Ivy League online degrees

[Neutral]

Originally Posted by preciousjeni

So, basically, the Harvard program is open to the general public and no one can be turned away as long as they've taken the prerequisite courses and achieved B averages. Whereas at a traditional university, not everyone is accepted to enroll. Right?

No. It does not say you will be admitted "as long as..." It says you "must."

Only 2.5% of the course takers are able to earn the degrees, certificates, or diplomas from the Extension School anyway.

[preciousjeni]

Originally Posted by Neutral

No. It does not say you will be admitted "as long as..." It says you "must."

Only 2.5% of the course takers are able to earn the degrees, certificates, or diplomas from the Extension School anyway.

Ok, so you must meet the prerequisites and if you do you must be admitted to the school. It is non-competitive?

ETA: Neutral, look, the Harvard Extension whatever is an OPEN ENROLLMENT night program that any ole body can get into if they bother to skim through a few lower-level college courses. The "graduates" of this program receive an education of sorts (or else there were be no point in having professors/teachers) but they are by no means on an educational par with graduates of the real Harvard University nor could they possibly have the Harvard experience. For a graduate of the night program to even hint that he/she has received a Harvard education is pathetic.

If a person wants to go to the night program because he/she didn't have a chance to finish college, that's awesome! However, for that same person to put "Harvard" on a resume is stupid and misleading.

[Neutral]

Originally Posted by preciousjeni

Ok, so you must meet the prerequisites and if you do you must be admitted to the school. It is non-competitive?

ETA: Neutral, look, the Harvard Extension whatever is an OPEN ENROLLMENT night program that any ole body can get into if they bother to skim through a few lower-level college courses. The "graduates" of this program receive an education of sorts (or else there were be no point in having professors/teachers) but they are by no means on an educational par with graduates of the real Harvard University nor could they possibly have the Harvard experience. For a graduate of the night program to even hint that he/she has received a Harvard education is pathetic.

If a person wants to go to the night program because he/she didn't have a chance to finish college, that's awesome! However, for that same person to put "Harvard" on a resume is stupid and misleading.

Anyone could apply to any colleges or universities. There aren't any minimum application requirements. What is so competitive about it?

Don't even bother to apply to the the degree programs at the Extension School, if you don't meet the minimum "must" admission criteria.

Harvard University confers degrees on its students. NOT you.
When the university grants degrees to students studying at the 12 degree-granting schools of the university, all graduates should be proud of their degrees and accomplishments. All degrees are FIRMED.

It is pathetic of you trying to deny the truth.

[kddani]

Originally Posted by Neutral

Anyone could apply to any colleges or universities without any minimum application requirements. What is so competitive about it?

Don't even bother to apply to the the degree programs at the Extension School if you don't meet the minimum "must" admission criteria.

Harvard University confers degrees to students. NOT you.
When the university grants degrees to students studying at the 12 degree-granting schools of the university, all graduates should be proud of their degrees and accomplishments. All degrees are FIRMED.

It is pathetic of you trying to deny the truth.

It's pathetic that you want to run around saying you have a Harvard degree when you don't really have one. And I think it's pathetic that you have any degree, what with your terrible grasp on the English language.

You sure are defensive. Must be because you know the program is inadequate.

[Neutral]

Originally Posted by kddani

It's pathetic that you want to run around saying you have a Harvard degree when you don't really have one. And I think it's pathetic that you have any degree, what with your terrible grasp on the English language.

You sure are defensive. Must be because you know the program is inadequate.

"And I think it's pathetic that you have any degree, what with your terrible grasp on the English language."
How funny! Look at the grammatical errors in the sentence you wrote. You seem to ridicule yourself!

[MedInformatics]

I noticed this thread and thought i'd chime in amongst all the bickering.

I served in the military from 2002-2008 and if it weren't for online education I would have never been able to acheive what I have in that span. When I first started college I went to Hawaii Pacific University's Monoa Campus on the island of Oahu. I took 4 classes and each semester was 12 weeks long. I typically had class about 3-5 times a week and didn't really get much from the courses.

About the same time those courses ended I signed up for four of their eight week accelerated online courses in physics, statistics, calc-1 and psychology. I don't know how many of you can recall these courses but they are not easy by any means and learning them online is a whole differen't ball game. I mean you are trying to learn them without much help from a professor and crunching 12 weeks worth of work into 8 doesn't make it easier. Oh and did I mention the tons of home work, reading, proctored exams and the thought of me getting any less than a C in any of these courses constituted me to pay back Uncle Sam face value for the courses? How about the fact my wife and I both worked 10-12 hours a day and had a family?

It sounds as if some of you never took an online class but want to judge it simply because you are looking at them out of context. They aren't made for the typical bachelor, they're made for professionals and dedicated family men that need flexibility. Sure some colleges let bachelors take the courses but the colleges I attended made sure you had at least 2 years of work experienece before you were able to attend online courses.

Oh, did I mention that some of the more prestigious schools have gotten more "brick and mortar" like when it comes to online programs? I just started the Medical Informatics Master's program at Northwestern online and it's no joke. I'm only taking two classes every 10 weeks but we have class for 2 and a half hours twice a week, tons of reading, tons of homework, group projects, papers and proctored exams during that span. Did I mention my wife and I are both still working and have 2 kids?

Oh and I almost forgot my Six Sigma Master Cert I took through Villanova--all Online. It was one of the toughest courses i've ever accomplished and very expensive. Granted, if you wanted to take advantage of their system the opportunity was there but I doubt anyone takes a 10k certification course to learn Six Sigma without attending the lectures and doing the home work.

Let me ask you brick and mortar guys this. If you had to choose to hire or work with a particular job candidate which would you choose: A recent college graduate from a brick and mortar institution or someone who has an online degree with six years military training, leadership/followership skills and/or real world work experience? The choice seems pretty easy to me but i'm curious to see what others would choose.

[KSigkid]

Originally Posted by MedInformatics

Let me ask you brick and mortar guys this. If you had to choose to hire or work with a particular job candidate which would you choose: A recent college graduate from a brick and mortar institution or someone who has an online degree with six years military training, leadership/followership skills and/or real world work experience? The choice seems pretty easy to me but i'm curious to see what others would choose.

That's interesting - what you've done is narrow it down to an "either/or" thing, which isn't realistic.

I'll give you a personal example: I graduated from a brick and mortar institution in 2003 (I worked full-time, approximately 50 hours per week to pay my way through college), then worked for 3 years after college before heading off to law school. Now, I take law school evenings, four classes (at a lower tier one law school) and work 50-60 hours per week at a high stress job, while trying to spend as much time with my wife as possible.

While that may be somewhat of an exception, I know a great many people who have done the same thing, either in undergrad or grad school. I have classmates who work jobs as engineers, physicians, and in other professions, who have families, and who, like you, have done this country a great honor by joining the military.

I'll admit, I've formed my opinion without taking an online class myself. However, I've spoken to people who have taken online classes, many at solid colleges, and they had a variety of issues with the classes. They also said that they didn't take away nearly as much information or benefit as they did in a more traditional setting.

I respect your service to the country, and I understand what you're saying - but you also need to understand that not every "brick and mortar" student is a traditional student, so to speak, so the criticisms of the online classes go a bit deeper.

Originally Posted by Kevin

Not getting into the substance of this argument, but KSigKid is probably one of the smartest people I've encountered on an internet message board. You lost a bunch of credibility with that statement.

Wow, thank you - I really appreciate that.

[preciousjeni]

Originally Posted by Neutral

Only 2.5% of the course takers are able to earn the degrees, certificates, or diplomas from the Extension School anyway.

Where are you getting 2.5%?