Online Masters Degrees

Online Master Degrees have gained popularity with the flexibility of studying at your pace and just about anywhere. With the only two requirement being a computer and internet connection, no schedules, classrooms or textbooks in most cases. While distance education is nothing new, the internet made online learning and online education even more feasible.

The term "online degree" refers to college degrees, there are even some online high schools degrees and certificate programs which are now available. Improvements in technology and the increasing use of the Internet have led to a proliferation of online colleges and universities that award associate’s, bachelor’s, online MBA degrees and even PhD doctoral degrees.

Many colleges and universities are including e-campuses on their websites, where students can choose to go to class or take some or all their courses online. For obvious reasons there are some degrees which are much harder to achieve online as they require more hand-on training. Online law degrees, nursing degrees, business degrees, online accounting degrees are some of the most popular; CNA degrees are offered with part online and part classroom attendance. Online MBA programs and other business related degrees have increased in popularity, in the last 5 years the universities that now promote online masters degrees or even online doctors degrees has grown by over 200%.

With the economy and competitive job market, many have seen a Masters degree as an added bonus for just about any filed of work. With the flexibility of an online masters degree you can continue to work a full time job with enough time to put
in 2-3 hours of online studying at home.

While some universities embraced online learning and expanded their curriculum to include online classes, the University of Oxford, Berkley and MIT were some of the many universities to expand to an e-campus, while Harvard has always insisted the learning experience centers around the classroom. The Harvard University has been a long-time proponent of discussion-learning and also uses case-discussion, which means that the educational experience that makes them special is not able to be replicated online. The Harvard business school launched an interactive initiative, which allowed a lot of their material to be available online and yet the director of that initiative has said that the school will never offer an online Harvard MBA.

Years ago the Concord University School of Law made headlines by being one of the first universities to offer an online law degree, which prompted a fiery debate among legal scholars and law professors, even a supreme court judge showed skepticism on online law degrees. The Law Professors' Network opened a forum on the subject, a website based at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. One response came from Jack Goetz, the dean of Concord University, an online-only law school which was launched by the test preparation company Kaplan Educational Centers.

Mr. Goetz said that traditional classrooms do not work for some students, especially working adults, those who live far from law schools or those with home responsibilities. Also, only a minority of the 200 or so law programs in the United States have evening programs. "Our students, for the most part, don't have a choice," Goetz said of the 157 people who enrolled in the school's inaugural class. "It's either this legal education or no legal education at all."

When looking for an online law degree, online masters degree, or any online degree for that matter, it’s important to look for an accredited online college or university, that should be the first thing to check even before their prices or online programs. According to the U.S. Department of Education, the goal of accreditation is to ensure that college programs provided by an online college or university meet acceptable levels of quality. Online colleges that are accredited have earned a recognized form of university accreditation from one of six regional accreditation boards. Please ask your online college for proof of accreditation from a regional or national accrediting body in the United States.