I am going to be taking classes online to complete my degree. Does anyone have any advice or or tips for me?

I am in the process of making arrangements to complete my degree through the University of Phoenix online. I have completed four years plus of undergraduate studies at various colleges but because of family obligations, financial problems etc I never really had a chance to finish. Now I am making this a priority. I wanted to hear from anyone who may have taken online courses through this or other programs and find out what they thought, what should I expect and learn what I can to prepare myself from others. All sincere answers are welcome and wanted.I am going to be taking classes online to complete my degree. Does anyone have any advice or or tips for me?
Congratulations on furthering your education.





There are plenty of schools where you can complete your degree online. Most will be cheaper than University of Phoenix. Check with your state universities first. These will sometimes be the least expensive options. An added benefit of state schools is, in most cases, the online degree you earn will be no different than the degree earned by a student sitting in classes.





Here are some schools for you:





Fort Hays State University 鈥?http://www.fhsu.edu/virtualcollege


Peru State University - http://www.peru.edu/offuttafb/degreeprog鈥?/a>


University of Wyoming 鈥?http://outreach.uwyo.edu/ocp/


American Public University 鈥?http://www.apu.apus.edu/index.htm...


University of Illinois - http://www.online.uillinois.edu/





There are three regionally accredited schools in the country that will allow you to transfer in 100% of your degree requirements. These are Excelsior College in NY (http://www.excelsior.edu), Thomas Edison State College in NJ (http://www.tesc.edu), and Charter Oak State College in CT (http://www.cosc.edu). Since you have 4+ years of college, I'm assuming you have more than 90 credit hours. If this is the case, you will take less courses if you enroll in one of the three above schools than if you enroll in University of Phoenix.





I also urge you to consider some other school besides University of Phoenix. University of Phoenix charges $494 per semester credit hour. To give you an idea of why that is ridiculous tuition costs, Fort Hays State University charges $134 per semester credit hour. University of Wyoming charges $137 per semester credit hour. American Public University is $250 per semester credit hour but also includes books.





I also urge you to avoid Strayer. Strayer also overcharges. Strayer is on the quarter hour system. Each course at Strayer is 4.5 quarter credit hours. The website states tuition per course is $1355. That comes to $301 per quarter credit hour. To equate that to semester credit hours, you have to divide that amount by 0.67. Therefore, tuition at Strayer is equal to $449 per semester credit hour. That is another ridiculous amount.





All of the schools I mention are at least regionally accredited. Whenever you search for an online degree program, make sure the school is at least regionally accredited. Check accreditation at http://www.chea.org/search/search.asp or at the U.S. Department of Education website at http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/Search.a鈥?/a>


You can learn more about accreditation at http://www.ed.gov/admins/finaid/accred/i鈥?/a>





Good luckI am going to be taking classes online to complete my degree. Does anyone have any advice or or tips for me?
Congratulations! This is a big endeavor but one that you can manage....and you must do just that- Manage your time! With the exception of seeing your classmates and professors face-to-face you can still get the benefits of a learning community if you put the effort into it. Stay on top of your postings and try to contribute as much as possible. In many cases, this will spark great discussions on a topic. Best wishes!


Benae


M.Ed. online graduate


www.TheLambrightGroup.com


Today's Online Teacher Exchange
Stay on top of the work. Make sure you keep up with your assignments daily. It is much easier to fall behind in an online class than in a face-to-face.
First things first - CONGRATULATIONS on your 4 years +!! You have worked hard and deserve a break, in my opinion. I took online courses, through NOVA) and the hardest part was carving time out of my day for the extra work.





Finally I had to go to my friend's house daily and use her computer (after watering her plants!) - because at home, there is always too much to do. Since you are making this a priority, I doubt you will have the time management problem I ran into - really that is the only thing to beware of.





I prefer the traditional classroom setting, complete with study buddies, but online is great in a lot of ways. Just stay on top of it!
There are cheaper alternative to Phoenix University. Their degrees are being looked down upon, and not taken seriously in a professional aspect. You should search other answers for UofP... You will find several employers will not even CONSIDER a UofP graduate. You should look into Strayer University... they cost much less, and every degree they offer can be earned online, or on-campus... Chances are there is a campus near you.... www.strayer.edu