Truths You Should Know About Online Degrees

Searching for a college can be a daunting task, especially when you are not sure what is true and what is false about certain types of colleges. When it comes to taking college classes online, there are many people thmat are misinformed. Here are six myths about online colleges:

Online courses are easier than traditional brick and mortar college classes.

False. This is a huge misconception about online colleges. Online college courses are actually typically more difficult than traditional college classes. By taking a class online, you are assuming all responsibility to learn on your own time. Whether you listen to a lecture by your instructor that is streamed online or you have to take the time out of your own schedule to go over some slides online to take a quiz, you take the responsibility to learn the information. Although the instructors are helpful and respond promptly when you ask them a question, they will not baby sit you and make sure you get your stuff done, so you have to be organized and responsible enough to complete the assigned tasks on your own time.

Employers look down upon online college degrees.

False. Employers do take into consideration that you earned your degree online, but not for reasons you might think. With many jobs available in the workplace that require employees to work under little or no supervision, responsibility and organization are two of the main qualities employers are looking for in a good worker. By taking online classes and earning your degree, you prove that you are hard working, dedicated to learning and organized enough to work on your own time and under your own management.

A degree from an online school isn’t quite as good as one from a brick and mortar college.

False. A degree from any college is good, as long as the college is accredited. Nowadays, one main qualification for a high-paying job is an education and a college degree. Workers without a college degree are usually left behind when it comes to being promoted in any area of work. College-educated employees earn almost double the wages as high school-educated workers, and with so many people starting to go to college, we can only expect the gap to expand even more.

There is no social interaction or communication with other students or
instructors.

False. With the advancement of the internet, there is a lot of communication between students. There are chat rooms, classroom discussions and instant messaging services to keep in contact with not only your classmates, but your instructors. Even in traditional brick-and-mortar colleges, students often keep in touch with classmates and professors via some type of electronic medium. Many professors at four-year institutions actually prefer to maintain contact with students through e-mail because of the ease and availability.

The credits you earn at an online college will not transfer to other colleges.

False. As long as your credits are earned from an accredited online university, they will most likely transfer to any college, including brick and mortar colleges and other online universities. Many online colleges actually have programs called transfer programs. In a transfer program, you take your general education classes at a technical or online college and transfer those credits to a four-year college or university, where you then decide your specific area of study.

You need to be a computer genius to earn your degree online.

False. There are many different types of people who take online courses that are not computer science majors. The programs that many online institutions use for learning online are very user-friendly, and instructors try to make it very simple for students to perform computer-related tasks, such as uploading their assignments or taking a quiz. There are many online resources that are available to students who wish to take a class online, including electronic libraries, instant messaging and online tutorials that help progress your online learning experience and education.

By making yourself aware about the truths of college, you can become educated about different colleges before you enter higher education. Research colleges, read articles and inform yourself about different colleges and different types of colleges.

M.J. Joseph is a freelance writer from Kansas City, MO.