First allow me to thank Bill Gossett and management for starting such a forum. I hope it proves very useful for many persons and eventually he will make a profit from it. Some observations from a newbie... 1. American degrees are, compared to degrees from the second and third world, very expensive. Individual courses often cost $300 to $1000+ 2. For many purposes (self education, qualifications for some jobs in the second and third world) degrees from outside the USA would be perfectly aceptable. 3. It is difficult to find these universities on discussion forums and through google. USA definitely leads the world in DL. I welcome all others in similar positions to work together... My particular situation... Previous credits to apply[U/]: I have completed 2 years of Canadian university and would like to not have them go to waste. Self-disciplined[U/] Online[U/]: I travel frequently so even correspondence could be a problem. Thus it almost has to be via the internet, or at the very least with the issuing university being flexible about changing addresses for textbooks etc. Purpose[U/]: My immediate purpose is to have a degree so that I am eligible for working as a teacher in China. While ESL positions in China are certainly available without a degree such a degree opens doors for better condition positions and increases salary. I note here that Taiwan does not recognize DL degrees but China will take what it can get. I would like to teach academic subjects as well, particularly writing. Specializations[U/]: My secondary purpose is personal edification. I have a hobby interest in the history and sociology of eastern religions, I am a published journalist and history facsinates me. So I am considering three majors - English (writing and journalism); education; Asian/religious studies (Hinduism and Buddhism). So far I have investigated only Asian studies. It would seem that for Asian Studies the reputable universities are... a. Washington State University b. American Public University, Virginia c. IGNOU (Indira Gandhi National Open University), New Delhi Here are my findings comparing the three All have relevant courses. IGNOU has the best selection for an Indiaphile. IGNOU does not (?) recognize transfer credit but the other two do. IGNOU is practically free. The fees are about $40 a year plus bits added here and there WSU is very expensive charging non-US citizens $434 per credit. That is $1303 per course. Yikes! APU charges $750 per course. Because APU is private rather than tax funded I am surprised that WSU costs more. The WSU website is very easy to use and somewhere (I lost the link and *it* is not so easy to find) they have a comparative list and links where one an see terms and fees of many DL universities. IGNOU is hopless in prospective student service. I sent them three emails and over a month later they have not responded. They also seem to have complicated rules and regulations that could be simplified if they tried. Having spent time in India I recognize that Indian officials love bureaucracy. Anything that can be said in one sentence say it in ten. Anything that could be straightforward make it esoteric. Their website is not user friendly. They seem to deal with students in India and use traditional correspondence. If one changes address one has to give three months notice. It's archaic. But again some excellent subjects. One an study Tamil and several other Indian languages, soial stratification of Indian society. They have at least three courses on Indian history. My only significant hesitation is that I expect the tone will be very secular - not the way I like to study religion. Indira Gandhi like Nehru was a socialist. APU looks very professional and they have many sociological and political courses on South and Southeast Asia. The only drawback that I can see is that one must take a 'Academic and Career Planning' course before taking any other academic course. APU is part of the American Public University System and includes American Military University. Thus courses are geared towards military and CIA types. They even offer a degree in Homeland Security. As somewhat of a libertarian I am not fond of US foreign policy so I cringe at the idea of supporting Bush's regeime even indirectly. But hey, a university is a university - or so I keep telling myself. I found several univesities with low fees (University of South Carolina; University of Idaho; University of Oklahoma) but for various reasons none were suitable. USC website sucks and UI is for engineering. Something I find odd... Information Technology and more trade oriented career training (nursing, computers, sciences etc) seem to be well represented and liberal arts less so. For example I wanted to take a history of Asian art course to get my feet wet. Can't find it anywhere. Any suggestions? To play the devil's advocate here I can't say that I agree with some posters that some degrees are 'bad'and others are 'good'. There is a spectrum all the way from wallpaper to what'll-lead-one-to-halls_of_government_and_corporations. For example if I could afford the time, effort and cost I would much rather have a DL from Harvard (in international relations) than Billy Bob University (majoring in metaphysics and chicken husbandry). The challenge is finding something suitable and cost effective that I *like* and am proud of. If one wants wallpaper to fool those who don't really care there are websites offering print-your-own, up to seven for US$75. On Khao Sarn Road in Bangkok, Thailand one can order up a university degree from non-existent institutions, including crappy ' gold' non-embossed seal, *with* transripts for the same price or less. But earning a legitimate degree where one's accomplishments can be verified by fax (oops, there is one diploma mill offering that but if one's degree reads 'Germany' and the fax number is in Israel that'll raise eyebrows) it'll take time money and sweat burning the midnight oil. Conlcusion: Anyone with leads or experiences with *non-USA degree EARNING universities*please reply. I see this as a long thread... And if everyone wants to study and work in the USA and thus there is no interest in how to get a BA from Sri Lanka, Mauritius or the Isle of Man, so be it - Happy New Year.
UNISA (Republic of South Africa) - no On usenet someone suggested this Pretoria university. In fact their Hindu studies consist of *one* course, despite there being a significant Hindu minority in the land of Mahandas K. Gandhi's life as a lawyer. Islamic counted at 11 and African (naturally) at 7. Plus there are many Christian courses. I wonder if it wouldn't be better to study the particular sect and lineage of Hinduism that interests me through one of the Temple organization's own rigorous correspondence course and then apply to have that applied as a credit (in fact prearranging that it would be credited) at a suitable university? Has anyone on this forum done that? For example you studied Evangelical Protestant history and theology through a non-secular college and then did an exam at a secular college to test your knowledge - and actually recieved fair credit from a reputable degree issuing university?
Hermes, Welcome and happy new year to you. Please allow me to ask a question. What do you think of the name, American Public University? In my case, Academic and Career Planning was an excellent course to start with for a number of reasons. First it assists one to get back into study mode, I had taken a break from formal education for some time before I started at AMU. Also this is where you submit your proposal for transfer credit evaluation. When I was enrolled in Academic and Career Planning, Franklin Covey's, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, was one of (and the center point) of five text books. Covey was used as a guide to map-out degree and career plans. Now, I had done the 7 habits thing before and I was less than thrilled when I discovered I'd be doing it again. I found the course to be challenging (not overly) and an excellent springboard for personal education renaissance. APUS is currently being considered for regional accreditation. An announcement should be made by March of 2004. You might also want to consider the University of South Africa.
