How to Give Yourself a Raise with an Online College Degree

There are many people today from all walks of life who are getting an online college degree from home. Dollar for dollar, an online college degree or post graduate work pays off.

The quickest way to give yourself a raise is to receive your certification in an area in which you are all ready working. Examples where board certification is pertinent include technical and vocational fields to name a few.

Sometimes an online college degree is very necessary in these instances. In some cases you have previously learned the information required of you for these various certifications, but will need the necessary degree in order to advance in your particular field.

So, let's discuss possible uses of a college degree via distance education. Many who are presently working in technical and vocational fields enroll in online courses to restructure and enhance their careers, and receive additional certification status.

Examples of this occur on an on-going basis. A thirty year old immigrant from South America began working as a nurse's aid, and is presently in her second semester of training from home at an online college.

A 50 year old white male enrolled in an online technical college to study electronics when the factory in which he had worked moved to Mexico early last year.

During a downsizing exercise at a psychiatric facility in Missouri, an education staff member returned to an online virtual classroom to gain continuing units of education, and add a minor to her present degree.

Thus, you can see with the use of those brief examples that continuing education can be useful as well as critical to your intellectual growth base.

An online college degree is more important than ever for several reasons.

1. Employers feel that we are presently in an employer's market. This means that they can be more selective in individuals they hire.

2. Jobs that glean more pay are more specialized. Specialized jobs require more training/education. This is true because these jobs require the manipulation of facts, figures, and/or technology which is often times sensitive, adaptive, or computerized.

3. Our current jobs in the U.S. are becoming more and more service oriented. These jobs have relatively low pay and our labeled unskilled work. Thus, one must retool to prepare his or her self to obtain a job requiring more skill and offering more pay.

4. Finally, we have entered a global economy. Such an economy demands higher prices for homes and automobiles without providing numerous gainful employment opportunities.

How do you know if an online college degree is for you? First, if you lack a high school diploma, a college degree is a must. High school non-graduates make 25% less than starting salary employees with a high school education.

Secondly, you may presently hold a position that would pay you more if you held a degree from an online technical school or online community college. You may know this information from coworkers or acquaintances in your line of work.

Thirdly, if you are considered a non-traditional student. Financial incentives are available to attract such students. So if you could be described as a non-traditional or a minority student, smaller financial payout is a good incentive to continue your education.

Check out an online college degree portal and invest in your future. Give yourself a raise.

Gerald Maccoux is an online college recruiter and presently recruits college students via his college portal http://www.locate-a-college.com

The Family University Network: Unplugging Institutional Higher Education

Why not build a Christian family enterprise with the energy, funding, and infrastructure that would otherwise build the state or private educational institutions?

It is common knowledge today that serious moral problems exist in families, churches, schools, colleges, corporations, and political arena. These problems have academic, moral, and philosophical roots reaching back centuries, and have been promoted by the systematic separation of knowledge from faith in God. The significant amount of teaching required to equip people with the ability to discern the times and apply Scripture by faith to all areas of life, requires diligence in all areas of learning, and at all levels of education.

Secular universities are openly hostile to the Christian worldview, and the best of the Christian colleges cannot replicate the family away from home. Nehemiah Institute worldview assessment of 1177 students in 18 Christian colleges over 7 years demonstrated that Christian students are graduating from Christian institutions with a secular humanism worldview, even where their professors have a Biblical Theist worldview. Even the above average Christian colleges are little better than their secular counterpart because the curricula are developed under the same institutional accreditation guidelines, the same text books are used, many of the faculty were trained at secular institutions, and the family learning context is ignored.

Even the best of Christian distance education does not purposefully involve the family in the learning process, nor couple with individual family convictions, nor uses the family knowledge base, nor earns family income. It is time to unplug institutional higher education and bring higher education home.

The establishment of family universities and networks based on the fellowship of the church is one solution. This can help individuals and families implement the Christian philosophy of education through developing their own family university and complementary business as a part of the dominion mandate (Psalm 8). University education needs to be reinvented with a Biblical understanding to strengthen the family and church. Christian people can easily learn how a family university can uniquely provide the humble, relational, and Spirit led ideal Biblical higher education for their young adults to participate in building a strong Christian family, church and culture.

The benefit of a network for learning was forseen by Ivan Illich, philosopher of the 1970s who spoke in favor of home education. He stated that "If the networks I have described could emerge, the educational path of each student would be his own to follow, and only in retrospect would it take on the features of a recognizable program. The wise student would periodically seek professional advice: assistance to set a new goal, insight into difficulties encountered choice between possible methods. Even now, most persons would admit that the important services their teachers have rendered them are such advice or counsel, given at a chance meeting or in a tutorial. Pedagogues, in an unschooled world, would also come into their own, and be able to do what frustrated teachers pretend to pursue today." Ivan Illich, Deschooling Society, 1970.

There is only one such family university network in operation at this time, but the time has come for this concept and therefore this is likely just the beginning of home schooling expanding into home college.

Dr. James Bartlett, PhD, PE ret., is President of Bartlett University which hosts the Family University Network with its Christian business incubator. Dr. Bartlett and his wife Lynn homeschool four boys in the Turtle Mountains of North Dakota. Dr. Bartlett can be contacted by calling 701-263-4574 or visiting http://bartlettuniversity.com.

Distance Learning, Online Education, Electronic Education, Electronic Learning?Call It What You Want

Whatever you want to label "learning at home" and however you want to define the latest buzz words for non-traditional education, you can find a program and method that suits your needs. Right now over 1.2 million people in the U.S. participate in some form of distance learning, with a projected expansion to 2.3 million in just a few years.

In looking at this rapidly expanding and viable form of education and training, there are a few basic things you need to consider and some decisions you need to make in order to create the environment that will best suit your needs. You need to know the what, the why, the benefits and the how of the various forms of distance learning.

Distance learning (correspondence courses) started in Europe in the 1800's and has evolved into a multifaceted term that serves many purposes. Some of the forms of distance learning are: correspondence courses, online education, internet based education, electronic education, e-education, electronic learning, and e-learning. How these terms differ will depend upon how the institution defines and labels the programs which they offer. To simplify the whole concept, let's say that these terms represent ways of learning away from a "brick and mortar" facility. Some distance learning and/or online programs may or may not be connected to a university or college. There are many programs that are independent and are not affiliated with any institution.

Distance learning offers a variety of paths to personal goals which include: GED, associate degrees, bachelor degrees, graduate certificates, master degrees, doctoral degrees, non-credit training courses, and others. Whether a person is seeking a degree, keeping professional skills updated, or pursuing skills for an interest area or hobby, there is a program or offering that should work.

Why are so many people turning to distance learning? What are its advantages? On a personal level look at such pros as: maintaining privacy; provides convenience; enables a flexible schedule; allows for balancing job and family obligations; working at own pace, going slowly or accelerating learning; can be less expensive; great for homebound individuals; no unnecessary travel; no formal class attendance; and can "learn while you earn." These are a few of the many things that are causing quite a number of people to take an entirely different approach to attaining knowledge/skills and/or earning a degree.

Those who advocate against an alternative of distance learning, often site the lack of socialization which is a part of a traditional type of education. However, not everyone is looking for the classroom activities, college events/parties, and the interactions that are a part of a school campus. Many of the classroom activities such as discussion and support can be achieved online. The other things that an online education will reinforce are: reading - ebooks, up to date references, current research; listening - through audio lectures or clips; seeing- through graphic illustrations and demonstrations; doing - assignments, quizzes, exams, research papers; and speaking/communication - through email, chats, and electronic discussions. A distance learning program can be far more than just reading and writing.

What are the requirements for becoming a part of a distance learning program? Many programs require a minimum of a GED or taking an admissions test. Usually, the process for applying will include: an application; transcripts; test scores; an essay; and letters of recommendation. The less formal the program, the less formal the requirements. There is a wide range in answering this questions. However, what is necessary for an online program is the right computer equipment with the internet connection (high speed), word processing capability; email; and multimedia player. The program you choose will provide more specific details for recommendation about equipment and software.

In choosing a program there some questions to ask as you do your research and make your selection. Ask about the following: help/support is offered; qualifications of the instructors; number of years the institution has provided services; is it an accredited program; details about the curriculum; and multimedia elements of the program. By the way, accreditation is voluntary since there is no officially sanctioned entity in existence. However, most schools considered the six regional accrediting agencies listings to be legitimate agencies. Ask if it is regionally accredited.

The last thing you need to think about is your motivation and work ethic. If you are a good reader (good reading comprehension skills) who doesn't procrastinate and can avoid distractions, you will be a good candidate for an alternative approach to education. In this age of global education and the need for current knowledge and skills, this is a fast delivery system that will bring all the technological advancement right into your living room instantaneously. It works for more than a million people, and it can work for you.

Visit our Resource Center on Distance Learning at: http://sbmag.org/distancelearning.html

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About the Author
Barbara Snyder is a retired California Distinguished School Principal and Coordinator For Human Resources. She has a master's degree in Curriculum and Instruction. She holds elementary education, secondary, community college, and administrative credentials. She is currently the publisher of http://EducationResourcesNetwork.com, co-publisher of Strictly Business Magazine, http://www.sbmag.org.