:confused: Well, I'm taking two online classes this semester and they are no joke. They are a lot of work. My school offers some courses online but you can still opt to go to class and take them. I personally hate going to class and usually go to sleep in lecture. I have always just taught myself by reading and going over lecture notes (just like an online class). I also don't like analyzing information with other students b/c a lot of times groups just cause more problems. Everyone doesn't learn by going to lecture. In my online course last semester, as well as this semester, there are mandaory group projects so that is not totally lost for those who like to get with groups.

Everyone who is trying to get a degree is not looking for "A Name" with reference to a school. I know for my undergrad degree, I went to a school with "A Name" but that's not why I chose it. A lot of people are just trying to master a certain subject area. Some people have families and may not be able to find the time to actually go to class. This semester I was working a f/t job and they weren't too flexible with the hours so I opted to take classes my school offers online. Also, maybe some ppl don't care about having connectins with alumni, they may already have the connections they need but not the degree to go with them.

Hijack.... one of my friends graduated from the evening program! She worked fulltime and used her tuition benefit to go to the Law Center for free. I think it takes four years instead of three, but she did it!

I have taken online classes and they may not be in a classroom setting , but they are just as hard as in-class. I went the traditional route for my degree and i can compare both ways, they both hold equal weight when it comes to class load.

So you were fortunate to go to Harvard live and in-person, doesn't mean the person who works f/t, has a family , and does the degree online at night is a lessor person. They worked equally as hard as you did and paid the same tuition as well as struggled with the same grades assigned by the same professors.
I think it i s harder online because you don't have that classroom interaction and you have to really force yourself to be disciplined to sit in front of a computer to do the work vs showing up for class.

I have taken online classes for my Masters degree. Some could be just as challenging as live classes- if not more, because you could not get an immediate answer from someone nor network/socialize with classmates.

I am applying for a Specialist degree. I will be doing it completely online, since the school is 4 hours away.

I think the point is, though, that it isn't a Harvard degree or a Harvard class. It is a "Harvard Extension School" degree/certificate, which isn't the same thing. Harvard has admission standards. Harvard Extension does not. It's not that they are a lesser person, but they won't get the same degree.

Boston U. does the same thing, with a program for people looking to learn web skills, etc. Anyone can join the program, but they will get some sort of certificate, not a BU degree.

Originally posted by irishpipes
I don't know about Harvard, but I am opposed to online degrees. I got my masters the old-fashioned way, but now people who work for me are getting the same degree from the same institution without ever setting foot in a classroom. Even their exams are online. I think they lost the information gained by analyzing information together with other students. Plus, many of the classes did not have online lectures - just reading assignments with homework or papers due. Their degrees look exactly the same as mine - there is no distiction that theirs was done online.

My degree is technicaly an online degree. I was majoring in Elementary Ed. and found out that I HATED the classroom during substitute teaching. I switched my major to Liberal Studies (Bachelor of Science, but an online degree.) The difference is that I have to take a cumulative project class that is completely led online. My degree is still from MTSU, all of my classes but four are completed on campus, but it's an online degree. The reason I did this is because I know I'm going to seminary for grad school, and graduation came quicker this way than switching to another major. I assure you, no less work is done because it's online. If anything, my online classes were harder because they required a measure of self discipline above that which was required of me in most of my on campus classes.

Online learning is just another way for schools to attract students who wouldn't have otherwise paid them money to learn because they're too far away.

Don't the degrees that Harvard Extension grants have completely different names from what the other schools offer? For example, you probably can't get an BA in English from the Extension; you can, however, get a Bachelors in Liberal Arts with a concentration in English.

Besides, the people who are reading resumes can smell bs from a mile away.

I've heard them referred to as AA and ALB. I'm not completely sure what they stand for, though.

It would take some serious cojones to try to pass one of those degrees off as a Harvard degree, but I wouldn't be surprised if people tried it.

My mom is doing her second MA completely via the net. It's not a walk in the park for her, she still has to do the work.

Quite a few of my courses for my MA were done online. It took me awhile to get used to and get disciplined to doing them, but now I love it. Mainly because I got to do the work at my pace (as long as I got it done by the due date). If I couldn't go online until 10pm, that was fine. You can't do that with a regular class.

I personally love that more schools are doing online courses. Unfortunately a lot are really expensive. Online courses are easier for the working adults. I won't get that when I go for my PhD, but I wish I would.

Your post is totally false and ignorant!

Harvard Extension School may allow the public to take (many, but not all) individual classes, but they have very clear admission criteria for the degree programs.

Harvard Extension School is one of the 12 degree-granting schools within Harvard University.
To mind you, only around 2.5% of the class takers are able to earn degrees from the Extension School.

You register on GreekChat and your first post was to a thread that hasn't been replied to in 2 1/2 years?

YOU R SO SMRT.

No, YOUR post is totally false and ignorant!!!!

We are open to students with a variety of backgrounds and goals, with no formal requirements beyond a commitment to an academic challenge. --http://www.extension.harvard.edu/prospective/

To take courses at the Harvard Extension School, you simply register. No preliminary application is required. --http://www.extension.harvard.edu/2008-09/register/

I like this one better...

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/e...gent/owned.jpg