Bachelor Degree Basics
Here are the best schools for taking online courses and a summary of how much taking online courses will cost you.
A Bachelor’s Degree is a higher education, academic degree achieved with respect to a specific major or course of study. On average, it takes four years to graduate with a Bachelor’s Degree. You may choose to take summer classes or carry a heavier-than-full-time class load in order to graduate early. Conversely, you may not have time to carry a full class load and it may take you longer than the four years to complete the degree.
The most common undergraduate degrees achieved today are the Bachelor of Science and the Bachelor of Arts. There are many fields of study available for a Bachelor’s Degree that match just about any interest you might have. Determine your area of interest, and you’ll probably find a degree to match.
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Bachelor’s Degree Online
If you want to get your degree online due to the ease and convenience, you’ll want to know all the facts before you do. How will you know if it is legitimate? What are the costs? How many hours do you invest each week? How long does it take to get your degree? Which schools are best? These are questions you’ll need to ask and find answers to before you submit your application to any online college or university.
· Legitimacy. Caution: You’ll want to look for a few things in order to verify the legitimacy of online schools you may be considering.
· Earn Your Bachelor’s Degree in weeks or even only a few days! If they tout this promise, move on. You’re going to have to know going in that it will take 2 to 4 years for you to complete your online degree if you have no credit hours when you start. This also depends on how quickly you complete the online courses in the program.
· No Faculty? Look for bios of the school’s faculty. If you can’t find any, then there may not be any. Don’t waste your time.
· Physical Address? Make sure your prospective school has a physical street address. If it only has a post office box, e-mail address, or no address at all, stay away from it.
· Flat Fees? If the school only charges a flat fee for the degree, then this should throw up a red flag, too. Legitimate schools charge by credit hour, course or by semester.
· Accredited? This is critical if you want an accredited degree and want to pursue a more advanced degree with an accredited school. Accreditation ensures that the school meets minimum academic requirements. Make sure the accreditation is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education or by the Council of Higher Education.
· Full-Time Faculty? Oftentimes, online schools will hire working professionals as instructors who have a full-time job elsewhere. This could be a critical factor if you need assistance during timeframes that the instructor is working his or her full-time job.
· Costs. In researching the cost to obtain your Bachelor’s Degree online, you’ll need to include tuition, books, certain applicable fees and any supplies required to take the course. The cost to attend online learning varies, and may be billed in credit hours, or charged per course or per semester.
· Average annual tuition will cost around $25,000 for a private school and $6,500 for a public school.
· Individual credit hours cost from just over $200 to over $400 per credit hour. It can cost $800 or more per course or semester.
· Time. It takes 120 hours or more to complete a Bachelor’s Degree. Based on 120 hours, that’s a full schedule of 15 credit hours per semester, 30 credit hours per school year. Taking a full-time schedule, 15 hours per semester, means you would typically graduate in 4 years. Since you are not attending a traditional brick and mortar school, you may be attending online live courses, or virtual self-paced courses, or a combination of both. Depending upon the program, you may also be able to dictate how many hours you take and how frequently you take them. In that case, you would be in control as to how quickly you complete your online courses and achieve your degree. Based on an aggressive approach to completing your courses, you could graduate in as quickly as 2 years.
Top Ten Online Schools
Video: Online Education and Degrees
The top ten online schools for 2009 that offer accredited Bachelor’s Degree programs are as follows:
· Nova Southeastern University – Included in The Best Distance Learning Graduate Schools list in the Princeton Review, this university is based in Ft. Lauderdale-Davie, Florida.
· Regent University – A faith-based university located in Virginia Beach, Virginia. This institution was founded by its president, Pat Robertson, who also founded the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN).
· Champlain College – A technologically innovative private college whose home base is in Burlington, Vermont. This school not only focuses on traditional learning concepts, but, also, on the cutting edge technology of tomorrow.
· Upper Iowa University –A private, non-profit university located in Fayette, Iowa. Some strengths noted about the school are that it fosters a firm understanding of the critical thinking process and the development of strong communications skills.
· LeTourneau University – Is a faith-based university located in Longview, Texas. This school is frequently named in the U.S. News and World Report ranking of the Top Tier of America’s Best Colleges.
· Liberty University – The world’s third largest evangelical university calls Lynchburg, Virginia home. One of the institution’s most prominent goals is to equip their students to impact their workplace and the world.
· Grand Canyon University – Named by Fortune Magazine as one of the top 5 online colleges for entrepreneurs, this school is based in Phoenix, Arizona. This university boasts a values-based, academically challenged curriculum to enable its students to become society’s critical thinkers and responsible global leaders.
· Dickinson State University – Located in Dickinson, North Dakota, this school uses the innovative Blackboard / Web CT CE6 as their online teaching tool. This school touts a tradition of innovation and academic excellence, preparing their students to act in integrity and from a global perspective.
· Western Governors University (WGU) –Is a private, non-profit university located in Salt Lake City, Utah. Here, you are assigned a dedicated mentor who is committed to your success. WGU provides accelerated learning, which could mean more money in your pocket.
· Salem International University – Located in Salem, West Virginia, this university boasts academic excellence and innovation. Students from around the world enroll in this school’s programs.
· Keiser University – Is the tenth ranking online higher education school that calls Ft. Lauderdale, Florida home. This school offers programs that are in step with current workforce trends and technology. Here, you’ll take your classes 4 weeks at a time.