Achieving a Higher Level Of Education Through a Distance Learning Masters Degree
Filed Under Distance Education
With the completion of undergraduate courses through a college or university, most people will move on to pursue their career of choice. For many, this is the culmination of four years of hard work and a time to begin a new life that was made possible through education.
However, somewhere down the road – very soon after earning an undergraduate degree or years later – it may become apparent that a masters degree would significantly elevate your status and financial earnings in the workplace. Or, you may feel that you wish to update your skills and make yourself a more marketable employee by earning a higher degree.
In either case, pursuing a masters degree can seem like a logistical impossibility with an already busy work and family life. Luckily, for those in exactly this situation, a distance learning degree can make that higher education achievable no matter what your schedule.
This type of degree is earned much like a traditional degree – through predetermined course work and examinations. However, distance learning work is completed in the comfort and privacy of the student’s home. This allows the non-traditional student the ability to fit studies around the other priorities in their life including full or part-time work and family.
Online colleges and universities often offer the opportunity to earn a masters degree in a variety of subjects. As the popularity of distance learning continues to grow, so does the list of courses offered. Most modern students will find exactly what they are looking for in a number of online educational settings.
Traditional colleges and universities also offer their students the ability to earn a distance learning master’s degree. As more and more non-traditional students look for ways to earn higher degrees of education and still balance their lives, colleges and universities are making modern learning available on a grander scale.
This can be especially attractive to those students who earn their undergraduate degree through a particular school; they are then able to embark upon their career while earning a master’s degree through the very same school.
Through distance learning, a professor acts as an online facilitator outlining the course syllabus through email or an online “classroom.” Students are often required to purchase books, and lessons are taught through these books in addition to online tutelage and even video lessons.
Course work is often required to be turned in on a particular schedule; but the times at which students do their class work is entirely dependent on their schedule. The convenience of distance learning lies in the ability to fit school into your life instead of the other way around.
Today’s education environment calls for options when it comes to earning a degree. The future of education lies in the ability of students to achieve their goals in a way that is conducive to their lifestyle. A distance learning masters degree can bring students closer to career and personal goals; and do so in a way that maximizes the convenience to the student.
—
Worried workers race to retool: Adults head to school in droves, fretting over layoffs, a lack of skills
By Peter Schworm, Globe Staff | January 24, 2009
Workers who have lost their jobs, or are worried that they will, are returning to the classroom in increasing numbers to bolster their resumes and pick up new skills to become more marketable to employers.
From recent immigrants improving their English, in hopes of landing better jobs, to laid-off financial analysts looking to start new careers, more adults are enrolling in career-oriented courses at colleges, workforce development programs, and vocational schools, according to college officials, employers, and labor specialists.
“They know they often need that piece of paper to get ahead,” said Joan Dolamore, dean of lifelong learning at Wentworth Institute of Technology, whose professional and continuing studies division saw new enrollments last fall double from the previous year.
“For students who have been laid off or seen their hours cut, it gives them a chance to accelerate their education, because now they have time to take more than one or two classes per semester.”
Popular pursuits include legal studies, healthcare occupations, and business administration, educators say. Cooking and bartending schools also say they have drawn more interest from people looking to start a new career or for a backup plan in case their current one falters.
“It’s like a second chance,” said Rick Jackson, admissions director at Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Cambridge.
Monica Tosches, a 44-year-old law librarian from Malden who lost her job to downsizing last year, said her layoff made her realize that she had to stand out from the crowd. She is now enrolled at Bunker Hill’s paralegal certificate program, hoping to land a more lucrative job.
“There’s a saying in law firms, ‘If you’re not billable, you’re expendable,’ ” said Tosches. “I’m hoping that this really pays off.”
With jobs scarce, people like Tosches are flocking to certificate programs, courses designed to provide specific job skills, to save the time and money necessary to pursue a degree.
At Bunker Hill Community College, enrollment in certificate programs rose 35 percent last fall over the previous year. Fisher College, a private school in the Back Bay, has seen enrollment in its health information technology program swell 16 percent and its criminal justice program 21 percent over last year. The University of Massachusetts at Boston says applications for certificate programs are up 32 percent for graduate students and 23 percent for undergraduates.
“As people get more worried about job security, they start looking for more credentials,” said Christopher Hopey, dean of Northeastern University’s College of Professional Studies, where enrollment in graduate programs has soared 60 percent over last year. “A lot of people are saying, ‘How do I protect myself?’ “
With many employers scaling back tuition reimbursement programs, more adults are paying for their studies, increasing the appeal of short-term programs with a practical focus.
Since few students can afford to be without a paycheck, many are taking classes at night or on weekends, or online, where they can make their own schedule.
“Our enrollment is traditionally countercyclical to the economy,” said David J. Gray, CEO of UMassOnline, the university’s distance education program. “But a lot of people are seeing other people getting laid off and thinking, ‘What can I do to assure this doesn’t happen to me?’ “
UMassOnline says its overall enrollment has risen 22 percent in the past year, driven in large part by full-time workers who need the flexibility online courses offer.
Boston University’s continuing education school, Boston University Metropolitan College, has seen a similar rush toward online degrees and certificate programs.
“The only one that isn’t doing well is certified financial planners,” said Jay Halfond, the college’s dean, of its programs.
Yet Massachusetts has lagged behind other states during the past decade in the number of students earning two-year degrees and undergraduate certificates, raising questions about the adult education system and concerns about the overall skill level of the workforce.
Nationally, the number of associate’s degrees awarded rose 34 percent from 1996 to 2007, while it fell 16 percent in Massachusetts and 28 percent in Boston, according to the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University.
Just 5 percent of Massachusetts adults with less than a high school diploma are enrolled in state-funded adult education courses, the lowest rate in New England.
Helping to fill the gap are initiatives such as SkillWorks, a job training initiative involving 40 employers and 30 community-based groups. Among other programs, it helps sponsor ESL classes for employees of hospitals in the Longwood Medical Area.
At a recent class, students learned sentence structure and vocabulary, concentrating on terms they might encounter at work. The idea, SkillWorks officials say, is to prepare workers, most of whom hold entry-level positions, for additional training and a more promising career.
These workers, notes Kira Khazatsky, who directs the program, were struggling to compete in the job market long before the economy soured.
“I’m not sure what my next step is,” said Vladimir Yeliseyev, 30, a native of Belarus who works as a lab technician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. “But I’m sure I need to learn English and continue my education.”
Not that all workers are returning to school for necessity’s sake. Jeff Dudley of New Hampshire found himself with the freedom and financial flexibility to attend culinary school after the startup data storage company he worked for was purchased by Dell. Now he attends Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts to become an executive caterer.
“For a long time, I did what I had to do,” said Dudley, 43. “Now I am hoping to do what I want to do.”
—
UGC warns of bogus online institutes and degrees
By Nadia Fazlulhaq
With an increasing number of students following university degrees especially online degrees/courses, the University Grants Commission (UGC) strongly urged students to consult the UGC on whether the university course/degree is recognized in Sri Lanka.
Chairman of the University Grants Commission, Professor Gamini Samaranayake told The Sunday Times that though the number of students sitting for foreign degrees had increased rapidly, most of them fail to to consult the UGC.
Prof. Samaranayake
“Most students sitting for foreign degrees including online degrees, are not aware that some of these foreign universities are not recognized and some are even bogus ones despite bearing the name of a particular country,” he said.
Prof. Samaranayake said there were many instances of students who did not consult the UGC prior to sitting for foreign degrees and subsequently going through untold difficulties when seeking employment with reputed firms in the country.
“Most reputed establishments check the validity of job applicant’s qualifications. There are some instances where job opportunities are lost due to a rejection of a qualification, as it is not recognized in the country”, he added.
According to the chairman, universities listed in The Commonwealth Universities Yearbook, issued by the Association of Commonwealth Countries and the International Handbook of Universities published by the International Association of Universities is recognised in Sri Lanka.
Prof. Samaranayake said the UGC was unable to consider the plea of students that their degree be recognised as recognition was granted via a public administration circular which is made law.
He advised students applying for online degrees to be extra vigilant and urged them to either refer to the aforementioned books, or check with the UGC to ensure the institute at which they were hoping to follow higher studies was a recognized degree awarding institute.
