An Online Degree?

Most people in Taiwan now will finish at least college and get a bachelor's degree but years after working for the same job, some of us may start wondering, "is that it?" The time has finally come to ponder the question of whether or not you should upgrade your degree to improve your status quo.

Subject A, Andy, is currently a teacher with years of experience. This is his career and he loves it before he even started it. With a B.A. in English language and literature and without the completion of the teacher program, he can only be hired as a private teacher. Though every once in a while there are school openings for teachers like this, they are scarce and restricted to primary schools, often on a semester basis or as substitute teachers. To teach more in-depth and in higher education such as in junior college or university, one must have at least a master's degree to meet the benchmark and thus today's topic.

Upon research and coordination with the COVID-19 pandemic, traveling domestically or internationally isn't the best idea. Who wants a degree so badly to die for after all? Since the beginning of the pandemic, Andy has transformed all his English classes online and therefore the idea of "online program" came to mind. The hunt begins.

Due to the lack of choices there are in Taiwan for online programs, Andy turned to search for those in the world, and in a blink of an eye, the U.S. There are various options for degree programs, on-campus, online, and hybrid, which is a mix. As mentioned earlier, it seems that the only viable plan is a fully online program and that's where it gets challenging.

Have you heard about a "degree mill"? Now you have.

A diploma mill (also known as a degree mill) is a company or organization that claims to be a higher education institution but provides illegitimate academic degrees and diplomas for a fee.[1][2] The degrees can be fabricated (made-up), falsified (fake), or misrepresented (practically useless). -Wikipedia

As options go, scams follow. The online education community is packed with deceptions, not just in the U.S. but worldwide. However, it does not mean that an online degree must be associated with a falsified degree.

OK, you're running out of patience. Let's get to business right now.

We have categorized five keys to help with your selection of an online degree (U.S.). Just remember to consider the for -TIONs.

• occupation

Before everything is said and done, you must first consider why starting this at all. Realistically speaking, it should be related to your career needs, or perhaps it is required for your promotion and salary boost. Though some may say that it is simply for their personal interest or passion for the advancement of education, it is really not necessary because you can also do that by yourself. To spend this much money and time on a "certified hobby" would likely be for your vanity.

• tuition

You can do this the expensive way, or the reasonable way. Obviously, an on-campus degree is going to be costly, not just tuition-wise but EVERYTHING ELSE, including travel, socializing, accommodation...etc. One of the main reasons people choose to do so online is definitely because of the lower cost but make no mistake, the tuition can still be VERY HIGH online and the reason is in the next key. The tuition in some online programs is semester-based which means that if you work hard enough or are qualified already, you could potentially finish faster and therefore cut down the expense. Some universities also accept "The College-Level Examination Program (CLEP)" so you could pass exams there to show that you're basically good enough for the course and waive the credits because they're very expensive.

• reputation

The more reputable the schools are, the higher the tuition. This may be logical but not necessarily the case for online degrees. While the name of the school is still important because you would like to be proud of the achievement you've got and not be despised by it, i.e. a diploma known to be from a mill. Research reviews on Google, Youtube, and definitely check with many different sources and their comments below. People who are sponsored by the school either lie or won't tell the complete truth but there are always some counterpoints from the comment section.

• accreditation

Although being accreditated may well have been the priority in the search, you would probably find that information along the way. The "why" of the work is still more essential. A rather peculiar issue came up during our research on accreditation. There are two kinds, regionally and nationally. It seems that it is better if the school is regionally accreditated and not the other. Harvard and Oxford are also regionally accredited. For more details, just check out the chart here: Regionally vs. Nationally

• duration

How fast do you want your degree and how much time can you spare? Any online learning requires much self-discipline because... well, obviously because there's no one beside you to push you and honestly, there shouldn't be. Even when help is needed, you need to find it. Sounds fair? Many of us who are looking for an unconventional way of education want it fast. Or in fact, we don't want to waste time on things we don't need or care about.

There you have it. Next time, we'll share some schools that maybe worth considering for getting a degree online.

#education