Seek info on long distance education

I was doing heavy research a few years ago(3-4) on getting a degree
using alternative methods. Now I am looking to start actively pursuing
a degree, hopefully in accounting.
What I was hoping to find out with this post is if things have changed
much in the last few years. Back then, I used Bear's Guide to colleges
to find out where a person could get a long-distance degree at an
accredited college. Seems like the two that kept popping up where
Regents College of New York(now Excelsior College?), and Thomas Edison
State College of New Jersey. I was wondering these are still pretty
much the standard places to get degrees.
I need to stay working to support my family, and this brings up cost
of education by non-traditional methods. The few universities I have
looked at seem like they are as expensive as the traditional college
education where you have to show up everyday. Are their any of these
colleges that are reasonable in cost, without sacrificing quality?
Thanks so much for any input you kind folks may give me, and I will be
talking to you on the forum!
Fred

PS- This thread was originally posted to alt.education.distance, and this is how I found out about this forum. I understand this site was created to allow people to post about long-distance education without having the flaming problems that the other site has had. It has been a few years ago since I lurked on the alt distance site, but well remember the problems with flaming even then.

 

For truly non-traditional (eg. not taking 30 to 40 classes) the best choices are Excelsior, COSC, and TESC plus Western Govenors.

Alternatively do a search at: http://www.petersons.com/distancelearning/code/search.asp

and look at
American InterContinental University Online
Athabasca University
Caldwell College
City University
Davenport University Online
Excelsior College
Franklin University
Lakeland College
National University
Old Dominion University
Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College (Women's External Degree Program)
Southern New Hampshire University
Strayer University
Thomas Edison State College
University of Maryland University College
University of Massachusetts Amherst (Division of Continuing Education)
University of Phoenix Online Campus
Upper Iowa University
Westwood Online
Alaska Pacific University
Buena Vista University
Columbia College
Eastern Oregon University
Florida Metropolitan University–Brandon Campus
Indiana Institute of Technology
Limestone College
Maui Community College
Memorial University of Newfoundland
Mountain State University (The School of Extended and Distance Learning)
New York Institute of Technology (Ellis College)
Northwest Missouri State University
Saint Leo University
Southwestern Assemblies of God University
University of Alaska Southeast
University of Hawaii–West Oahu
University of Northwestern Ohio
University of Wisconsin–Platteville (Bachelor of Science in Business Administration)
University of Wisconsin–Platteville (Distance Learning Center)

 

It's totally possible to complete a properly accredited bachelor's degree in about a year by taking challenge exams (CLEP, Dantes, and others) through either Excelsior College, Thomas Edison State College, or Charter Oak State College. The best place to get more information on how to do this is through this very informative web site.

If you are shooting for a degree in accounting, you will still need to take a few account classes, however. One of the best places to pick up cheap accounting classes is through Louisiana State University...

LSU independent study