Online College Education

March 1, 2007 10:30 AM

Has anyone attended an online University or known someone who has? What are your experiences?

My fiance just enrolled to Kaplan University and I'm curious about the sort of education he'd get from it.

posted by Niomi to education (10 comments total)

Online university is really all about how much a person is willing to give his or her time to the workload. I did an online writing class two years ago and only really got on the ball mid-way through the course because the school was sending me these automatic homework late notices. I don't know much about Kaplan University, but I worry from an ethical perspective when a test-training company starts offering services like this.
posted by parmanparman at 10:46 AM on March 1, 2007

I've had some online classes through a reputable brick-and-mortar school and they weren't classes at all--more like a decent collection of tutorials about the subject with a paper and test graded for you at the end. The teachers weren't all that useful, theoretically you could ask questions and such but in reality they didn't have that much time. If he really wants a class with a teacher then I would avoid at all costs. If he just wants a certificate, then I would still avoid Kaplan because people are going to recognize the name and wonder, instead I'd try your local community college and see what they offer online, it will probably be the same quality, cheaper, and viewed as more reputable.
posted by anaelith at 11:41 AM on March 1, 2007

I met a philosopher who worked at Kaplan once. He seemed genuinely interested in teaching philosophy and figuring out how to do it well online (we met at a conference about teaching philosophy). I have no reason to think he wasn't qualified.

The one thing that did throw up a flag was learning that people at Kaplan (though probably not this guy) can teach six classes at once for the money they make. (I've heard rumors of up to eight.) This can't be helping their teaching and it's hard to believe they can do any work keeping up in the field or doing research with such a load.
posted by ontic at 11:42 AM on March 1, 2007

There are different types of "online universities." Some are glorified power-point and email shows. (Watch this powerpoint, then participate in an email discussion). Others are pretty decent facsimiles of "live" classroom training. I'm in an online MLIS program through the U of Alabama. We have a set class time where we all meet in an online town hall. We have live presentations, screencasts, voice and text chat, etc. The assignments are as rigorus as a live setting, and we write papers, blog, and use discussion forums. I really like it, mainly because it allows me to take courses that aren't offered near me geography, the people who teach and take online classes are usually "get it", and it saves time. No driving, no parking, etc. Be sure to really thoroughly examine the program before signing up.
posted by cosmicbandito at 11:57 AM on March 1, 2007

I took four classes at the University of Phoenix Online about two years ago. Stopped because things were getting crazy at work and I hated the "group learning" approach of the school. It always seemed like I was dragging most of my group along behind me, kicking and screaming. And although many things are well-suited to group/team work, writing papers is not one of them... IMHO.

There were also a few other miscellaneous gripes. The academic advisory department seemed like a revolving door, for one. (I had a different advisor for pretty much every class, and none of them were very responsive to questions.) Some instructors were better than others, but I don't think that's unique to UoP. And you could pretty much count on some sort of server/technical issue at least once a week.

I recently enrolled in the UoP "Axia" program, in which there are no "group learning" requirements; it's all individual work. I decided to give it another try based on that. (And the promises that all technical issues had been worked out. The enrollment advisor I worked with also swore that the advisory department was rock-solid. Turns out neither of those things are strictly true.) My current gripes:

1) Although the technical issues are a little better, there are still some problems. The servers are generally down every two weeks instead of every week. And it's usually on the last day of the week, when assignments are due.

2) The academic advisory department -- or at least the advisor that I've been given -- is worse than before. At least in terms of responsiveness. It takes several messages to get any kind of answer, even if I copy a manager.

3) My classmates so far (two classes) seem even more ill-prepared than they were the first time around. In some cases, and in all honesty, the writing skills demonstrated wouldn't even satisfy a middle-school teacher.

Which brings me to my final point... and somewhat close to your original question. I have some serious questions about the overall quality of the education, as well as how a "University of Phoenix" degree will look on my resume. The first part, of course, has a lot to do with what you put into it. The second part does not.

To wit: If some of my classmates receive passing grades for the work they produce, and ultimately get a degree that is, for all intents and purposes indistinguishable from mine, how will it really benefit me?

I've asked for a generic breakdown of class grades for my two classes so far (no specific names, of course) and have received conflicting information. My advisor says it's up to the instructors, my instructors say they are not permitted to give out the information. This seems strange to me, since I believe it's more-or-less standard practice at most colleges.

Anyway, that's my fourteen cents.
posted by Luciferous at 12:22 PM on March 1, 2007

There are a lot of previous threads on AskMetafilter about this that may be useful to you.
one
two
three
four
five
six
and probably there are more that I didn't find. You can find more by using the search box in the top right (for example, I found these six by typing in "university of phoenix").
posted by LobsterMitten at 12:41 PM on March 1, 2007 [1 favorite]

I've taken some online classes at the redundantly named University of Maryland University College, which has several programs that can be done completely online, and I'd say that a lot depends on the instructor. For the most part, I've been satisfied. There was really only one class -- a psychology class -- where I felt as though I could have gotten just as much out of the class had I just purchased the text and read it myself. I was pleasantly surprised by a math class, which I thought I would be difficult for me online. The material was presented well, and the professor was responsive and very helpful.
posted by amarynth at 12:48 PM on March 1, 2007

I'm taking an online economics course through Portland Community College right now, and I love it. I hold an undergrad degree from a rigorous liberal arts college, and I came to this class with negative preconceived notions about community colleges and about online learning, but it's very rigorous and I'm learning a lot.

We're working from a text book, and the professor posts lecture notes to read in addition to the book every week. There's also a text-specific web site with exercises and illustrations to help with difficult problems. The professor answers questions through a password-protected message board, and about 10 of the 50 invisible-to-me students in the class post regularly to discuss assignments.

There are weekly timed quizzes, weekly e-mailed homework assignment. There's a short paper. A midterm and final exam must be taken either at PCC or through a proctor elsewhere.

Honestly, I feel like I'm learning more than I did in a lot of my first round of college classes. I'm forced by deadlines to do the work in a timely manner, but I can do it on my own schedule instead of having to schedule my life around the class.
posted by croutonsupafreak at 3:10 PM on March 1, 2007

I have a family member who is enrolled in Concord Law School, the online law school based in California (and accredited in California, not by the ABA). I have been really surprised by how sophisticated the degree program is, and how similar in content and rigor it is to a brick-and-mortar law school. Concord has video lectures, and students contribute to class via a kind of chat program. And the workload is intense, very much comparable to a normal, brick-and-mortar school. In fact, in my observation, the program is as demanding as my own law school experience (at a pretty highly ranked national law school).

The quality of the Concord law program is confirmed by the fact that Concord graduates pass the notoriously difficult "baby bar" (a State Bar-administered exam that students who attend California-accredited, non-ABA accredited law schools are required to take after their first year of law school) at a much higher rate than students from other California-accredited law schools.
posted by jayder at 6:42 PM on March 1, 2007

Online education is what you make it. In many ways, what you get out of it is up to you. You can make it a really enriching experience or a lousy one. But this can be true for almost any college you go to. With an online university, the onus is on you to get the most out of your education.

I have found that it is really easy to slack off while "attending" an online university. If someone just needs a degree to get/keep a job, then it's a great way to get one. If you are the type of person who likes to explore and research on your own, online classes are great. But if you are the type of person who learns best by human interaction and lecture, and actually want to learn a lot and feel like you are getting a quality education, then an online program will leave you feeling disappointed.

So it really depends on your friend's personality. He can make it or break it.
posted by HotPatatta at 9:53 AM on March 3, 2007