Are Online Degrees Accepted in the Working World?
There is much discussion on this topic, and the simple answer is that in general employers do not care whether your degree was online or on campus….it’s a degree. The main thing to look at is, is the school accredited?
Accreditation– There are a many accrediting bodies when is comes to institution accreditation. Whether you are attending a seminary, veterinary school, college, or university, you want to make sure that they are accredited by a well known and accepted body.
Another important thing to look at is, do people know about the school?
Reputation– Make sure that your school is well established. Of course if the school you plan to obtain a degree from has been around for years as a brick and mortar institution then there is no need to worry about taking a course online. Instead research the background of the school, and their history.
You can’t beat the convenience –An online degree can be the best thing for a working adult, and anyone who finds themselves caught in the throngs of life with no way to make a commitment to a specific time everyday, for two years so that they can attend school.
Today’s world is very different than even 5 years ago, especially the world of education. Distance Learning has been around for over 20 years. The main difference today as opposed to 20 years ago, is the abundant use of the internet. The Internet has made it possible to allow for more interactive distance learning. With previous methods of distance learning, things were recorded or distributed via television/VHS. There was a bottle neck in the system of adult education, and online learning has alleviated the constraint of interactive real time distance education. Being able to interact with classmates through online forums, chats with teachers, the ability to refer to old lessons, take class on your own schedule through virtual means is both extraordinary and ground breaking.
So don’t be afraid to enroll in an online program, because as long as you attend an accredited institution you will always improve your chances of advancing in your career, and the working world will accept you.
Will offering online courses to all students cannibalize my enrollments?
When a school introduces distance education into their system, there is sometimes the fear of cannibalizing existing student base. Hopefully when your finished with this post you’ll see that offering Online solutions to ALL your students is the best way to success on and off line.
1) The traditional student is fundamentally different than the online student
2) Traditional students will always exist, simply because they are attending college for a different purpose than a non-traditional student.
This issue also arose when distance education was first introduced sans internet, but via video/tv. Yet, as someone who works in school administration, you have to ask, why would someone take distance courses if they can physically come to your campus? That’s just the thing, they can’t. The reason why there are people that take online courses is because they have different goals than the 18-24 year olds that want to get a “college experience”.
People that attend school online:
– Can’t physically go to a campus
– Don’t have time for traditional learning
– Need school for career advancements
When asking this question ask yourself, who is a distance learner, and why are they going to school online. The simple fact is that education is like any other business, diversification is key. By providing online course you open the door to students that would never have attended your traditional college, as well as truly exploit the concept that the world is flat. Providing online courses to anyone at your institution you open up to people who are presented with extenuating circumstances that usually would not be able to continue their education, and those who may have grueling schedules like working students, athletes, or international students. Think about it an athlete that need to be eligible, but can’t fit a class into their schedule, and international student that goes home over the summer, but wants to go to summer school, or working students that end up dropping out because they don’t have time for class. Cannibalization is an issue that schools need not worry about, and if it is a concern, ask yourself if students are going to choose online over campus schooling, why would I not give them the option to stay at my school. One third of students will not return to a school after freshman year, largely due to life circumstances. So why not give then the opportunity to get a degree with a school they clearly already value.
Cannibalization is truly unfounded, that would be like coke saying they will not sell water because then no one will drink their Coke. On the contrary, people that want water will find it whether Coke offers it or not.
What is ElearnPortal?
Elearnportal (ELP) is a directory of schools that offer online degrees and certificate programs. The schools listed on Elearnportal are traditional Brick and Mortar campuses, that with the help of The Learning House are offering online education solutions to students.
ElearnPortal gives prospects looking for a degree the ability to gather or request additional information from schools about their program. When a school becomes a client of the Learning House, they are listed on ElearnPortal. The portal enable people to find a schools programs on the web by typing in key words such as online degrees in business online.
Elearnportal will provides information about the location, accreditation, cost per credit, programs offered, and current articles for each school. This site is separate from the school, and is a medium for those seeking information about a school to do so. When students want to continue researching a school there is a link to the schools online campus ( if it is developed by TLH). This gives students all the information they need to know about going to that school Online (distance education).
There are many sections on ELP that make it easy for a student to find your program. A prospect can search by degree area, degree level, degree subject, or by school. All these options increase the viability of a schools programs. As someone looking for a school you will appreciate the search box that allows you to quickly navigate through the site. Here you can find articles, programs, testimonials, and much more information.
As a student or someone interested in going back to school, take a look at ElearnPortal, you can find the right school for almost any profession. With over 50 different area’s of study available 100% Online.
As an institution trying to improve your enrollments or simply to enter the growing market of adult learners, partnering with Learning House will enable you to succeed.
About The Learning House Inc
Total Online Education Solutions Partner
Learning House Online Education Services
The founders of Learning House embraced the concept of distance learning long before it was widely popular, made use of innovative technology and created a place where life-long learning is valued and supported…a place where electronic systems are used, not as a barrier but as a tool, to facilitate high-quality learning…a place that provides the opportunity for someone who might not otherwise afford to access high-level information, skills and knowledge that could make a difference in that person’s life.
Learning House wants to provide colleges and universities with modern virtual learning methods allowing their students to access high-quality education while making their learning experience easy and pleasant. Learning House is committed to providing the best online education services and products possible to its clients – this is our creed and mission.
” We have been offering online education through our in-house system for six years and consider LH to be a significant step up with large possibilities for expansion without huge capital outlay. LH keeps their promises. ”
Dr. Rick Durst
Project Manager
The Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary eCampus
Customized Services – No Upfront Cost
Our competitive advantage includes a No Upfront Cost policy for starting an online education program because we believe in giving a chance to all colleges and universities to advance their own future and the future of their communities.
Learning House develops Customized Virtual Campuses
- Online Course Publishing
- Learning Management Systems Hosting
- Online Program Marketing
- 24/7 Technology Support
- Faculty and Staff Training
- Online Faculty Sourcing
Creates and publishes customized online courses for Online Education programs
- Online Courses (Four Options to create a course)
- Course content on CD/DVD
- Offers ready-to-use or customized online courses from course catalog
Offers customized learning management systems
- IntraLearn
- Moodle
- Hosts learning management systems on secure servers – Uses Tier 1 data center technology
Provides customized marketing and advertising services
- Online Campus Website development
- PPC/PPL campaigns
- Search engine optimization (SEO)
- Search engine marketing (SEM)
- Lead generation, lead management
- Web design and development
Provides comprehensive support services
- 24/7 Technology Help Center
- Faculty and staff training
Provides consulting services
- Online Education Programs – design and management
- Web Presence
- Marketing
- Client management support
Should I charge an application fee online?
This is a subject that has not been written about much. Many institutions believe that if a student is serious about applying to a college if they pay an application fee. Having an application fee is also a way of getting the student to invest part of themselves in the college.
What should I have in Place when students are applying online?
- An account for prospects so that they can submit information and store personal information.
- A separate application for students interested in your online programs
- An electronic application, linked to your admissions management system.
- A status update available for students
- A pre-application process that allows students to submit their application, and transcripts to see if their credits will transfer. Once this has been determined they are then put into the full application process pending their application fee.
Requiring an application fee online is recommend when offering online courses only if:
- You have an electronic payment system in place.
When requiring an application fee online, if it is not electronic it adds a barrier between the school and the applicant. We live in a generation of ‘Now’ people want things to be convienent for them.
By not accepting payments electronically you are giving people a way to procrastinate with moving forward with your institution. You don’t want to give an applicant a reason to say “I’ll have to think about it”. Likelihood is they’ll continue to look, and then perhaps forget about you.
- You have a program that has little competition online, and is in high demand.
Due to limited options, entry deterrents, like application fees, are less likely to stop prospects from applying.
What to keep in mind when using an application fee or not?
When deciding on whether you want to charge an application fee keep in mind the following: What are the goals of my school? What are your cost associated with admitting a student? What is the attrition rate from applicants to enrollments? Should we allow the student to apply on a conditional basis while determining whether their credits will transfer?
- What are your goals?- If you have very aggressive goals then you must have an aggressive enrollment process. Obviously the more applications you accept, the more people you can admit. So having no application fee in the case is beneficial. If your goals are less aggressive you can choose whether you have the fee or not, provided that you have a payment process in plan.
- What is the cost of admittance?- Keep in mind when accepting applications that if you have high costs, then you may want to try to reduce this first.
- What is your attrition rate?- Try to figure out why your attrition rate is high, or not satisfactory. Are students getting what they expect, were they able to get financing, did a situation come up at home. Make sure to establish communication with admitted students, and encourage them to communicate with you if the need assistance with anything.
- Should you admit on a conditional basis?- This is one way to get a student invested in your school initially with little risk on both sides of the equation. Many students hesitate because they want to be sure that their credits will transfer, and that your school has financing options in place.
Waiving the application fee will certainly reduce the barrier between a potential student and your school, but keep in mind what your goals are, what your costs are, and what your strategy is.
Moodle is here!
This week The Learning House (TLH) launched Moodle, an LMS (Learning Management System) or (CMS- Course Management System). TLH provides schools with a system to deliver their online courses, we then fully develop or help develop courses and host them.
Moodle is a great addition to the growth and improvement of the online environment at TLH. The word Moodle is actually an acronym for Modular Object-Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment. Moodle can also be used as a verb, meaning doing things as it occurs to you to do them.
eLearnTips 