In this post, I will be discussing online colleges. I believe online colleges are the wave of the future. The reason I say this is the convenience of online education. Let us say you do not have time during the day to attend classes on campus because you are working full-time or for some other reason. If you are attending online courses, there are no obligations to sit in a classroom. You might have to attend an online seminar once a week for each of your classes depending on the online college. If you have to attend weekly seminars, you have the option to pick a time that is convenient for your schedule (you do not get to pick the exact day and time, they give you quite a few options that usually work for you).
Another good thing about online colleges is you get to work on assignments at your own pace. In the weekly announcements, there is a post on what assignments are do for the week and the due dates (this is usually by the week’s end). You can also work ahead, but there are some professors that do not want you to turn in your work until the actual week the assignment is due. However, this does not prohibit you from working ahead. Starting from day one, you can look ahead to the upcoming assignments, readings, and tests throughout the quarter and plan accordingly.
You might ask about class participation or what if you have questions. How do you get to know your classmates? Every week the professor posts a few questions to the discussion board. The discussion board is to make sure your reading the text, doing your assignments, and interacting with your classmates. In the first week, you are required to post an introduction about yourself. Your initial post usually has to be at least a paragraph long. The discussion board is graded and required. Some professors are sticklers on grammar and spelling, and there are some that are not. Every week you are required to have an initial post, your initial post is to answer the questions the professor posted to the discussion board. You are also required to respond to at least two of your fellow classmates.
If you have questions about anything regarding class information, you can email your professor. The professor usually responds within two days (from my experience at Kaplan, it is usually less than 24 hours). The best part of online courses is you can finish your degree plan early if you are motivated and dedicated enough to do so. I am currently enrolled in Kaplan University, my major is Software Development. I take two classes a quarter because I work full-time, but if I were not working full-time, I would take on more classes. I was enrolled at Virginia College Online but transferred to Kaplan. There were a few reasons why I transferred; the main reason was the lack of accreditation. I also did not like the fact some of the professors rarely participated in the discussion boards and rarely answered emails.
I am glad I made the choice to switch to Kaplan. The technology is far more advanced than Virginia College. The professors are extremely knowledgeable, answer questions rapidly and genuinely want to help and see you succeed in their classes.
They have many degree plans to choose from. Some of the degree plans are psychology, communications, health sciences, accounting, general business, criminal justice, nursing, information systems and technology, and education. They also have degrees in the legal field, including legal studies. They also offer certificate programs; one of the popular ones is the legal secretary. If you are considering expanding your education and want to attend online classes, look into Kaplan.
From my experiences at Kaplan, I can tell you it would be worth your time to browse the site or call if you have questions. This online college in my opinion is one of the best.
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