How to find a reputable online college?

Going back to school is a great way to improve your career. And it goes not only for the wage increase, but you will usually have more options available for switching jobs or gaining promotions. There are lots of advantages of online colleges, they save time and money allowing many people to get a degree who would have been unable to if they had to depend on traditional college environments. Before investing your resources in an online college degree, you should make sure you are not attending a diploma mill.

Avoid Diploma Mills

Yes, it's true: online you can literally buy a degree. All you need is to pay accurately and get a degree without having to take classes or do homework. In some cases you can even pay for transcripts or graduation certificates. And even if it sounds appealing, they are almost never accepted for a job, and will not be accepted if your profession requires any type of licensure or accreditation. All you have is an expensive waste of time.

How do they attract people?

Generally degree mills say that they are giving degrees based on your life experience, or based on academic standards that are well below that of legitimate universities. Sure, getting a degree won't take you too much time but it will not help you when nobody will accept it. Nowadays online you find many legitimate college degrees that are quicker and cheaper than brick and mortar schools.

It's just wrong

For the majority of people, purchasing a degree from a diploma mill is simply a morally wrong decision. When most people earn their degrees, buying one from a diploma mill is just an expensive and mostly unsuccessful way to cheat the system. Even if your work experience alone would have qualified you for a job, many employers will turn you down due to a diploma mill degree. Moreover, in many states it is illegal to attempt to apply for a job using a diploma mill degree.

Luckily, there are things you can do to find legitimate online college degrees:

• Start with looking for accreditation websites. The online university should be accredited by a legitimate accreditation agency. That means, it should be listed on the university website, as well as the accreditation agency website
• Reviews and comments of former students are very useful, so search for them
• Compare the program of the chosen school with those ones of the others
• Make sure the degree requirements match what is typically expected for other similar programs

Make sure you invest enough time in research and you can be sure to find online college degrees that are reputable, legitimate, and will help you get farther in your career.

The Tendencies for Enrolment in the College: Online vs. Traditional

History does not stand still: We're all living in history whether we realise it or not, and the times are always changing whether there are songs on the radio telling us so or not. The endless change in society can be worrying for the older generations, used to the old ways, and exciting to the younger generation always looking for new things, but in the end the only constant in the universe is, in fact, change.

One aspect of the world currently learning this lesson are old-fashioned brick-and-mortar private colleges, which are suffering through a lengthy and seemingly permanent decline in enrolment as online colleges rise in popularity and gain credence - and accreditation.

The Cheaper College Online

The numbers are staggering:

1. A recent study predicted that 30% of all private colleges will close by 2023.
2. Enrolment of freshman students declined more than 10% from 2010 through 2012.
3. The cost of traditional college is immense - and growing. Room, board, Costs have risen 42% in recent years.

In a world where $23,500 often represents a person's entire income, this is increasingly placing college out of reach for many prospective students. And increasingly they are turning to the more affordable college online strategy to attain the much-needed degree.

Online Colleges: More Affordable

College online is more affordable in many ways:

1. Lower tuition in general; most online colleges tuition stands below $10,000 - often significantly below.
2. No associated room and board costs.
3. No transportation costs.
4. Frequently lower or non-existent materials cost (free software and course materials)

Private colleges are fighting back, but the effectiveness of their efforts remains to be seen. Some colleges are expanding their graduate programs to bring in more revenue from older students who are more comfortable with a physical experience. Some are offering scholarships simply for considering the college; for example, Spring Hill College in Mobile, Alabama now offers a $1,000 scholarship simply for touring the campus; the cost of a 4-year program at Spring Hill is currently $170,000.

However, as the old equation pitting the cost of a degree against the higher earnings of college graduates returns smaller and smaller numbers, the expectation is that private colleges will have to drop tuition costs to compete with online colleges or simply fade away. How many are left after a few decades will depend greatly on how effectively they can recreate themselves.

It's Never too Late with Online Colleges

No matter how long it's been since you graduated high school, it's never too late to go back and get your degree. Whether you've been out of school a few years or a few decades, you can still attain the education you missed out on when you were younger.

More Adult Students

While it used to be odd to see an adult on a college campus carrying a load of books, that sight is very common today. In fact, according to the National Center for Education Statistics, the number of adults over the age of 25 who went back to school increased by 42 percent. This is a higher rate than for those under 25 years, which increased only 34 percent.

Not everyone enrolling is in their 20s and 30s either. Many of them are in their 40s and on up into their 60s. You might even find a few students who are older than that, and are perhaps in their retirement and want to do something they missed out on when they were young.

You'll find these adult students in both online colleges and in the traditional classroom setting. Some of them are enrolled part-time while others carry a full class load. They may have a full-time job or they may have quit work to focus on studying full-time.

Everyone's Reasons are Different

The reasons that adults choose to go back to school are as varied as their ages.

• You'll find some who wanted to go to college but didn't have that option when they were young. For them, this is the realization of a dream. They may be the first person in their family to graduate college.
• Other adult students have lost their jobs and need to find a new skill set for today's work force.
• Others are stuck in dead-end jobs with no hope of advancement or salary increases. Still others choose a college degree that was practical instead of what they really wanted to do.
• There are also many students who want to advance in their current field or company and see an education as the way to do that.

The growth of online colleges has helped make a college degree a reality for many adults. You'll also see many college campuses changing to cater to the growing adult student population. It proves that it's never too late to go back to school and get the degree you've always wanted. Make your first step to making a college degree with this helpful recourse.

The Challenge of Going Back to School

Many adults dream of going to college and getting that degree they didn't get when they were younger. They may have skipped college in favor of getting a job right out of high school or dropped out of college before graduating. They may even have gotten a degree but not the one they wanted. Whatever the reason, they still dream of going back to school to obtain their goal.

Challenge #1: A Busy Schedule

For many, their lives are much more hectic today than they were when they graduated high school.

• They have full-time jobs, sometimes more than one.
• They often have families, including kids who need their attention.
• It can be difficult to think about fitting homework and classes into that tight schedule.

This is why online classes become such a valuable resource. Many times, you can study when it fits into your schedule, even if that is in the middle of the night. Often, you can take longer than a traditional semester to complete a class or you can take one class at a time. You also don't have to worry about commuting, which is time that can be spent on other responsibilities.

Challenge #2: Paying for School

Another issue that faces adults who want to go back to school is the ability to pay for it.

• They often don't qualify for the scholarships they would have right out of high school.
• They also may not know about other scholarships and grants and often don't have the time to spend researching.

By choosing from the many online colleges available, they can usually find a program that is affordable and fits in their budget.

Studying online also reduces some of the other expenses associated with attending college. For instance, the cost of driving to class and parking fees can add up very quickly. With online classes, there isn't any room or board to pay since you'll be living at home and telecommuting. These are expenses that can add up over time. You are also not limited to attending a college in your area, but can shop around for one that fits in your price range.

Going back to school as an adult can be a challenge, but the benefits far outweigh the challenges for many. Looking at online colleges gives you more options to choose from and allows you to continue living the rest of your life while getting that important degree. So always check your possibilities with your education pal, 1wwwonlinecolleges.com.

Studying on Colleges Online and the Question of Professors

The changing approach to education resulting in the continuing growth of online colleges. Although largely driven by financial considerations as tuition costs continue to rise dramatically, shutting many poor and even middle-class students out of the traditional college experience, the college online experience is growing in reputation and desirability as new software innovations combined with growing support within colleges and universities themselves creates a workable environment for earning an accredited degree without ever physically attending a single class.

Colleges promote online courses because that they are cheap to produce and conduct giving thenm an easy revenue source. Simultaneously, the process has its downside, making academics worried that the 'college online' movement will result in the unexpected extinction of a fixture of the academic world: The tenured professor - or perhaps all professors, entirely.

Less Important in Online Colleges

Whereas when physically attending courses students often place a great deal of importance on the professor conducting classes based on their reputations, experience, and real-world achievements, there is much less focus on this when it comes to online classes. And where it does exist it tends to focus on the 'rock star' status of some professors conducting 'MOOCs' - massive online open courses. For everyday courses taken in pursuit of a degree, there is much less focus on who is planning and teaching the course.

And colleges like it that way, because it cuts costs and gives them leverage:

• In 1969, 78% of courses were taught by tenure-track professors. In 2013 that number has dropped to 33%.
• The bulk of courses are today taught by Adjuncts, who are basically freelancers and earn about $3000 per class.

The move to adjunct professors is exacerbated by the move to online courses, which can be taught by any qualified individual.

Virtual Educators and College Online

Another concern is that even the 'rock star' professors that people will pay extra to learn from may find themselves teaching from beyond the grave. As online colleges are already reliant upon pre-recorded materials and lectures, the expectation is that someday a famed professor with excellent course materials may simply be continuously sold to new students, with no need to find a replacement professor unless significant changes and breakthroughs in the field make the existing course material useless or deprecated.

While the end of professors may be considered to be a melodramatic concept or perhaps even nothing of much concern, it does herald an upheaval in how we educate and learn - and therefore cannot be ignored.

Patience has its own rewards.

I've been teaching him for over a year now. I greet him at the door each week before class, but he only hides and looks away with uncertainty in his eyes. Sometimes I catch him watching me, when he thinks I'm not looking. I smile, and again he looks away. I know he's happy to be in Kindermusik. His face usually beams while he plays the instruments with his mom and dad. However he struggles to branch out and interact with anyone except his parents, so we continue our delicate dance around each other each week. Sometimes I wonder if I am dancing with the "elephant in the room", but all of that changed this week.
When I greeted him at the door, I caught a subtle smile before he looked away. It played at the corner of his mouth with a hint of impishness and was gone as quickly as it appeared. I saw it several more times, even if only briefly, throughout the class. While listening to the story time, he pointed in answer to a question I asked him. This was something completely new, and I was thrilled that he was finally getting comfortable enough in his social skills to participate on this level. Then the unexpected happened. We were about to close the class with a goodbye song, and he walked right up to me, looked me in the eye, and spoke. Not only spoke, but he took my hand to show me more about the question that he had. I tried to remain cool and calm as we walked together hand in hand. I wanted to appear as though this was totally expected, but inside I was trying to absorb this unexpected turn of events- to savor everything about this moment. It's the little victories that make teaching so rewarding to me. It's a joy to witness a child reaching out to accomplish something that I know was a true challenge for them. Those moments are often few and far between, and there is a fine line between challenging that growth without pushing so hard that you crush their desire to achieve it. 


I guess it's true after all. Patience does have its own rewards.

Building our future

A few weeks ago I received an email from Kindermusik International. Each year they select certain educators to recognize with the Kindermusik Maestro in Outreach award. Delightful Sounds has been so priveleged to recieve this award 8 times since we opened in 2003. I am so excited to be named among this special group of worldwide educators again this year.


Earning this distinction is a tremendous honor. I have always had a desire to reach out to my community to children who would not typically have the opportunity to experience Kindermusik. I would like to personally thank the local businesses and individuals that have financially supported our efforts in providing the gift of music to these very special children! I am overwhelmed by your generosity and amazed at the children's growth and development as they sing and dance with me each week. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

Again! Again!

Have you ever wondered why a child will ask you to read the same book over and over or perhaps never tires of rolling the ball back and forth? A newly published study may shed some light on this learning technique of young children. Nicknamed the "Goldilocks effect", the study examines the attention span of infants in relation to the complexity of the world around them. The results showed that infants focus only on situations that are neither too difficult nor too easy.

"The study suggests that babies are not only attracted by what is happening, but they are able to predict what happens next based on what they have already observed," says Kidd, lead author on the report. "They are not passive sponges. They are active information seekers looking for the best information they can find." Children who are engaged in a sensory rich learning experience are best equipped to receive and retain new information. The repetition of a fun activity likely yields new information each time for your child and provides an opportunity for them to test their predictions based on their latest observations.  "Parents don't need to buy fancy toys to help their children learn. They make the best use of their environment. They are going to look around for what fits their attention level. Kids learn best from social interaction," reminds Kidd.

I hope your family can enjoy some fun, social interaction in a Kindermusik class this summer! Click here for a free preview coupon.