by Greg Thomas

Created on: February 02, 2008

I can tell you from first hand experience that distance learning is certainly not for everyone. If you are a self motivator, a decent writer, and you have a schedule where you can fit 2 more hours of work 3 to 4 times a week; then an on line university may be the route for you. If you are not Internet savvy, have trouble focusing on a computer screen for long periods of time, or are an auditory learner; then buyer beware!

I am a teacher. A few years ago regulations in my school district changed and I was left with the options to either go back to school and get my masters degree or find another career path. I did not want to lose my job because I love what I do. On the other hand, I was not exactly in the financial position to go on sabbatical. So, I explored my options. A brick and mortar college nearby offered night classes for working adults, but the time frame was less than desirable. It would have taken me three years to complete my degree and that would require me to travel 10 miles one way to school at inconvenient times during the day. After a little more research, I discovered an on line college that offered a program in which 3 credit classes were completed over a six week period, and attendance was on your own time as long as you showed up 4 times a week and made contributions to the discussion. This was clearly the option for me. I enrolled!

I soon found out that classes were completed in such a short amount of time because you worked non-stop for those 6 weeks. This was not anything like the experience I had at university during my undergraduate studies. You definitely had to hit the ground running and you didn't have time to stop for coffee at the student union building. You were expected by the professor to read the syllabus and immediately start working. This is not the environment for someone who has organization problems or needs constant reminders. Classes were conducted 100% in Microsoft Outlook Express message boards. On top of whatever projects you were expected to research and complete, you were expected to answer long form discussion questions and contribute to conversations on the message boards 4-5 times a week to account for attendance. If this sounds like a lot of writing, it is.

I worked through my 43 credit masters degree in a shade under 2 years and I was able to keep my teaching job. In the end, I would say it was a lot of hard work, but it was certainly worth it. Once again, I would not recommend this track to everyone, though. A scenario in which I was working on a serious term paper until 1:00 am on a school night played out several times. There were also times when I was teamed up with less than reliable teammates that were absolutely maddening. I finished up with a 3.96 average which was better than I had ever done in any school setting. My advice to anyone considering a course of study in a distance learning style setting would be to research it heavily and know what you are getting into first before you commit.

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