Oxford University Online Certificate of Higher Education

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by Neuhaus, Dec 9, 2015.

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  1. Neuhaus

    Neuhaus Well-Known Member

    So, I didn't see this mentioned elsewhere.

    You can earn a Certificate of Higher Education at Oxford (equivalent to the first year undergrad study) through their online courses.

    Their subject areas are also pretty interesting:

    Archaeology
    Architectural History
    Art History
    Creative Writing
    History
    Literature
    Philosophy

    At around $375 a course this might be a viable option if someone was looking for some reasonably priced humanities courses for one of the Big Three (add in the cost of a course by course eval by WES, however).

    Though the certificate would also make a nice complement to a current undergrad degree, I'd imagine.
     
  2. AV8R

    AV8R Active Member

    Oxford offers a variety of distance graduate degrees. I've often wondered why no one from Degree Info has ever pursued one of their programs.
     
  3. Neuhaus

    Neuhaus Well-Known Member

    I didn't see any purely DL graduate degrees there. Perhaps I was looking in the wrong place?
     
  4. AV8R

    AV8R Active Member

    I don't think they are purely DL, but Oxford does describe them as "part-time and flexible study."

    Part-time and flexible graduate study | University of Oxford

    From their website:

     
  5. nyvrem

    nyvrem Active Member

    from my understanding, the Advance Diploma in History, and the Diploma in Data Systems Analysis are 100% online. Those are Year 3 cat points courses. The rest have some in residence component. Same for the graduate courses. I've yet to see anything that can be 100% done online. Unless they've updated it recently.
     
  6. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    Yes - At around $375 it would be an almost irresistible option. But there's a lot of dual-pricing for overseas students. Some of the courses I looked at (e.g. creative writing) were 500 GBP for non-EU students and at least one (Fundamentals of Nanotechnology - 10 weeks) was a whopping 2,475 GBP -domestic or foreign. That's $3750 US. Even with courses costing 500 GBP - at least $1,000 of my Canadian "Dollarettes" or about $750 U.S, it's still quite reasonable, considering that after all, this is Oxford. Say, how far would $750 go at Harvard? :smile:

    Reasonable - yes. Maybe just not as reasonable as I had hoped, in some instances...

    J.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Dec 9, 2015
  7. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    Plus, if you're attempting to knock out the whole Certificate of Higher Education, you should be aware of this, from the website:

    "For those starting in 2016-17 the annual progamme (sic) tuition fee will be £1,085 for Home/EU students and £1,680 for overseas students"

    That's $2550 U.S - per academic year. Again, reasonable - but perhaps less so than it looks at first glance. If it takes two years on-line to complete Certificate - the equivalent of a year's F/T study - then it's $5100. And who'd really want to do it in less? I'd anticipate the courses would be rigorous, even if short. In addition, it seems counterproductive -possibly even sacrilegious - to burn through one's Oxford experience like a speed-demon. Save that for schools that encourage it.

    Still worth every penny, despite whatever...

    J.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Dec 9, 2015
  8. Phdtobe

    Phdtobe Well-Known Member

    Here is one ACCAGLOBAL promotes to its members. An Oxford diploma in financial or strategy with two vacations.
    Home | Saïd Business School
     
  9. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    Last edited by a moderator: Dec 10, 2015
  10. TEKMAN

    TEKMAN Semper Fi!

    I looked at your post, and I thought...JACKPOT. But then...2016 "programme fees: £21,500"

    Pricey!
     
  11. Neuhaus

    Neuhaus Well-Known Member

    I'm not even going to pretend to fully understand the pricing model here let alone how to game it. U suppose my interpretation of "short courses can be transferred in to the certificate in higher education" was that a person could, without enrolling in the certificate program, take a bunch of these courses and then as they get closer actually enroll. I don't know the finer points or all of their policies as to whether that would work.

    However, just taking the short courses (even without the cert) earns you credit.

    And, at the end of the day, it's freaking Oxford. Would I pay $5k for one year of study at Oxford? It would definitely be tempting.

    Things like this open wide a whole bunch of doors, in my opinion, and really add to our toolbox in assembling some creative degree combinations. The cert could be used to earn the BA in Humanities at TESC and the combo of the cert and the BA would be interesting. Or, you could continue your studies with any number of UK universities and finish off a BA(Hons).

    For people who already have degrees you could smooth off the rough edges of your education. I have a relative, for example, who has a perfectly legitimate degree portfolio which consists of two associates degrees (marketing and commercial art). She's inching nearer to retirement and always felt a little self-conscious about not having a bachelors. But rather than screwing around with a full degree plan, being able to add, essentially, a year of art history studies at Oxford to the list might prove more fulfilling that cranking out a B.S. Online.

    What intrigues me is the possibility of using these types of qualifications to work around a less than impressive degree you've already earned. So you have an MBA from UofP. Fine. But what if you tack a PG Diploma from the London School of Economics on there as well?

    I don't really know what the answer to that is. I don't know if such a combo would make a dent in the opinion of a hiring manager/hr professional who vows to toss every single UofP resume in the trash (probably not). But I think any professional would benefit from that sort of education regardless of how it may, or may not, impress an employer.

    Study at Oxford is also one of the few residencies I probably wouldn't view as a massive inconvenience. You could probably build a decent family vacation around the time. And, unlike having to travel to say, Kansas, you're going to have this enviable experience. What did you do on vacation? Oh, nothing much, saw some sights, met some interesting people, and studied archaeology at Oxford.

    Perhaps I'm overselling this a bit, I just feel like we do a lot of life hacks to get degrees. This is one of those experiences that would be an amazing opportunity to actually enjoy the whole program.
     
  12. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    I'd agree with this and would even go a step further (?farther?). If your coursework is job related you might even be able to go on the trip, take the course(s) and write off elements of the whole thing on your taxes as I know that some professions require continuing education in order to maintain licensure, etc.
     
  13. Neuhaus

    Neuhaus Well-Known Member

    Another option would be straight up tax evasion. Write off your art history certificate even if you're an engineer (just hope you never get audited).
     
  14. Phdtobe

    Phdtobe Well-Known Member

    Well, there goes Oxford for me. I didn't realized it was that expensive. I hope the vacations are not extra.
     
  15. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    Yes, well I suppose that lawlessness is always an option, if you're so inclined.:eek1::no1::thanks:
     
  16. Neuhaus

    Neuhaus Well-Known Member

    If I felt that there was even a remote possibility of me working my way into a job where that credential would be useful, I would do it or at least heavily consider it.

    I imagine there are quite a few professionals who worked their way into private equity, hedge funds or similarly cutthroat financial sector who either want/need this sort of thing to either branch into international work or simply to add prestige (and for whom this is a modest fee).

    I had a client once who was looking for software engineers to make financial software (think the stuff that Goldman Sachs uses to execute trades). Had a good chunk of experience working for some pretty top level firms with his MBA from Penn State. But he said the interview that almost destroyed him and sent him packing for his hometown in central Pennsylvania was a hiring manager at a small investment banking firm in Boston who said "So, I hear you went to Penn?" when he corrected him and clarified that he had attended Penn State, the interviewer's face grew dim and he said "Oh...well, I think we have everything we need in your resume, thanks for coming in."

    He shared the story as a precursor to telling me that he wanted capable programmers, regardless of where they studied. He was more than willing to hire all Carnegie Mellon grads but he was equally inclined to hire someone with no college degree who was a coding machine.

    Still, I think it illustrates just how snobbish some circles (or, at least, individuals) can be and I can absolutely picture someone (who can afford it) dropping that sort of money just to be able to bolster their defenses a bit, so to speak.
     
  17. Phdtobe

    Phdtobe Well-Known Member

    The 4 courses are directly transferable to the Oxford MBA.
     
  18. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

  19. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    Couldn't agree more. I was also looking at tuition on several of those "James Bond" Cambridge courses Kizmet mentioned. They're at http://www.ice.cam.ac.uk/courses/online-courses?ref=home.
    Most were around 240 GBP. That's a mere $364 US!

    Very interesting range of topics, too. Creative writing-medieval history-forensic DNA analysis... all online. Looks like a super bargain, especially for a world-famous university.

    J.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Dec 10, 2015
  20. Neuhaus

    Neuhaus Well-Known Member

    For non-credit/non-certificate studies, I think you'd probably be better served with a MOOC through Coursera. If you just want the experience, there is plenty there to enjoy.

    But man, the idea of the poor kid from Brooklyn having an Oxford certificate on his wall, that's a tempting carrot no matter how well you're doing at work.
     

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