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Online Colleges and Universities
Compare and review Online Colleges and Universities

Frequently Asked Questions about Online Colleges and Universities.


Online education, sometimes called distance learning or e-learning, is a method of completing college level or advanced degree courses over the Internet. There are hundreds of educational institutions that offer online education programs. Some of these schools only offer online learning while others offer a mixture of online and classroom learning.
The main reason why most people explore online learning as an option is flexibility. An online degree course is completed in the comfort of your own home (or anywhere you have an Internet connection) and at your own pace while still getting all the benefits of traditional classroom learning such as interaction with teachers and peers. Online education is a particularly good option for working adults that are looking to earn an advanced degree while keeping a full or part time job.
Although you may not immediately recognize the names of some of the schools we have reviewed you can rest assure that they offer high quality educational programs. All of the schools we have reviewed have been accredited by third party organizations that certify their curriculum and teaching methods.
As online degrees are becoming more and more commonplace, employers are recognizing them as an extremely valuable addition to any resume. In fact, a recent survey by the Distance Education and Training Council found more than 70 percent of corporate supervisors rate online degrees as "just as valuable" or "more valuable" than traditional degrees in the same field.
Like many other aspects of the online learning process, applying for a particular degree program is relatively simple. All of the schools we reviewed allow students to begin the application process online by completing a web based form. You can access this form by clicking the "More Info" button for any of the schools listed on our comparison chart. Once you have submitted the online form you will be contacted by an admissions representative from the school you selected. Typically, the admissions representative will set up a time to speak with you over the phone to discuss your goals and interests as well as answer any questions you have about their college or university. It is a good idea to have a family member or trusted friend join you on this phone call to help you retain all the information that will be discussed.
The overall costs associated with online education vary greatly from school to school and depend on many factors such as the type of degree you are working towards and whether or not you have any previous course credits to apply to your new degree from another educational institution. The vast majority of students working towards online degrees have some form of financial aid that helps them pay for all or part of their educational expenses. Each of the schools we reviewed have financial advisors that will help students determine their best options for financing and assist in each step of the process. Additionally, many companies offer educational credits and scholarships to employees. Check with the human resources department at your company to determine if your employer offers these type of benefits. If you are active duty military or a veteran, there are many financing options available to you such as the Montgomery GI Bill which will help you pay for some or all of your educational expenses. Check with a financial advisor at one of our recommended schools for more information on financial options.
Typically, yes. Each school has different policies regarding transfer credit but, as a general rule, credits earned for course work at a qualifying, accredited college or university (including community colleges) are eligible for transfer. This means that your new schol will give you credit towards your new degree for college classes you have previously completed. Check our comparison chart for information about each school's credit transfer policy.
The amount of time it will take to complete your degree depends on many factors including the school, degree level and specific program you select as well as the amount of eligible transfer credits you have available, if any. The pace at which you complete the required course work is also a key factor. For example, those that take a full class load will complete their degree more quickly than those that only take a few classes per term.
Each of the schools we reviewed provide academic counseling services to help you determine the best classes for you to take based off of your interest and goals.
Because your primary interaction with teachers and other students will occur online, it is important that your computer meets some minimum standards. To begin, you should have a high speed Internet connection through cable or DSL. A dial up connection is adequate, but will be much slower than a high speed connection.

Next, you will need an email account that has a minimum of 5MB of storage and can receive HTML formatted messages. If you don't have an email account that meets these requirements there are several free alternatives. We suggest Yahoo Mail. You can sign up for a free account at http://mail.yahoo.com.

You will also need to have a current version of Microsoft Office (98 or newer for Macs and 2000 or newer for PC) and a monitor that is capable of displaying resolution of 1024x768 or greater.

If you have any questions about the specific technology requirements for a particular school an admissions advisor will be able to answer them for you during the application process.
Because classes are held online, you can participate in courses at any time, day or night, wherever you have an Internet connection. Typically, there is no set class schedule so you can "attend class" any time of day.
Students typically spend anywhere from 5 to 20 hours per course depending on such factors as number of course credit hours, degree program, pace of reading and typing, and prior knowledge of the subject.

We thoroughly test and research all the services in the category. We order each and every service ourselves and test out every feature available. We contact customer service and cancel and reorder each service to make sure that process works as well. After our initial tests, we continue to use all the services and update our reviews as situations change. We also monitor the providers' sites for any service changes or specials. In addition, we research each provider by reading all news and ordering and reading third-party research reports. We only include providers on our site that we believe offer a good value proposition. If there is a provider you know of that is not on our site, you can be fairly certain we did not rate that provider highly enough to include in our comparison. If you think we are missing a quality provider or have any other suggestions or comments, please visit our contact us page.