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Online Education is a great way to further your education if you are self-motivated and have good time management skills. Otherwise, it may not work out for you. I have three graduate degrees from online educational institutes. Two were relatively easy to earn, one was extremely hard, but all were worth the effort. As a military officer, we are encouraged to earn graduate degrees. They often help get one promoted. I followed that logic by earning a graduate degree. I enrolled in Touro University International, a fully accredited program; otherwise the Army would not pay for the program. At the time I enrolled I was able to transfer in credit from the Army’s Command and General Staff College which shortened the time I would be enrolled in Touro. Unfortunately the degree program offered was not one I was the least bit interested in, but it got the job done and I earned a MBA, checked that block for the Army and got promoted. I am not and never will be a business leader/manager/sales etc… I spent 13 years teaching high school and will return to that profession once I retire from the military in a few more years. So I earned a MBA, then I enrolled in Touro’s Secondary Education Master’s program and it was very, very useful and interesting. Then after turning down a resident seat at the Army War College, I’d been away from home and family too long to spend another year away, I accepted a seat in the War College’s Distance Education program. It was very, very painful. Survived again, and have lifelong friends from that painful 2 year program culminating in my 3rd graduate degree.
What’s it take to earn an online degree? Time, self management skills and motivation are the key. I found that I could focus on one class at a time at Touro, instead of two classes, this drug out the program, but worked for me. My family and I were in two different locations, me being able to get home most weekends, so Monday through Thursday I did online education, knocked out my papers/online forum participation etc…then on the weekends I was free to focus on the family. But those school nights were tough, 7-11pm focused on academics. My third graduate degree came from the Army War College. That was extremely painful, rigorous academically and challenging. My class started with over 500 students, we graduated less than 300. First year was solo; papers and exams, online readings and time for nothing else. At the end of the first year we came together, were broken down into small teams, about 15 members per team and received lectures/discussion from the faculty. Second year, heavy on the small team forum, projects; we all had our turn as the leader of the team and our thesis paper. We came together at the end of our second year for more lectures and graduation. I was lucky; I was a member of a very close knit team. We worked well together, supported each other when we were low and wanted to quit and we were spread out all over the world. I had National Guard, Army Reserve, Active Army, a Marine and a DOD Civilian on my team. Korea, Moscow, Germany, Iraq and Afghanistan plus all over the USA were where my teammates were doing their online work from. It was a painful two years, but worth it. I learned a lot and it helped get me promoted again.
Bottom line is that online education works. Would my MBA from Touro stand up to a degree from a Brick and Mortar School, not very well probably? But then I’m not interested in the business field. On the other hand, my Masters in Secondary Education made me a better teacher when I return to the classroom in a few years. War College was extremely challenging academically and rewarding when it was over. So yes, I am a huge proponent for on-line education. But you have to be willing to sacrifice time from your family, not watch very much TV in the evenings, and have a good computer and good internet connectivity. Good luck to all who pursue online education!
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