If you look at the reviews of online graduate level schools you will find them to have widely varied opinions. I looked at those before and after I completed my Master's Degree from American College of Education (ACE) and noticed that most of the naysayers are people who did not complete the program and dropped out very early. I understand that they may have dropped out because they felt they were not receiving the value they expected, but I also believe that you need to give a program a running chance before you lambaste it. When you get to the graduate level the education you receive will be proportional to the effort you exert. I already had some resident graduate level experience before I entered my program at ACE, so I have something with which to compare it. In my experience, the online programs can have several distinct advantages over the residential programs. The most obvious ones are the lack of need to be in a physical class or drive to school every day at any particular time. There are still deadlines for assignments, lots of reading and writing to do, quizzes and exams to take, and some listening to lectures, though that requirement is reduced by the shorter online modules.
Another advantage to online programs, contrary to my initial expectations, is greater peer interaction. The required discussion group participation was a valuable way to hash out ideas that arose from the readings and lectures before beginning the written assignments. As a residential graduate I remember that my interactions with other students about coursework was limited or non-existent. Most of us were too busy to talk much about it and it certainly was not part of the coursework. Peer interactions in my online program were not only encouraged and required, but they were graded. The quantity and quality of our interactions in discussions received comments and a grade from the instructor. Also, we also had to complete written assignments that were examined by our peers before we submitted them to the instructor. Since I am in the teaching profession, this was good practice and led to self-reflection. The ultimate result was better quality in my projects. I never did anything like that in my residential graduate classes.
Having 24 hour access to the online library was a major advantage of the online program. It was an advantage that I didn't need to check out and carry home a lot of books. Of course, when I was working on my first Master's Degree, internet libraries did not exist, so maybe this is an unfair comparison. However, along those lines, it was a cost savings to be able to use 100% online resources. Not every online graduate program has that advantage. Some still require you to buy textbooks.
Finally, a big advantage of the online system for me was the consistency of the courses' formats. Every class followed a similar pattern of content delivery and response. Once I learned the system it was easy for me to plan my time to make sure I completed all of the requirements when they were due. Sometimes the school would decide to make a change in the system, but they always notified us in advance and included detailed instructions about the changes.
Overall, I felt I learned the necessary content for the degree that would have been required by any other school, and it was rigorous because I put in the effort to make it so. In fact the value of the program was demonstrated to me recently when I attended a local PD session with a guest speaker who was brought in by our district. I was pleased to observe that I was already familiar with everything the speaker presented because of my coursework at American College of Education. I could have taught the Professional Development session myself, and that is one of the desired outcomes of the coursework at ACE.
- Dan
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