat. & Sun.). It is going to be tuff but if I keep plugging along at it I will get it done.

If you are considering an online class take one thru the community college. When it (the class) is done right it will be hard to get a good grade if you do not set time aside (daily) to get the work completed.
 

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