Barry Said:

Who offers the best on-line college degree programs/?

We Answered:

University of Phoenix seems to be mentioned quite frequently. Athabasca University in Alberta, Canada is a good on line university. Athabasca has been doing distance education for more than 30 years.

Lewis Said:

Has anyone completed a college degree on line and than went on to a good college or university?

We Answered:

You need to explore the on line educational site to gain knowledge about the online degrees i know one of the educational site which can help you to fined the on line collage for online degrees which is http://www.sgpak.com

Miriam Said:

Where can I get a college degree on line without studying?

We Answered:

Do you really think an employer is going to value a degree that you get without studying?

Just go down to Kinko's and get one printed out if you want to do it like this...

** UPDATE:
Sorry, I misread your question. Some universities will give credit for work experience but will still make you sit an examination to make sure that you know what you claim.

It is unlikely that they would let you have a complete (legitimate) degree in this way and you would still need to pay to sit each of the exams. Good luck!

** UPDATE II (for Katerina):
I was referring to degrees where they do RPL (recognition of prior learning). I know that here in Australia you can get some concessions for units in finance type degrees provided you can sit and pass the exams. Unfortunately they sometimes make them a bit harder than usual and you do have to pay a fee.

My point was that this would not be available for the whole course so you can't get away from study altogether if you want a degree that means anything.

I get lots of spam in hotmail about pay for degrees like I mentioned before I reread the question.

Dave Said:

Have you or anyone you know earned a college degree on-line? Are online degrees any good in the real world?

We Answered:

It depends. I do know two people who after five to fifteen years of working, went to University of Phoenix. One advanced at their current company, actually changed careers though. The other was successful at changing careers with a new company. However, neither job was a top-level job, but both were decent jobs at medium sized companies. Also, neither would have gotten the job without their degree.

Even with the success of those two people, I still believe the best way to get a degree online is to attend an online program at a state university. As far as I know, most degrees online from a state university do not indicate they were earned online. A potential employer would probably never know. However, even though UoP does have campuses, a degree from UoP would be perceived as if it were obtained online.

Stay away from the for-profits because of high cost. Some will be reasonable, but most, like University of Phoenix, overcharge. For example, UoP currently charges $494 per semester credit hour. University of Wyoming charges $134. Penn State charges $400. Penn State looks a lot better on a resume than University of Phoenix or any other for-profit university.

If you are just starting your college education or have less than 60 semester credit hours, try your local community college first. They may have an online AA degree program. If they don't, try other community colleges in your state. Sometimes, you can speed up your AA degree by using CLEP and DSST tests. You can get more information on CLEP at http://www.collegeboard.com You can get more information on DSST tests at http://www.getcollegecredit.com

Once you have an AA degree, you can enroll in an online bachelor's degree completion program at one of the state universities. Many state universities now have online degrees. The following are some websites to get you started.

http://www.fhsu.edu/virtualcollege/
http://www.peru.edu/offuttafb/degreeprog…
http://outreach.uwyo.edu/ocp/
http://www.distance.msstate.edu/
http://www.distancelearning.ufl.edu/degr…
http://www.apu.apus.edu/index.htm
http://www.online.uillinois.edu/
http://www.depts.ttu.edu/ode/CollegeOver…

When you choose a school, make sure it is at least regionally accredited. You can check accreditation at http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/search.a… You can learn more about accreditation at http://www.ed.gov/admins/finaid/accred/i…

Finally, there are a couple of forums online with members who have obtained their degrees online. Some have gone pretty far with their online degrees. The forums are free to join but you can read the forum without joining. You just won't be able to post. http://forums.degreeinfo.com and http://www.instantcertonline.com/forums

Good luck

Valerie Said:

Honestly, do you use your college degree in your line of work?

We Answered:

I used it all the time. In my experience, and as a rule of thumb, I found 1/3 of subjects directly applicable, 1/3 partly applicable, and 1/3 simply good background information. I did a degree in math with a co major in computer science and became a IT programmer.

IMHO the best courses are those with a combined internship component eg:
http://www17.griffith.edu.au/cis/p_cat/a…

Although my preference would be doing such a program at the Masters level and use your undergrad as preparation. That way you leave you career options as open as possible.

Thanks
Bill

Beverly Said:

Do employers take on-line college seriously when viewed on a resume?

We Answered:

Generally employers compare resumes they receive from a pool of interested candidates. If you're applying for a position where a college degree is a requirement, the employer will try to weight the quality of the edcuation you received and compare it to the other applicants. They may compare your school to other school's based on the quality of programs offered or the school's national standing. You may find Businessweek.com helpful in that respect, because they rank colleges and their programs annually.
Keep in mind that employers will look more at your experience and what you can bring into their organization versus what type of degree you have. A candidate with great past experience will have greater chances of obtaining most positions out there than a candidate with a portfolio of degrees and no experience.