? about DL degrees from "real" schools

gmat: I second Bruce's encouragement to consider UMass-Lowell. I'm a very recent graduate of the online BSIT -- have yet to receive the sheepsking in the mail -- and I can attest to the fact that UML is a remarkably student-centered university. I attended three online schools on the way to the degree and UML was, by far, the most online student-friendly. Any glitches I experienced were addressed quickly; Steve Tello is an advocate exemplar. There is no out-of-state tuition differential. Very, very few courses require a proctor, the tests are online. UML was just remarkably generous in awarding transfer credit for coursework taken 30+ years ago.

David

 

(Long time lurker, first time poster!)

I made the decision to go back to school online myself about three years ago, and ended up selecting the University of Wyoming's Bachelor of Science in Business Administration program. Although I haven't graduated yet, I will graduate in August, and my employer has been very encouraging and receptive - in fact, my employer has offered to pay for me to study for my MBA at a nearby state univerisity.

I've had an excellent experience with UW, my advisor and the registration and records folks have been great, they have accepted a LOT of credit-by-exam from me (6 AP Exams, 6 CLEPs and a DANTES/DSST exam). I also enjoy the community a lot of teachers are able to create in the online environment.

At $87.00 a credit hour, plus a $40 per credit hour "online fee" (Thanks, eCollege!), it's pretty affordable. Also, UW has been running distance learning programs for nearly the entire time of their existence, so I have felt absolutely no stigma from faculty or staff, despite the fact I've never set foot in the state of Wyoming, much less come on campus!

There are some downsides. UW *requires* a course in American and (specifically) Wyoming constitutional studies. POLS 1000 is one of those "when am I ever gonna use this" classes, but it is pretty easy, and does add 3 hours @ 4.0 to your GPA. Not all of UW's professors understand how to use the online environment - I've had professors basically turn the class into a correspondence course, which is not what I hope to see in an online class. And of course, the University Studies Program (USP), means that there is some inflexibility about how credit is applied in the program, so I'm going to end up graduating in August with 143 credits (including transfer work from previous institutions) instead of the required 128.

One caveat, however - as far as I know, UW doesn't offer the degree you mention online. http://ecampus.uwyo.edu/index.real?action=Degrees offers a look at the degrees and certificate programs they offer online. If you decide to pursue one of them, I think you'll be extremely happy.