Posts Tagged study
A Children’s University – Accessibility to Higher Education in the 21st Century
The past few months have seen record numbers of applications to UK universities. According to the University and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS), an extra 57,000 students have applied for degree courses compared to the same time last year, leading to speculation from many corners of the media that around 50,000 people will be denied a place. Yet, as higher education funding is cut, and university places become more in demand – it may surprise some that university has never really been anymore accessible.
A good example of this increased accessibility could be the Children’s University. What started as a Saturday school in Birmingham in the 1990s, has now become a national organisation that gives children aged between 7 and 14 the opportunity to learn outside of school, whilst promoting the importance of further education when school is over.
The latest Children’s University scheme is taking place in Stoke-on-Trent in association with Staffordshire University and Wedgewood Museum in Barleston. According to thisisstaffordshire.co.uk, students partake in 30 hours of accredited activities and are rewarded with a fully fledged graduation ceremony which even includes mortar board and gown. Not only is the introduction of the concept of university seen as a very positive thing, but children are also stimulated to be more active within their community – and becoming more familiar with the notion that learning doesn’t have to be restricted to what they see on their curriculum.
At the other end of the scale, a 55 year old man from the isolated town of Sandsound in the Shetland Islands is proving that time really is no object when it comes to further education. According to The Shetland Times, James Smith has been named as one of the longest serving devotees of distance learning by studying one course or another for nearly 30 years.
The electronic engineer for Bolts Shetland Ltd. car hire company is also a retained fire-fighter, yet despite his already busy schedule he has always been eager to keep up to date with changes in radio, television and computers. Not only do distance learning courses allow him to keep abreast with developing technologies in his own time, and in an area of the country that has traditionally been perceived as ‘cut-off’ from the accessibility of education we are familiar with on the mainland – but the price of each course has been affordable and worthwhile enough for Smith to continue long into adulthood.
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Accredited Distance Learning Program
The term accredited simply implies that something is authentic and this authenticity is based on reviews made by independent agencies that test the quality of the service or product being accredited. In fact, it is almost compulsory to get accreditation if you want your degree to be recognized and accepted by the people that matter including those who are part of educational bodies, professional organizations as well as by prospective employers.
Beware Of Fraudulent Accreditations
When it concerns an accredited distance learning program, there can be differences in the way that the program is accredited and to ensure that a particular distance learning program is in fact accredited to suit your educational needs, you should have it checked by agencies that are especially recognized for being able to provide suitable assessment of your course of study. To be sure, you must always be wary of any accredited distance learning program that is accredited by agencies that have not been recognized as being capable of giving accreditation. You can be sure that such programs are actually the handiwork of fraudulent organizations.
At present there is no centralized authority in the U.S. to give accreditation to such programs and thus you will have to get your program verified from a reputable agency. In fact, to obtain accreditation from the proper source you need to look for educational institutions that have been included in the list of accredited institutions that is published annually by the U.S. Department of Education.
In any case, certain kinds of accredited distance learning programs need to be recognized by special agencies. For example, when you wish to pursue teaching as a profession you would need to ensure that the accredited distance learning program you have chosen has been accredited by an agency such as the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education.
When it concerns verifying an accredited distance learning program, there are just two types of accreditation to look out for, known as specialized and institutional accreditation. The latter being applicable to entire institutions while the former implies giving accreditation to certain distinctive programs that in turn will have to meet certain standards for each given industry.
Also, it is safer to take your distance learning course from an accredited distance learning school because when employers check your application they are sure to be more impressed when they see that you have obtained an accredited degree from a reputable institute of higher education.
There is also regional accreditation to consider, pertaining to accredited distance learning programs, that is recognized by many colleges, universities and the U.S. Department of Education. The main advantage of choosing to take an accredited distance learning program is that it becomes simpler to transfer college credits since the required standards in both theory and practice will have been met.
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Online Education – The Changing Face of Education
Opportunities in education today would have been impossible even a few decades back. With the popularity of the Internet, easy accessibility to computers and the World Wide Web, higher education has been transformed into a new dynamic entity. With technology progressing at a rapid pace and demands changing almost daily, our lives are only becoming busier. The world around us is left with no option but to change and move along with the times to accommodate to our new schedules and requirements. This is more than apparent in the field of education. As times change, fewer and fewer students rely on the traditional method of attending classes at a college campus. The ‘brick and mortar’ type of education still exists but now side by side with the option of graduating from an online degree program as well.
As the number of people who look for ways to complete their education or improve their skills becomes too large, it is inevitable that a large number of colleges and universities take the necessary steps towards filling that need. But jobs, childcare and other family obligations limit the amount of time people can devote to their education, and thus, alternative arrangements are created. Online education has started gaining popularity and has now completely changed the way we approach education today.
Online degrees are now widely accepted and recognized as authentic educational qualifications. As long as the institution offering the degree is accredited by an accreditation agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education, there should be no problem in the degree being accepted and acknowledged anywhere. Fully accredited online degree programs are now available in nearly every field. From management to medicine, law to accounting, there is a wide variety of choices on offer. Even obscure subjects and fields of study have found their place on the Internet. With degrees such as healthcare, students are even given the option of combining the practical aspect of their training at local hospitals or clinics along with virtual classes and studying online.
The flexibility of online education has opened up the doors of education to people from all walks of life. Stay at home moms and dads can now study from their own houses and employees can complete their assignments around their work schedules. There is 24 hour accessibility to the study material allowing for all night study sessions as well as the possibility of returning to subject matter again and again if necessary. And as universities continue to expand their options, the flexibility of online education will only increase. Students will be offered more options with the possibility of a custom created curriculum that suits their individual requirements and interests.
Distance learning also allows people hundreds of miles away to graduate with degrees from the college of their choice. Without spending a penny on gas or transport, students can make the most of a world class education with resources and faculty from all over the world. Through pre-recorded lectures, worksheets, assignments, e-classes, online forums, and tests, students can view, interact, and study from the comfort of their own space.
With a more flexible attendance policy, students can choose to tackle their workload as quickly or as slowly as they need to (all within a larger pre-determined schedule, of program). While this freedom may prove to be a little daunting to a new student, after completing a few programs, it becomes easier to get used to this new way of studying. To be successful in an online program, a large amount of self discipline and motivation is imperative. Without which it is all too easy to take advantage of the flexibility of the program and not achieve much. And while online education is definitely less expensive than a traditional degree program, to spend time, money and effort on something that is not taken seriously will not accomplish anything in the long run.
Online education in short offers every individual the right information in the right format at the right time for the best chances of success. Once upon a time online schools were considered the next wave of education and that future is finally here – ready to change the way we look at education way beyond the boundaries of any classroom.
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