Online education has given an entirely new dimension to education. Few decades from now acquiring a degree was restricted to pen and paper, classrooms, university desks and chairs etc. But with the advent of online education a desired degree can be conveniently obtained by sitting at home and not attending classes or taking down notes. Unlike regular studies, online education is a spontaneous and easier way to pursue higher studies.
Online degrees, as the name suggests refers to acquiring education via the medium of Internet. Several universities offer online education. This enables the aspirants in any corner of the world to get enrolled for their desired courses and acquire education. In order to commence they just have to file their details online and pay the requisite fees for the course. Online education is ideal for those people who are either located in some remote places and so do not have an access to good universities or those who cannot attend regular lectures due to lack of time or any other personal problem. Thus the best part about online education is that it offers education at your doorstep. It saves the time and money you would spend in going and coming back from the university. Moreover unlike the regular colleges and universities that have strong selection basis or a strict eligibility criterion, the online universities are much lenient. The main purpose of online universities is to educate maximum number of people in their desired subjects.
Initially the online courses were confined to advanced business degrees, such as MBA or certification exams like CPA. These courses were and are till date are a boon for all the business professionals who had always wanted to procure an MBA degree but could hardly spare out any time to attend lengthy lectures at the university. However with time the lure of online education has witnessed a surge. So more and latest courses are being introduced. These courses that range from the field of humanities to commerce and computers, cover every significant field of education. Today any person can obtain an imaginary computer course degree or do a course on meditation through Internet.
Though numerous options are available in case of online education yet an individual should be quite selective. He should first obtain information regarding the accreditation and reputation of the university. Doing this will automatically determine the marketability of your degree. You should also inquire regarding the popularity of course you wish to take up. However the fact is that today an online degree from an eminent university is as marketable as one obtained from a traditional university.
But perhaps the biggest shortcoming of the online education is that it is quite expensive. As a result it is not possible for everyone to acquire online degrees. Also in case of online education no face-to-face or personal interaction with the faculty is possible. For those who are not computer freaks and know little about Internet, online education is a difficult choice. On the same hand online courses require a 24-hour Internet access, which is again a costly affair.
Mansi aggarwal writes about online degrees.
Pursuing an online degree is a “dumb-man’s degree,” and I don’t mean this sarcastically. If you lack the time in your schedule to meet in an institution one-two nights a week with like-minded people to discuss the readings of that week’s course material, then you don’t deserve a degree, period. Secondly, do you think you’re going to walk away with a quality education via long-distance learning? Please, the “professors” are folks with at best a masters degree and hardly schooled in the art of scholarship. Bad enough colleges today are run like a corporation, where students – the “clients” – ‘expect’ to receive an “A” grade for submitting consistently mediocre work at best. More and more college students plagiarize and online degrees compel institutions to dumb-down their standards in the name of Profit.
Most sad is the scores of graduates with online degrees under the illusion that they actually “earned” their grades and are “worthy” of the “degree,” as if grade inflation doesn’t exist and they’re being held to a real standard. How scandalous!
A college education is worth as much today as a high school diploma 10 years ago. In other words, not much. Even a masters degree is inadequate in today’s market economy where scores are returning for a 3rd, 4th, even 5th advanced degree, in the name of “updating skills,” as if liberal arts is a vocation, like plumbing or electrical work. Interestingly, my friend, a college librarian at a prestigious university, showed me resumes of several job candidates for an ENTRY LEVEL reference librarian vacancy. Many held a Masters in Library Science (MLS), Masters in one social science, a Law Degree (JD) and/or doctorate (Ph.D), with years and years of work experience. My point is, don’t expect much obtaining an online degree, besides more debt and an inflated ego that’ll get you laughed out of a bar, especially if you happen to run into me and boast about it.
If you are passionate to learn, if it’s in your bones to be an educated, “enlightened” person, heed the words of Will Hunting said to a pompous ass Harvard student in the movie, Good Will Hunting…
Will: “You spent 150 grand on an education you could have got for a buck-fifty in late charges at the public library.”
Mr. Harvard: “Yeah, but someday you’ll be serving fries to me and my kids at a drive-thru on our way back from a ski trip.”
Will: “Well, maybe…but at least I won’t be…unoriginal.”