right programm for me?

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by Lordikus, May 25, 2003.

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  1. Lordikus

    Lordikus New Member

    [email protected] mentioned I should create my own new threat about my "degree problem" so here I go.....

    First of, it's true that generally tuition is free in germany. That makes it "easy" to attend a regular university or college (called Fachhhochschule or university of applied science). So if you can afford to not work fulltime you simply go to a university and study.

    The problems are starting when you are in your worklife and seek additional education. The "easy" way of simply immatriculate at a university is closed, as I have to work fulltime. So what about a part time university? The problem with part time is that in germany only very few universities are havin such programms. And thouse who have a programm are overun (they have strict restrictions on how many students may apply) and too far from my home and work for me to get there. I attended an eveningschool in the evenings for getting at least an "Fachwirt Betriebswirtschaft" (not sure how you would call it in the us). But as I'm working with the IT-Support of Postbank, I just can't drop my work at 5 pm to get ready for class. When (and of course often there are) problems occour. I have to work longer till the problem is fixed. Or when working for preojects, the work has to be done till deadline. So I missed a lot of classes cause of my work. After a half year with this school I missed already to much classes so they told me they couldn't let me take my final exams and get my "Fachwirt" degree if I miss another one. The study time is 2 years and of course it would be impossible for me to not miss another class. So I had to cancel my study with them.

    Education in germany has another problem. Germany has it's very own education rating system. Meaning whe useually don't can earn a associate/bachelor/master. We have Diplome and Diplome (FH). Lately there are starting programs with international bachelor and master diplomas. But of course, they are all fulltime resident. Actually there is one distance course in germany available that grants a bachelor. Of course it is not a bachelor of business administration but an "bachelor of ecommerce". The private institute who grants it does of course not have an approval from the federel minstry of education for that course. Getting their bachelor for 15.000 us$ would be a waste of money, cause I could buy for 1.000 us$ a degree from St. Regis which has the same right to grant degrees (none) and save 14.000$.

    As DPWN (Deutsche Post World Net) who are owning Postbank is an international Company, they are more likely to take applicants with international degrees as with "only" german "Diplom". So for me a international bachelor (maybe later a master) degree is a must have.

    I've attended the higher educational school for commerce 2 years and finished it with 2.6 (german grade system)
    Then I went to a university of applied science for 2 Semesters, but had to quit due private problems. So
    Now that I have work and can't go back to fulltime study, my only chance to improve my career is with distance or online education.

    My preferences are
    1. legal degree
    2. a fast way
    3. not to expensive

    So online or regular distance by mail is not the main criteria. It would be great if anybody could help me finding a suiting program.
     
  2. MarkIsrael@aol.com

    [email protected] New Member

    > I've attended the higher educational school for commerce 2
    > years


    You still haven't explicitly told us what subject you would like your degree to be in. But I gather you would like those 2 years of commerce coursework to count towards your degree.

    If you are after some sort of business degree, please look at Excelsior College's business degrees:
    http://www.excelsior.edu/ec_dgpgm.htm
    and Thomas Edison State College's business degrees:
    http://www.tesc.edu/prospective/undergraduate/degree/bsba.php

    Another possibility would be Excelsior College's Bachelor of Science, in which half your credits could be in an "applied professional" area like business, and the other half would be Arts & Sciences courses (in your case, probably Computer Science, and you would get some credit for your fluency in German).

    If these two colleges do not accept your German coursework, I would try Northeastern Illinois University.
     
  3. Lordikus

    Lordikus New Member

    I would like my degree in business.

    I just looked at the excelsior site, the program sounds good and affordable :)

    Thanks a lot Mark:)
     
  4. Jack Tracey

    Jack Tracey New Member

    You may also want to check out the degree programs at the University of London. The are quite respectable, affordable, and as they are entirely in the self-study mode they are also quite flexible. It is also possible that because it is a "European" school it may carry with it some increased level of familiarity and acceptability in Germany. In any case, good luck,
    Jack
     
  5. decimon

    decimon Well-Known Member

    Germany has a distinctive and well-developed distance education system. In
    the year 2001, 133 distance education courses were o ered at 27 state owned
    campus-based universities (Prasenz-Universitaten) (Hochschulrektornkonferenz,
    n.d., http://www.hrk.de), with an approximate total enrolment of 20,000 students.
    Sixteen of these study courses are at the basic level { i.e., for the Abitur
    or university entrance examinations { and lead to a rst academic degree conferring
    professional quali cation. One hundred and seventeen continuing education
    courses are also being o ered and linked to a speci c course of study that combines
    several years of working experience. In total, 37 per cent of all students
    enrolled in Germany's universities earn their academic degree in this fashion.
    The remaining continuing education courses are certi cate programs, lasting
    only one or two semesters.


    http://www.irrodl.org/content/v2.2/loeper.pdf

    http://www.irrodl.org/
     
  6. Orson

    Orson New Member

    Guten Tag, Herr Lordikus--

    I agree--the Excelsior option to a business degree appears to meet your needs best. Legitimate, inexpensive, fast and flexible--only the limited opportunities for CLEP testing stand in your way.
    (SEE ongoing thread on this topic here in part
    http://www.degreeinfo.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=7247&highlight=testing
    AND
    http://www.geocities.com/ba_in_4_weeks/Busdegree.html)

    Your message recounting the restricted range of learning opportunities in Germany reminds me of a 32 year-old Swiss woman I recently dated in Denver, Colorado. She was persuing an IT Bachelors degree here, perhaps partly because of similar obstacles.

    It's worth checking out the story of fellow German Peter Glaeser here
    http://www.geocities.com/ba_in_4_weeks/peterglaeser.html
    who pursued a somewhat similar route to carreer advancement.

    Jack Tracey mentions the University of London option. Certainly doable, however, it is also lengthier and pricier. It requires more than the recognition recall of multiple choice exam taking; in other words, full development of English composition skills. (But do they have an undergraduate business degree? Ah yes:
    http://www.londonexternal.ac.uk/undergraduate/business_admin/index.shtml)
    Overall, much more prestige and wide recognition attends to this program. However, if your ambitions require something less, consider something different.

    To my mind, the Excelsior option is still the best if you want to keep open the option of pursuing an MBA or other business realted graduate degree goal.

    --Orson
     

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