Making that decision
Nov 8th, 2004The Boston Globe has an excellent story about trying to find the right online university to enroll in today.
''With 2,000 to 3,000 online courses, and more and more coming onto the Web, there has to be some intelligent way for people to sift through and determine what they are," said Greg Eisenbarth, a former corporate training executive who last year founded a group, the Online University Consortium, to assess the quality of online degree programs.
Traditionally, college students have been able to rely on accreditation from regional organizations, such as the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, which checks out a school's curriculum, staff, and facilities. Dozens of other agencies issue their seal of approval in career-specific programs such as business, engineering, and education.
Many of these also assess online programs. Online MBAs offered by the University of Massachusetts, for example, are accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, a standard met by fewer than 500 schools worldwide. But many traditional accreditors hand out their blessing without expert study of the unique details of online learning, such as the quality of communication tools used to link teachers and students. And the online world lacks any one universally Accepted accrediting body, though the Distance Education Training Council is recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation, and newer groups like Eisenbarth's are beginning to set standards and assess quality.
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