What you need to know when selecting an online program

You’ve decided online learning would fit perfectly into your lifestyle. Great! You’re not far away from joining millions of other students around the world already studying online. Your next step is to select a program and a learning institution. 

You may be surprised to know that there are around 700 plus learning institutions in the US offering online learning, and growing numbers in other parts of the world. To help point you in the right direction, the following article is designed to provide advice for selecting the best program moat suited to you.

What are your goals?

Outline the goals that you wish to achieve with your desired qualification. Some of the more common motivations for study are:

•             learning skills and knowledge for a chosen career

•             an increase in salary

•             preparing for a promotion or making yourself a more likely candidate for a promotion

•             gaining pre-requisites for admission to a graduate school

•             a personal interest in the subject you want to study.

What matters in achieving your goals?

Determine what your ‘critical success factors’ are. In other words, what do you need to achieve in order to reach your goals? For example your present or future employer may require you have studied specific topics as part of your qualification, or they may have expectations about the ‘type’ of institute you studied at.

Your ‘pool of possibilities’

Find all the programs relevant to your chosen subject area at your chosen level (e.g. Bachelors or Masters) available in the country (or countries) you’re considering. This will give you a group of possible learning providers that could meet your requirements. There are lots of resources available. Using Google will bring up many options, as will using distance learning directories such as Study2U.com.

 
Get the facts

Visit the university or college websites where you can request further information (a prospectus).

Also try to speak directly with the school, including lecturers and graduates.

Now it’s time to eliminate some of the possibilities that aren’t relevant to you.

Does the course cover the topics I require to achieve my goals?

There are thousands of online degrees in Business Administration out there, but not all of them have an e-Commerce module. To help identify relevant programs, ask the learning provider for a list of the topics and sub-topics offered for a given program. This is usually provided on the institute’s website or in their prospectus. If not, they’ll be keen to answer your questions by phone or email.

 
Is the learning provider or course accredited?

Accreditation denotes a certain standard of quality and generally exists in some form in most countries. If you want your degree to further your career or progress academically, then the general rule is to study from a provider of higher education that is accredited by a recognized body. If you are studying simply for personal interest, accreditation may not be so important. However, be aware that there are ‘diploma mills’ or illegitimate degrees in the market place that offer little learning, but can sometimes claim to offer recognized degrees.

In the US, providers of Higher Education are accredited by six regional bodies that are recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Additionally in some fields (such as nursing), there are professional organizations that accredit the actual department, school or program.

In the UK all universities are accredited by a Royal Charter or an Act of Parliament, so by and large you can assume the provider is accredited. Also, in selected fields/courses there are accreditation bodies. For example MBAs are accredited by the Association of MBAs. So if you plan to study a degree from an institution in the UK, find out if accreditation by a professional body or an association is going to be important for your study goals. It’s worth noting that there are many good UK MBAs that aren’t accredited - some employers will deem accreditation important, others not.

Also see: The Importance of Accreditation, and Education Accrediting Bodies Around the World.

 
How do you like to learn?

Do you need to be in regular contact with your teachers and/or students? Do you require visual aids or do you prefer to learn by reading? Think about how you learn and consider what your requirements are to ensure you have an effective learning experience.

How attentive is the learning provider?

Just like a regular class, the attention of the lecturer is divided amongst the students. Ask how many students are allocated to each faculty member. Also find out how many other students there will be in your class.

What are the qualifications of the instructors and other teaching staff, and how much support do they provide? Consider some common scenarios you might think would occur whilst you’re studying and ask how they would respond in each. For example, you need help with an assignment: what support is available? How quickly can you expect a response?

Also find out what IT support is available if you have a technical problem with your computer, or if their system develops a fault.

How did they develop their learning content?

You want to ensure your learning content (such as your text books and online tutorials) is credible. Generally it will be, but there is no harm in asking about the make up of the learning content and the sources of its development, and how it is kept up-to-date.

Are their learning methods proven to be effective?

Find out what their graduates have achieved as a result of their study. Ask how many students and graduates they have, and what line of work they are now in. If you can, contact these students and graduates directly or read their student testimonials to get an idea of the experiences they had.

Find out about the institute’s experience in delivering online learning. Is it a core part of their service to students, or is the online course you’re interested in more of a side-line offering for them? Does all learning take place entirely online or does it include residential seminars or posted materials? Some institutes require you to attend your enrollment and induction/orientation in person. Are you realistically able to do this?

Is their technology going to be easy for you to use? Does your computer and internet connection meet the requirements?

Are the instructors trained in managing an online classroom?

 
Try before you buy

To get a good feel for the learning experience offered, ask if you can have access to a school’s system as a guest or take a demo course. A lot of online institutes provide sample lectures for you to get a feel for online learning with them.

 
How long will it take and what’s required?

You’ve established a timeframe to achieve your goals. How long will it take to complete your studies and graduate?

Is the learning delivery convenient for you?

Some schools only start classes every semester but others will give you more flexibility allowing you to begin when you like. Some will follow timetables, whilst others will let you learn at your own pace.


Consider the two major delivery methods of online learning:

Synchronous – This is where the students and instructor are online and are communicating with each other at the same time. This requires that students attend the class at its scheduled time.

Asynchronous – You determine when you attend class, although you will generally be given some deadlines e.g. submitting an assignment or attending an exam. Therefore students are online at different times and cannot communicate without time delay.

 
Making comparisons by cost

Most students have limited budgets, so once you have found all the learning providers that could potentially help you achieve your learning goals, you may need to make comparisons based on cost.

Be aware that there are many low-interest financing options available – ask the learning provider for more information.

Conclusion

If you carefully assess your options based on your requirements, you should be able to select the right program for you.

Write out a list of your ‘critical success factors’. Once you have identified potential schools based on a broad criteria (e.g. majors or accreditation), narrow them down by your critical success factors.

Good luck with your research and decisions!