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Advantages And Disadvantages Of Online Bachelor’s Degree Program

Mostly, people take online bachelor’s degree so that they can earn more money. Usually a bachelor’s degree is a 4 year course. The main advantage of taking an online bachelor’s degree is that you get a higher salary when compared to non-graduates.

The main advantages of taking an online bachelor’s degree program are:

  • Time – it is an important advantage of an online bachelor’s degree program. As it is not a full time intensive program, you can opt to study at your own schedule. You can easily fit study to your daily schedule whether you are at home or at school or at work online.
  • Save money – due to the global economic slowdown, there have been decrease in number of people going for study at reputed colleges or universities. Nowadays there has been increase in number of people opting for online bachelor’s degree programs as it is cheaper, and saves time and effort. We can save bus fare, tuition fees etc. For e.g. if you are studying at a conventional school, college or university, they would charge you extra for the usage of additional resources. But when you can study at home, that cost is reduced and it provides for savings.
  • Moreover a full time intensive program would take around 4 years to complete. But you can finish an online bachelor’s degree program by 2 years.
  • As your online bachelor’s degree program requires that you use computer and internet frequently, your computer skills will dramatically improve.
  • You will get complete attention of your teacher which results in more attention to the student and the outcome is improved results.
  • Geographical location is not a factor in online bachelor’s degree program.

The main disadvantages of taking an online bachelor’s degree program are:

  • Lack of discipline – As your online bachelor’s degree program does not require any specific time for study; it results in lack of discipline. Hence you won’t be able to study effectively.
  • Lack of motivation – There is a lack of motivation factor in online bachelor’s degree program. In a conventional bachelor’s degree program, the presence of students would help in competition with them resulting in higher marks.
  • Lack of interaction

For some people online bachelor’s degree program would suit them but for others it won’t.

This article originally taken from my blog online bachelor degree programs

My Squidoo Page: http://www.squidoo.com/Online-Bachelor-Degree-Programs

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Julie Chase

Buyer Beware. Diploma mills and the ill informed would be student. If you are applying for a job with Uncle Sam and listing a BS or Masters Degree from online college you better make sure it is “accredited” or that piece of paper is nothing but a bird cage liner and that GS12 job you were looking for, may turn out to be a GS5.

William Boddie

I earned a doctorate degree from a university that offered the degree online. I felt that the program was exceptional, rigorous, fulfilling, and rewarding. I am unsure of the author’s evidence regarding the lack of discipline, lack of motivation, and lack of interaction as the author offered no evidence to support their position. College is for those who are committed to completing the program of study. If the student is undisciplined to complete the courses, then perhaps the student should consider not engaging in a college degree. Regarding the lack of motivation, I was very motivated to complete the program as my time, energy, long-term professional and personal goals, and financial resources were involved. Regarding the lack of interaction, I did not enroll in the program exclusively to interact with others. I enrolled in the program to earn the degree nad did not enroll in the program specifically to interact or not interact with others.

Faye Newsham

Accreditation is something you need to look at carefully. Not only do you want to know the school is accredited, but also your degree program by the right people. You need to look into the accreditation body as well as the accreditation itself. With that said, there are some very excellent online schools for all levels of education. I’m currently working on a Masters of Science from a well respected university… the cost savings are not as significant as the writer above indicates (you still pay the student fees, athletic fees, etc.) you may be paying additional fees from the normal tuition based on the technical support you will need from the university (online programs are not simple!). Also, be prepared for any combination of all online texts (which some people find hard to read on a laptop for example) to all paper books which are expensive to have shipped to you. You cost savings is primarily in your ability to fit class times around your schedule which allows for family and/or work. A good, full online school means no less work than a traditional degree, just a different way of interacting. I find the online aspects to fit into my world and enjoy the student interactions as if they were my coworkers, conversations online… but your communication style may not work with that. A part of your grade will require that you write clear, informative posts several times a week for each course to recreate that discussion time you would have in a physical classroom. Your instructor may provide lecture notes, lecture reading, a presentation, or even a video of themselves giving the lecture. Your own discipline is required to schedule your time instead of having that schedule dictated to you. I highly recommend creating a calendar and treating your activities each week as consistently as possible. For example, schedule 30 minutes for each class early in the school week to review everything you need to do for the week. Ensure you schedule time to read materials (and know how extensive they are ahead of time and what format they are in – do you need to sit down with a paper book or make sure you have a quiet space with good lighting for your laptop), make sure to outline when you will do homework tasks and turn them in. You can concentrate this effort into one afternoon but if something technical goes wrong be sure that you have an alternate plan available. Doing your homework the day it is due may fit into your schedule but it is also very challenging to recover from a power outage or other technological issue. The upshot is that it isn’t for everyone but it is a great option for people who don’t live near a good school or who have family and work needs that also need to be accommodated. Good Luck!

Carol Davison

Caution! As a Training Officer I remember the increased expense of some on line programs, and my Executive Director saying that “If it’s a for profit school, they can’t afford to fail people”. I’ve also heard of well known on line programs that are so expensive they leave their students in so great a debt, that they are worse off than before they went to school. I don’t understand how an on line student would get the complete attention of their teacher. Additionally I don’t understand how you could complete a 4 year program on line in 2 years and learn the same amount of information.

Personally, I prefer the additional stimulation I get from the other students’ comments. I would not get as much from this on line.

Stephen Peteritas

Maybe this is wrong but I think that online graduate degrees are much better received than bachelors. If I get a resume from a state university versus the university of Phoenix I’m more than likely to be more impressed with the state school. I know that’s wrong but I think that’s a stigma that for profit schools are in a constant battle with.

Mark Hammer

“Online university education” is an oxymoron, like tight slacks, jumbo shrimp, efficient government, or G-rated Seth Rogen movies.

I’ve taught the same university courses to an in-class group and those taking it on-line, and on-line generally did worse by about a letter grade.

Part of that is because people take on-line courses as a means of fitting it into their schedule and lives, and the courses tend to fall to the bottom of the stack. Few people have the self-discipline or flexibility to overcome that.

Another aspect of on-line learning is that the “teachable moment” is generally impossible to identify when you don’t have people in the room with you. You wouldn’t consider adequately prepared for the Olympics if they were coached via web-based presentations. Why on earth would you expect individuals to become professionals who can advance their field via disembodied words of someone who can’t know what they’re thinking at this moment?

On-line instruction is great for learning technical things, but university is not about learning a bunch of technical tricks. If you thought that’s what it was, think again, save your money and go seek out a community college.

There are LOTS of folks who, for finanacial or family reasons, simply cannot relocate to advance themselves, and for them, on-line post-secondary instruction is a godsend. But it is a facsimile, not an equivalent; the way that lactose-free/no-sugar-added ice cream now lets me reminisce about what it was like to live in that land of Haägen-Daz and Ben & Jerry, even though I cannot visit there anymore.