Taking on the Online Learning Environment
Parents working from home have it tough but so do parents that make the big decision to jump back into school. Trying to juggle home and work many of us turn to the online learning environment to accommodate our crazy schedules. After all, that is one of the big bonuses that online schools promote; working at your own pace and schedule. Even though you can pick and choose when and where to study and submit work, it is still just as much of a difficult task as those that are trying to manage home and work.
You have made the decision to go back to school and that online is the direction that you want to take, there are a few things to keep in mind before you sign up with the first school that pops up in the search engine. While all these places to provide you with an education in a field that you are interested in, make sure that you know what you want. Do you want to be able to take your credits to another school later when you graduate their program? Does your state acknowledge their training program for the field you are wanting to go in? What about the company that you are wanting to work for; do they accept this school's program of study as acceptable credentials?
Check to make sure that the school you are interested in is Nationally Accredited and not Regionally Accredited. There is a huge difference between the two. If the school is only Regionally Accredited, their educational program is only recognized in designated areas meaning that some employers may not accept your degree and you may not be able to transfer your hard earned credits to another school. It's like they don't even exist and all your hard work was for nothing other than obtaining more knowledge. Don't let the intake counselors get over you on this one. Specifically ask about their accreditation. As long as their school is accredited, they will tell you so without giving the specifics. I ran into this issue when it was too late.
Do your homework and find out what employers are looking for. What do you need as far as academic background to obtain that dream job? Make some calls and see if they accept the programs that you are looking at and if not what are their recommendations. You want to make sure that you get yourself into the right program because going back to school is a big step when you are a parent and it's also a huge financial decision to make. School is not cheap and can result in monthly payments for a degree you never finish if you don't stick with it or get into the wrong school.
Lastly, before you jump in head on, take a look at your schedule. Because this is a huge financial decision, you need to make sure that you are going to be able to fit in all the study time that you are going to need. Most online programs only allow you to take one class at a time but you are still going to have to be able to dedicate 8 or more hours a week to it. I know it doesn't sound like much, but when you start doing it, it becomes a whole different ball game and you'll find a lot of times that even 8 hours a week isn't enough. Set yourself up to succeed and plan a head before making a decision that you won't be able to stick with.
