Archive for September, 2011

Online Education with the University of Phoenix

September 24th, 2011

University of Phoenix Online Focuses on Team Learning

Unlike some other schools, the University of Phoenix Online focuses on Team Learning. For all classes, team assignments can make up to 20% of the student’s total grade. Consequently, students get more than they bargained for when pursuing an education at Phoenix’s online university (UoP online).

Online Education for those Working Full-Time

UoP online believes that distance learning shouldn’t be a solely individual or isolated effort. In an effort to help their students do better in their careers, UoP online believes that its students should get more practice working effectively as a virtual team. Besides submitting individual short answers and papers, students must also work as a part of a team, usually on a single course long project where the work on one week builds on the week done previously.

UoP online targets mature adults who have been in the work force for at least five years. The majority of UoP online students have been career oriented for some time. By designing their online classes so that they don’t require meetings at set times, UoP online helps busy individuals advance their educations. But don’t get the wrong idea; UoP online is not set up like other distance learning programs, say a correspondence course, where you set your own timeline. UoP requires you to be online at least four times a week to participate and you need to post assignments on a weekly schedule.

Effective team work is an integral part to a successful career. Many an interview has revolved around a person’s “team spirit.” Even online jobs require collaboration to a certain degree. UoP’s stance on online team learning might educate you on more than what you signed up for, too.

University of Phoenix offers degree programs in the following fields:

o Accounting
o Health Care

o Administration
o Human Services

o Business
o Information Systems

o Counseling
o Management

o Criminal Justice
o Marketing

o eBusiness
o Nursing

o Education
o Technology Management

o Finance

Online college courses lead to salary increase

Take online college courses that you can work around your schedule. Why go back to school? How about for more money? Studies show that the more education a person has, the more that person will make over coworkers who do the same thing but are less educated.

The more education you have, the more you get paid

Another reason you should consider distance learning courses is that it can help you change careers. If you’re sick of your current job and want another career, quit dreaming and starting working toward your goals. Recognizing the need to accommodate “non-traditional” students, more colleges are setting up online courses to help educate students via online campuses. They aren’t stopping with courses either. Many colleges offer complete degree programs that you can get entirely online.

When considering what online program you will enroll in, look at the following factors:

o Costs

o Accreditation. For example, the only state that will let you sit for the bar if you get an online law degree is California.

o Program requirements. What courses do you have to take to graduate? How many classes can you CLEP out of or get credit for courses you’ve taken elsewhere?

o Distance learning tools. What does the school use for its virtual classroom? Not all schools use the same online tools.

o What kind of financial aid is available to you?

Online programs are constantly being improved so if you looked into them a few years ago, you owe it to yourself to learn what educators have been up to in the meantime.

University of Phoenix Online – Best Option To Pursue Your Degree Online

September 19th, 2011

University of Phoenix Online (UOP) is one of the largest online universities that offer various online degree programs that cover almost all career fields. Through out the years of service, UOP has gained very good reputation for educational teaching and excellent student service. What makes University of Phoenix Online so special? How you will benefits from the online learning features offered by UOP?

UOP is an accredited online university that offers mostly 100% online degree programs dedicated specially for working adults regardless of where they live. The Higher Learning Commission, a member of North Central Association is the accrediting agency which performs the accreditation upon University of Phoenix Online. If you are interested to pursue your degree online, accreditation information is important to you because it is a measure of the quality on its degree programs which determines the acceptance of the degrees in the job market.

Phoenix University online specialize in offering relevant degrees with basic bachelor degree to Masters and PHDs that covers almost all job fields in business, management, technology management, computer information system, education, law and nursing. If you are planning to get a degree or further you study in order to in depth your knowledge related to your career for job promotion or career advancement, you should find your degree of choice from the degree programs offered by Phoenix University online.

This university is one of US-based online universities that accept international students. If you leave out of US and interested to pursue your degree online from one of the famous universities at United States, UOP may be your good option. As most of online degree programs can be completed 100% online, there is no geography limitation. Students from all around the world can pursue their degree online through UOP online degree program from their home country. They just need to have internet connection to login into UOP online learning system to attend online classes, download online learning material and ask questions or get assistance from their online instructors.

As most online degree programs offered by University Phoenix online allows you to plan your own study time that best fit your working schedule, you may choose to complete your degree in a long period of time if you have a very busy working schedule, else if you need a degree urgently for a job promotion or career advancement in the near future, you can plan to complete your degree as fast as possible. In general, average online students of UOP complete their degree courses in just two or three years.

For students who are stretching their budgets, there are various financial assistances in term of scholarship, grant and student loan available for them. In additional, there are a few flexible fee payment plans offered to students to reduce their finance burden while pursue their degree with UOP. You can easily get the financial aids information from the university’s website.

Common Mistakes of Online Students

September 12th, 2011

There are all sorts of misconceptions about what it is like to attend online school. In a lot of ways it is the same as if you were attending a traditional school and in other ways it is not. You are the only one who can decide which learning style is right for you. While you are thinking about it, lots of questions and concerns may come to your mind. This article will examine common mistakes that online students make. Hopefully this list will give you a better understanding of what online education can be like and help you avoid some of the pitfalls.

One of the major mistakes that students make is not having good time management. This is especially true if you are an online student. By attending online classes, you do not have “set” times that you have to be sitting in class taking notes. So by not having to be somewhere, it is easy to let other worldly distractions to take your attention away from your studying. Just like you have to put in the time in a traditional class, you have to do the same with an online class. Your computer cannot absorb the information for you. It will take a lot of dedication. My advice is set a certain amount of time each week to tackle your school work. Make sure you stick to your schedule and you will do fine.

Going along with time management comes taking care of your health. You cannot let your studying and your busy life get in the way of taking care of yourself. This may sound really preachy but it is true. You must eat healthy and exercise. Not only will it be good for you on a physical aspect, these things also contribute to a happy mind. A happy mind is what you want when you are stressing over a project or assignment. It is inevitable. If you start to feel stressed, take a 30 minute walk. It will help clear your head. And yes that pizza is tempting during a 3 am study session, but resist. Instead try and apple with peanut butter. While we are preaching about your health, you also have to find time to sleep. The average person needs at least 7 hours of sleep. If you haven’t slept in 5 days and you are snapping at everyone, do yourself a favor and go to bed.

Another important lesson is back away from the computer. Confusing? Not really. By attending school online you will spend a lot of time in front of a screen, but there is still a world out there. If you have proper time management you should be able to still get out there and enjoy it without stressing yourself out. A social life is necessary for everyone. All work and no play will make you go crazy. Get out there and mingle with other humans, the computer will still be there when you get back, I promise. If you are so involved in your schooling and didn’t even notice that Christmas is tomorrow, you might have spent too much time in front of the screen, just saying.