What are the best online degree programs for the military?

In the early 1970s, long before the internet the University Without Walls concept began--a few colleges and universities began offering credit for course taken elsewhere and various tests with little or no residency requirements. They accepted courses and gave credit based on the American Council on Education Guide to the Evaluation of Education and Experience. The clamor from other schools was very negative, allegations of diploma mills, etc. That didn't happen. A fellow named Dr. John Bear wrote a book outlining available programs, and accredited institutions took off. Chief among them was the University of the State of New York ,which later became Regents College Degree Program/Regents College; today it is named Excelsior College. We had some 4,000 grads this summer with 400 on campus. Many earned degrees up to master's level on line. I was a young E5 in the 1970s with 170 SHrs and no degree. In those days you could get an Army 2 and 4 Year equivalency, which I did. I went on to earn an AS degree in 1977, a BS in 1984, and then a Masters Degree from Norwich University in 1988. The BS Degree lead to a concurrent commission as an Army Captain and promotions to Sergeant Major. Today, I am a proud member of the Excelsior Alumni Leadership Council--and invite you to find out more at Excelsior.edu.

When considering schools there are questions to be asked an considered:

- What is the quality of your investment? Is the school credible in the outside world?
Check out where the school falls in placement to other schools across the country. Take this a step further and look at the degree program that is offered through the school and where it places with competing schools. This is to include online programs. It's also interesting to evaluate the graduation rates of these schools.

- Is this cost effective? GI Bills are guaranteed money to these schools. Schools claim to be veteran friendly but are they really?
Just because a school offers Yellow Ribbon does not make it military friendly. Each Yellow Ribbon program is different. Some school contribute heavily into the scholarship. Other's not so much. How many slots does the school have? Will the school be able to accommodate you when you're ready? Does the school offer a TA Match? Does the school have a dedicated POC that can assist you with these benefits?

Research these questions my friends.

I am currently going to AMU and I am very nervous on how the private industry will view my degree. I have been working in Defense for the last 5 years after separation but I need stability and a change of career.

I know AMU is properly accredited, but that doesnt mean anything if the hiring manager is biased against them. I am hoping its not all a waste of my time and benefits in the end. The class work is not too difficult, but I rarely have found any class to be difficult.

I would love to hear from people in the private sector that have had success with online only schools. I have heard of nothing but bad pertaining to university of Phoenix. Some places I have heard wont recognize that school even though it is accredited.

I am graduating this weekend from Liberty university located in Virginia. They offer many benefits to military active and vets. Tough but we'll deserved.

Having been an educator let me pass on a bit of inside insight on on-line classes.

My college was very hot to get into the on-line business. Instead of 30 students per instructor / professor per class they could now load up to to 100 - 120 students per class. WOW! What a money maker! So here is how it play out from the instructor / professor point of view. I could barely keep up with the work output of 30 students so all the assignments had to be stripped down. With 120 students the only hope was to put everyone into teams and grade the teams. Lectures disappeared into Power-Point presentations which students had to go thru on their schedule. The software running the process would let me know if students had actually downloaded the PP, but as to their reading and comprehension .. pffft .. who knew until test time. At the end of the day, the Admin office could care less after the checks cleared.

Having also been a student I know that there are times when you really need to reach out to an instructor with a WTF moment. If this is not addressed in real-time the student gets knocked off track for all that follows. This is handled quite easily in class and near impossible on-line.

Having said that ... understand this. No one (UoP, Stanford, USC, Harvard, whatever) can "give" you and education. If you want an education, you have to grab it and take it! If you internalize the information then your education is as good if not better than anywhere else.

UoP is an accredited college, just like the one I taught in. The head of our Accounting dept had a UoP Masters. Their units transfer anywhere.

In general I am not in favor of "For Profit" models for education, healthcare and water / wastewater. But what the heck, this is America and everything revolves around the $$.

Online programs can be hit or miss one way to avoid the pitfalls of paper mills is to check the Department of Educations web site to see if the school is on their accredited list: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If it is on here then it is most likely a good school to attend whether online or in the brick and mortar. Of course do not go on this alone, search the web for feedback from students. If you work in the government or are thinking about it make sure you get your degree from one of these accredited schools especially if you are in a specialized field like Information Technology.
r/jq

I have two degrees and will be using TA to start a 3rd, probably this summer. The first two I had before entering the military and were combined campus and online courses. The first was a more technical focus, Networking Systems Administration, which required a lot of lab work, so hands on was a must. However when I moved into the more business focused Networking Communications Management portion, it changed to a lot of online work. Since I was starting to work full time, the idea of going to the campus after work for 4+ hours only to do most of the work online, did not appeal to me. I switched to online, which worked well for me. There are pros and cons, it takes more dedication to focus on your work at home, as opposed to at a campus. Also, you don't have that daily interaction with other people in your program.

I'm currently looking at an online Master's Program at the University of Southern California, in Cyber Security. The program looks to be structured pretty well and if I balance my course load, I should be able to do online classes while working. Unfortunately, being an 11b, we don't have the most stable schedule, so working around that will be a task in and of itself, but its doable.

Capella University is legit. instructors are world wide many of them are also teaching in places such as University of Cincinnati. Kentucky and so on. Ive learned alot and been challenged beyond anything expected. currently in one of there PhD programs.

Found a very good inforgraphic realated to this topic - it provides a great visualization of how students (MBA specifically in this infographic) want a more specialized and flexible degree program.

I attended two colleges full time to earn my bachelor’s degree, and the experience was fantastic. In fact, the quality experience I had made me very leery about taking online classes when I started graduate school at Embry Riddle. I took my first three classes at satellite campuses, but quickly ran out of options if I wanted to continue to take a class each term. Once I made the leap to online classes I finished the rest of my degree online. Embry Riddle Worldwide is a very good option for anyone pursuing a degree online. The nature of online classes are very flexible and allow students to balance their work, family, and school demands around their schedule. The classes were challenging and I walked away with a great deal from everyone I took. With that being said, the value of education (online or in-person) depends on the student just as much as the program. If you put in the time, effort, and take school serious you will not only be successful but walk away with a quality education.

My second experience with online classes is ongoing at Capella University. I took a huge leap starting my Doctorate, but could not be happier with the results thus far. The schedule is not as flexible as when I attended Embry Riddle, but it has been both challenging and manageable. I realize there are some online programs out there that are questionable, but I have had nothing but positive experiences. If anyone has questions about the quality of a school or their programs I would suggest they do some research prior to applying. There is plenty of information available from external sources that rate schools. Researching college accreditation is also a method for validating the merits of a school prior to applying. If all else fails, seek out help from peers, seniors, or your local education office.