Earning a Degree Based on Life Experience – What’s the Catch?
With today’s technology, a classroom is no longer a necessity. Experienced professionals are taking online courses and in many cases can qualify for accredited degrees based on experience alone.
Arlington, VA (PRWEB) April 5, 2006
There are some students that are obtaining degrees to improve their status within their current positions or to obtain promotions. Some employers are acknowledging these degree programs as a real bonus to gain advancement within their workforce. For example, some companies are stating that you must have a certain degree before you are eligible for a salary increase or promotion. Regardless of the reason, online courses are become more and more popular. Today’s businessmen and businesswomen need these types of courses to stay competitive.
In today’s age of technology, online courses are convenient. With a computer and internet access, you can complete your degree requirements from anywhere and at any time. This is a huge advantage for the working class. People are able to maintain a professional life, family life, and still have the opportunity to get a graduate or undergraduate degree that is equal in quality to the standard campus based programs.
Degrees are important to employers and actually add value to their workforce. Life experience degrees from quality universities allow people to use their education and experience to earn accredited degrees. Many people who have children or a family have very little time to attend the conventional campus environment. Each school is different in how they condense the time and evaluate your life experience.
In many cases, the training and experience you already have can qualify you for an associates, bachelors or even a masters degree. As part of our evaluation, we interviewed several universities offering such degrees. Admittedly, many online colleges were purely degree mills and offer a degree for a one-time payment. However, several of the schools we interviewed proved to have solid criteria and offered an accredited and quality degree.
Four of the top employment and education verification companies offered advice on the quality and completeness of online universities. Among the most recognized universities, were Randford University and the University of Phoenix. Randford University (www. randford. org) ranked the highest and actually rejected 3 out of 5 of our test applications. For those that were accepted, an extensive evaluation of life experience and past education were examined. In addition, they offered free online courses to augment any deficiencies in the curriculum. The University of Phoenix (www. phoenix. edu) fared well but extended the process beyond what we considered acceptable. The third in our evaluation was Almeda University (www. almedauniversity. org). This institution did not offer enough information for a complete evaluation. However, the criteria seemed to be much more of a degree mill than an actual university. Much more evaluation will be needed to determine the true details of this organization.
Other factors are important as well, such as self-motivation, self-discipline, and responsibility. With the business world as demanding as it is today, it comes down to degrees and certificates. There are hundreds of colleges and courses to choose from and each one benefits a person in a different way. It can help you achieve the criteria needed in your career to advance in your status.
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