Why do you post on DegreeInfo? And/or why do you follow it?

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by sideman, Feb 29, 2016.

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  1. sideman

    sideman Well Known Member

    b4 started another thread about other degree forums so I thought it would be interesting to get comments from posters and respondents alike to see what they would say in answer to this. As far as myself, I appreciate the other posters and their opinions and try to learn as much as possible about distance learning and education in general and their own perspective. Anybody else?
     
  2. curtisc83

    curtisc83 New Member

    I like knowing about edu stuff and because I'm bored at work sometimes.
     
  3. cookderosa

    cookderosa Resident Chef

    :yup:
    Seriously? Because people in my real life glaze over before I can finish the phrase "regional accreditation." Also, in the real world, I have to swim in a pool an inch deep and a mile wide, around here we go down to the ocean floor.
     
  4. Ted Heiks

    Ted Heiks Moderator and Distinguished Senior Member

    I post on degreeinfo because it is clearly the best online discussion board on distance learning.
     
  5. sanantone

    sanantone Well-Known Member

    Even though I'm more partial to the other forum, I, obviously, also post here. It's just another place where I can find people who know what "regional accreditation" means. LOL. I also post in the education section of City-Data, but most of the people there are clueless when it comes to distance learning and accreditation. To them, all for-profit colleges are either unaccredited or nationally accredited. One person who works in academia believes that you can tell if a school has the "proper accreditation" just by looking at its building and surroundings. She got offended when I told her that anyone with basic research skills would just look up the accreditation on the Internet. She also had this elitist attitude saying that one can assume that any top 50 or top 100 school is regionally accredited. Well, not everyone is going to go to a ranked school, and there's nothing wrong with that.
     
  6. Neuhaus

    Neuhaus Well-Known Member

    Ditto to everyone who has said something about speaking to others who understand the basics and can actually have a deeper conversation about ed.

    I also enjoy our "community service" aspect of helping others understand this stuff as well. I served with a guy (dumb as a brick) in the Navy who retired after 21 years of service. His wife, a clinical social worker, put her career on hold for about 7 years so that she could follow him all around the world, very often taking on low paying jobs that she was frankly overqualified for. He decided that he would continue to be the primary breadwinner as a retiree. They moved closer to family, she went into private practice and he began job hunting with his brand spankin' new diploma from Almeda University.

    This guy went from applying to management level positions at the federal, state and municipal level to ultimately landing a job in the dairy department of Wal-Mart. And even though a personnel officer in his city told him flat-out that his "degree" wasn't accredited, came from a known mill and was illegal to use in a number of states, he took out his aggression on distance learning (which he had never done). In his mind, his degree is illegitimate because he "earned" it online not because it is a diploma mill. So he's a very vocal opponent of distance learning in all forms owing purely to his own ignorance.

    So I'm a fan of anything that gets proper information out there, allows people to make informed decisions and encourages hiring managers and HR professionals to embrace innovative learning models while safeguarding their organizations from diploma mills.
     
  7. Phdtobe

    Phdtobe Well-Known Member

    DI is a feel good place to check in with everyday. Also, there are many unselfish people who give free top-class advice. People on DI love education just for the sake of loving education. DI is true altruistic community in that most of the contributors are anonymous to the general public.
     
  8. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    I do because we're a community of intelligent people who have enough in common to keep us together yet enough differences to keep us interesting and occasionally surprising to one another.

    Besides, on what other forum could someone ask about welding education and get three useful answers within a day? We rock. There's nothing better than when someone tells you that they chose a school to attend -- a major life decision! -- in part on your advice or personal experience especially. That goes double when it saved them tens of thousands of dollars, and that happens around here.

    So, that, and John's seemingly endless collection of entertaining/amazing life anecdotes. :smile:
     
  9. curtisc83

    curtisc83 New Member

    The folks on CD are clueless. I remember that thread and was annoyed to the core.
     
  10. Koolcypher

    Koolcypher Member

    Well said! :iagree::biggthumpup: Ditto on all points. :bigok:
     
  11. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    I am attracted by the exorbitant salary and generous benefits package.:bling:
     
  12. Pugbelly2

    Pugbelly2 Member

    In no particular order:

    1. I am a life long learner and this forum keeps me informed as to the ever-changing options that are available.

    2. Most people have no idea about education, accreditation, tuition rates, etc. This forum has helped (and continues to help) keep others informed about their academic options. I've helped numerous employees and friends to earn degrees that are far less expensive, and sometimes faster, than whatever path they were on (usually with very expense for-profit universities). It's a good feeling.

    3. Sometimes the info on this forum leads to bigger things. For example, DI is where I first learned of SNHU CfA program. My company is now a partner institution and we have enrolled many employees and are helping them toward degrees.
     
  13. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    I have the feeling if there were an L Word chart for distance learning that DegreeInfo would be its Alice.
     
  14. airtorn

    airtorn Moderator

    Same here. The 401K and medical are awesome!
     
  15. Graves

    Graves Member

    Given my current occupation (military) and interests, a lot of degree programs aren't feasible for me in a traditional format. Distance learning courses and credit by examination options have helped me save a lot of money, and time. This forum helped me understand the college system in general. Accreditation (especially programmatic), experience versus coursework, credential modalities, and more. I think I took accreditation for granted while attending junior college, and I've learned it's an important thing to look for. The junior college I went to was only a few miles from a university without regional accreditation (TRACS and CCNE only), and I had no idea for years.
    I realize distance learning options still have a long road to complete acceptance (and fraudulent institutions are rampant), but this forum made me realize I have options.
     
  16. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    I follow/post at Degreeinfo for some of the same reasons I watched Desperate Housewives, even though DI doesn't star Eva Longoria. :smile: Like the Stock Market, if DI didn't serve a useful purpose (and it does) it would still be a psychological necessity. I look in, simply because I never know what the hell will happen next - and I don't want to miss anything. As member Graves notes above, "fraudulent institutions are rampant" - and yes, they fascinate me, too.

    I love to be astonished - it makes my day when some school I thought had no chance of ever being accredited, suddenly succeeds. Or even when a school I considered a sure bet gets shot down in flames. Oh -- the excitement! And always, a good stiff dose of Levicoff or Bear is the best medicine for anything!

    Obviously, I need to get a life. Maybe someday...but not for a longish while, I suspect :smile:

    J.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Mar 3, 2016
  17. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

  18. jumbodog

    jumbodog New Member

    For the same reason that I post honest reviews to Trip Adviser.

    I take.
    I give.

    The cycle of life yada yada yada.
     
  19. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    Thanks, Steve! Now my day is complete! :smile:

    J.
     
  20. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    Last edited by a moderator: Mar 5, 2016

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