Distance learning

Is your career stalled for lack of an advanced degree? Are you having trouble finding a new job because you dropped out of college years ago? Would you like to train for something completely different?

Education pays. A recent Bureau of Labor Statistics study shows that people with bachelor's degrees earn 43 percent more than those with "some college, no degree" and people with master's degrees earn 20 percent more than that. But now you don't have to put your life on hold to go back to school. Nor do you have to travel to night and weekend classes on top of a full work week. Distance learning, mainly in the form of online classes, has arrived.

How it works

Most online courses, in trade jargon, are "asynchronous." In other words, you don't have to report for class at 7 p.m. You can log on at times of your choice during a given week, read online lectures, take note of outside research sources, ask questions of the instructor or your fellow students through message boards or email, and submit completed assignments.

The University of Phoenix, a pioneer and giant in online education, asks students to log on at least five days a week; but the sessions can be on any day at any time. You don't have to feel anxious if your business travel schedule is erratic. You don't have to worry about being intimidated by classes filled with 20-year-olds who you think -- probably without justification -- know their way around academia better than you do. They may be there, but you won't know who they are.

Instructors may be part of the school's full-time faculty, but often they are adjuncts who also enjoy being freed from tight schedules. Phoenix requires its faculty to have advanced degrees. The University of Maryland requires "terminal degrees" (usually doctorates), but makes allowances for experience. In a career-oriented course like web design, you may prefer an adjunct who's working in the field. Information on faculty hiring may be available on school websites.

Phoenix classes typically run five to six weeks; students take one course at a time. Pennsylvania State University, on the other hand, generally structures its courses to run 12 to 15 weeks. Whatever the schedule, you usually can't accelerate it because each week's lessons include interactive tasks. In fact, most online learning software can impede looking ahead.

There is a plethora of bachelor's, master's and certificate programs available. Business, technical, and health care programs are particularly popular. Joe Cockrell, Phoenix's director of public relations, sees distance learning as helping boomers in their careers in many different ways. "If you're a nurse without a bachelor's, you can get one. If you want to go into hospital administration, you can do a master's program."

Then, Cockrell adds, some people take new directions. "People are reinventing themselves," he says. "We had a banker who was facing retirement and wondered what he'd do next. He decided to take education courses and become a teacher."

Good institutions make the technical part as easy as possible. According to "Peterson's Guide to Online Learning," "If you can order flowers or movie tickets over the Internet, you've got enough 'geek' to be successful."

Where to find it

It's often hard to tell an online university from a traditional one. The University of Phoenix now has 191 campuses worldwide. Many well-known institutions - Penn State, Rochester Institute of Technology, and the University of Texas are only a few examples - have online degree programs. Many colleges have combined online learning with traditional classwork into hybrid courses, which require a few days of physical attendance along with online sessions. You may be able to take a mix of campus and online classes.

Tuition is generally comparable with that of traditional programs. The University of Maryland's University College, for example, charges $444 per undergraduate credit hour (a bachelor's requires 120 hours) for non-resident students whether they study on campus or online. You do, however, have to watch for training fees or technology fees or other hidden charges. Many institutions offer financial aid.

Ignore diploma mills that drown you with spam saying that "within a month you too could be a college graduate." Accreditation by one of the six regional accrediting associations which have been approved by the Department of Education is important. The books and sites listed below will help you to find appropriate schools. Many diploma mills claim to be accredited although they don't say by whom, so check the Department of Education site to be sure that the schools of your choice are legitimate.

Many schools offer credit for "life experience," allowing you to exempt certain courses by passing an exam or presenting proof of your experience in the field. If you've learned C++ programming on the job, you should be able to get credit toward a computer science degree. If you've lived in Italy, taking an Italian language exam may count as coursework in the humanities. In disciplines that aren't easily tested, like photography or playwriting, you may be able to submit a portfolio for evaluation. (There is usually a fee approaching that for a course.) But be wary of schools that give you child psychology or nutrition credits for writing a paper on your life as a homemaker. If it looks too good to be true, it probably is.

All things being equal, choosing a good traditional school will ensure that your degree will be respected. Penn State notes on its Web site that there's no differentiation between its distance students and others; the transcripts and diplomas will be identical, with no evidence that you studied online.

Even where that isn't the case, distance degrees are now more than acceptable. Peterson, whose guides are bibles for prospective college students, has a site devoted to online learning. U.S. News and World Report, best known for college rankings that admissions directors live or die by, has an online directory of "E-Learning" institutions.

If your employer is contributing toward your tuition, ask in advance whether your chosen school qualifies. If you're entering a new field, ask a headhunter what programs are respected. Take a test drive on the computer system to make sure you'll be comfortable with it, and learn what support is available. (You'll probably get tutorials after you enroll.) If in doubt, see whether you can take one course before committing to a whole degree program.

You can do it!

Select your school carefully, and distance learning can be a rewarding experience - financially as well as intellectually.

• Consult distance learning guides and Web sites to find the program you want.
• Check its accreditation with the Department of Education.
• Study its website, run an Internet search on the program, and ask people in your field about it.
• Ask the admissions office to refer you to graduates who will share their experiences.
• Ask about class sizes. Fifteen or less is good. You won't benefit from a course with 100 students.
• Ask about faculty credentials and requirements.
• Spend as much time as you need with the computer help desk to learn the system.

Follow up now

Add to your Goals list: Get a college degree

Newsweek directory of schools, Q&A, and advice from experts.
http://www.newsweekdistancelearning.com/.

Peterson's directory of online learning programs http://www.petersons.com/distancelearning/

U.S. News and World Report guide to "e-learning"
http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/elearning/elhome.htm

Distance learning news and resources from John and Mariah Bear.
http://www.degree.net/

U.S. Department of Education database of accredited schools.
http://www.ope.ed.gov/accreditation/

FTC guidance on evaluating a school's legitimacy.
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/alerts/diplomaalrt.htm