Author: MJT
How to Find the Best
Online Degree Program
You want to find the best online degree program, but you
don’t know how to go about it. There
isn’t a list where you can just look up the answer, because the answer varies
from person to person. US
News publishes a list of “The Top 100 American Colleges” every year, but even
then there are really several lists. Who
decides what college is best, and what criteria do they use?
In this instance, you decide which the best online degree
program is, because what’s important is which program is best for you. What factors are important to you? Are you looking for the best online degree
program in a particular field? Are you
looking for the best online degree program for the money? Or are you looking for the best online party
college? (There isn’t one—online
colleges don’t party. Have you ever been
to a virtual party? People just post
happy messages with emoticons.)
Eliminate the obvious
To figure out the best online degree program, start by
eliminating programs that obviously won’t work.
For instance, if you want to get a degree in business, and a school
doesn’t offer that, it doesn’t matter how good the school is, it isn’t the best
one for you. You’ll almost certainly
want to eliminate programs that aren’t accredited by a recognized accreditation
agency.
Decide what you want
Next, decide what you want in a program. Make a list of the features that are most
important to you. You might look at
academic excellence. You might ask
yourself if the courses are relevant for you.
Maybe there are some people you’d particularly like to study under—are
they on the faculty? What about
cost? How does the school use technology
to provide online education?
Compare programs
After you know what you’re looking for, browse the internet
and pick out four or five online programs that have what you’re looking
for. Take some time with this. Don’t just read the Google ads. Go to each college’s website and look around
to see what they have to offer. (Hint:
I’d be very leery of an online college that doesn’t have a website.)
Evaluate each college according to the features you are
looking for. It might be useful to make
a little chart, like this:
College A
College B
College C
College D
Academic Reputation
Cost
Relevant Classes
Technology
Give each college a number on a 1-5 or 1-10 scale, and then
add them up to see which is the best online degree program for you.
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