paulaedwina
Posted : 4/19/2007 8:17:26 PM
I love it! I'm in my second year of a 4-year PhD Public Health/Epidemiology program at Walden University. How do I love it; let me count the ways:
1. I don't have to go to a classroom after work and sit still for 3 hours. Instead I can go home, take a nap, play with my critters and then log on to my class and work when
my energy level is high.
2. I am not limited to curricula available in my physical area. If there isn't a school near me teaching the courses I want, I can take them on line.
3. My short attention span doesn't get in the way. In a 3hr class after work I become a bad student; I fidgit, I talk, I walk around, etc. At home I can do 5 things at once and get everything done, and done very well.
However, keep in mind the following caveats:
1. The work load is high. It's as if they're making up for not seeing you. My program requires 20 residency credits in addition to the 4year program, which are distributed into 2-four day residencies and 2-6 day residencies. A residency is like a big symposium where you network, meet your professors and
take more classes. And you're still responsible for your semester work. For example, I'm currently in the midst of my second 4-day residency. So since Wednesday, and until Sunday I commute from PA to Virginia (to save hotel and pet sitting costs) which is about a 2hr trip, spend all day in symposia, colloquia and classes, and at some point in the day, or when I get home at night - about 8pm if I don't stay for dinner - I still have to meet my classroom obligations of posting, replying , rebutting, etc.
2.There are no holidays! Look at it this way; in a brick and mortar classroom you meet two or three times a week for a set amount of time. If a holiday comes up you don't go to class and that is part of the syllabus. Online you have obligations to submit work and perform certain tasks by certain days. For example, for one class I might have one assignment due by day 3, one assignment due by day 6, have to read and supply constructive feedback to at least three classmates and respond to any queries on my work by day 7. I usally carry two classes a semester. So a holiday is a self-inflicted wound. Before I ever went online I remember a friend of my friend's attending her daughter's high school graduation with a lap top. He was taking online classes.
3. You have to be organized because there is nobody there to goad you into doing work. I surprised myself in how I've taken to these classes because I was an absolutel slacker in school. So you might surprise yourself.
In conclusion, I would say that distance learning is the wave of the future. For example, how would an adult professional manage to go for a higher degree like a PhD and still keep his or her job and meet his or her financial obligations? Distance learning. Distance learning schools are a great hybridization of an academic and business model. The product they're selling is a degree program. Like a business they will do everything they can to get the extraneous crap out of your way. Do you need financial aid? They have an office, or, as in Walden's case, they're their own lender. You'll have an academic adviser, an online concierge, and an enrollment adviser at least. And they will call you out of the blue to find out how you are doing. Why? Because it's their job, it's what they get paid for - to keep the customer happy. I don't know about you guys, but I went to a big college and nobody knew who I was. And they sure as heck didn't just call you to see how things were going.
When it comes to thesis and dissertation comittees; your professors get paid to mentor you. So they're dedicated to your success; they're not just doing you a grudging favor.
I think academia could learn alot from this model.
JMO YMMV
Paula