Online University Rankings

The Lifetime Learning Tax Credit, the Hope Scholarship Tax Credit and the Higher Education Tuition and Fees Deduction, offer some form of financial relief for students overburdened with tuition fees and the high cost of books.

If you earn a single adjusted gross income of less than $52,000, or a joint gross income of less than $105,000, you are eligible for the Lifetime Learning Tax Credit. All you need to do is be enrolled for at least one class in any accredited undergraduate or graduate institution. You can obtain a maximum credit of 20 % on the first $10,000 you spend toward educational expenses.

For freshmen and sophomores in at least half time programs in undergraduate institutions, the Hope Scholarship Tax Credit offers a maximum 100 % on the first $1,000 and 50 % on the second $1,000 spent for educational purposes. The income cap prerequisites are the same as for the Lifetime Learning Tax Credit. Those who apply for this credit should be free of any felony convictions involving the possession or distribution of controlled substances.

If you earn a single adjusted gross income between $65,000 and $80,000, or a family income between $130,000 and $160,000, you qualify for the Higher Education Tuition and Fees Deduction, through which you are eligible for a deduction of $2,000.

For all tax credits, you will have to obtain the 1098-T form from your institution at the beginning of each academic year. This document contains information about your educational expenses like tuition fees, payments made, student status, and scholarships won. A copy of the form will also be sent by your institution to the IRS.

When you make the decision to enroll for an online course, you have to arm yourself with the necessary accessories. The most important tool-of-the-trade is your computer. What are the hardware and software configurations you need to consider? About Education lists the optimum hardware and software requirements necessary for your online foray in the quest of education.

Hardware: You can choose between the Mac OS and Windows depending on your needs __ those who do a lot of video and graphic editing would be better off with a Mac, while the rest could settle for Windows XP or 2000. With two-way video and audio conferencing being the most popular means of interaction between the student and the instructor, it makes sense to have at least a 64 bit video card and a decent sound card. Add a hard disk capacity of 40 Gigabytes, a 512 Megabyte Random Access Memory (RAM) and you’re good to go.

Software: Key among your software necessities are word-processing software, a browser, anti-virus software, an email provider, media player and a document reader. Choose word-processing software that is standard like MS Word, and an email client which gives you room to store all your correspondence and lessons. Windows users can opt for Internet Explorer to browse the Internet in search of extra study material and notes, while Mac proponents usually prefer Netscape Navigator. Windows Media Player or Quicktime add to your videoconferencing capabilities and Norton Antivirus or McAfee will protect your computer from getting infected with any of the myriad viruses, Trojans and worms that crawl through the Internet. And since the Adobe Acrobat format is the one most used by colleges and schools, you will have to download the Adobe Acrobat reader (which is free) and install it on your system.

It’s not just the students; teachers are taking to the blended option too these days. With more and more emphasis on flexibility as the keyword, universities are offering a mixture of online and classroom lectures to extract the best of online learning and face-to-face sessions, because students who have to opt for online classes due to time constraints are also ruing the fact that they will miss the face contact with lecturers and friends in an actual classroom.

Bob Reese, a business administration instructor at the Illinois Valley Community College (IVCC), who has offered an online version of a few of his classes for the past five years, said that surprisingly, there is more communication online than in a classroom. "Every student has to answer questions and reply to everyone else, instead of the five or six students who answer (in the classroom) while the other 30 students just sit there."

IVCC is one of the institutions that have decided to offer blended courses, which mix the amount of time students spend on campus with online learning, to meet the growing demand from people who want to fit an education around their life.

"We looked at the good part of online learning and the good part of traditional learning in the classroom," Emily Vescogni, director of learning technologies at IVCC, said of the decision to implement blended courses. With this option, the time spent in the classroom is reduced to a bare minimum, with online work and interaction replacing traditional classroom discussions.

IVCC has also introduced "Friday College" this year, which offers full-time students of blended courses the chance to attend face-to-face interactions every Friday. This gives them the freedom to be present for lectures only once a week, while enjoying flexible study hours for the other six days.

Professors are also enjoying the mix of online and classroom lectures; Lora Vasiliauskas who teaches an online psychology course at IVCC, is also preparing to offer a blended class. "I find that it helps me organize my lectures so they are better in my traditional classes, as well as online," she said. "There is also that flexibility, to be able to address students’ needs more frequently from home."

It can be called a bridge of sorts between China and the UK; Project e-China, a collaborative effort between the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) and the Chinese Ministry of Education, is designed to draw students in the UK into the portals of universities in China, virtually.

e-China was launched in March 2003, and since then, has grown into four pilot programs and three online joint ventures between UK and Chinese universities. The Beijing Foreign Studies University and the Nottingham University are offering a course in the English language for university teachers, and the Beijing Normal University is offering an online pedagogy course in collaboration with the universities of Manchester, Sheffield, Southampton and Bristol. These courses are designed to impart training to teachers and lecturers from both UK and Chinese universities in handling a mixed international set of students.

Chinese universities are looking for extra avenues of revenue by turning to distance education programs. There are currently 68 Chinese universities that provide online courses, mostly within China. Two of them __ the Tsinghua University and the Beijing Foreign Studies University __ are involved in collaborative distance education projects with the UK.

Students with an aptitude for and a natural curiosity about international law, journalism and media studies are being targeted by the Tsinghua University, which plans to host postgraduate degree programs and short professional development courses over the Internet. The Beijing Foreign Studies University, already offers a few masters programs online.

HEFCE arranges academic exchanges and also helps staff members establish ground rules, besides evaluating their work. Distance learning materials designed to help students and lecturers in both countries work closer together, are jointly developed by sharing information through a link between the UK higher education grid, Janet (Joint Academic Network) and its Chinese equivalent, Cernet. Online courses developed jointly between UK and Chinese universities can be stored on a local server, where Chinese students can download them at no cost.

Hurricane Katrina has marked a turning point in distance education, bringing it into the focus of many people who might not have taken it seriously before. Most students displaced by the hurricane sought academic relief in distance education courses offered by the Sloan Semester, a consortium of 153 colleges which set up a catalog of courses in a remarkably short time. The effort was undertaken under the leadership of the Southern Regional Education Board, which has 16 member states, and the Sloan Consortium, which promotes standards for online learning.

More subjects were added to the initial catalog of 400 courses to satisfy student demand. Most students who enrolled, did not continue as the semester progressed.  Though 1,800 registered to participate, officials are unsure of the exact number who went on to complete the courses. Those who did trudge through the program cannot stop singing the praises of the online instructors and administrators who allowed them to pursue their academic interests even as the other aspects of their lives were falling apart.

In interviews to The Chronicle of Higher Education, several students said that it was difficult for them since many of them were learning how to find their way through online classrooms for the first time. It was indeed testing for many as mail was often delayed, and classes would start before they had received the books need for them. But instructors were often lenient in changing deadlines to accommodate such situations, they added.

Professors teaching in the Sloan program said they are impressed by the quality of the students’ work, especially considering the fact that some of them don’t have their homes and many have other problems to contend with. But most dropped out because they did not have enough access to the Internet and because they did not have enough time to dedicate to studying. Some just stopped responding to my messages and turning in assignments, said an online instructor.

But almost everyone associated with the program agreed that much was at stake for the students who were involved. When even the smallest break in education can sidetrack a promising career, distance education proved a lifesaver for these participants.

Gone are the days when a degree earned online was perceived to be less meritorious than that earned on-campus. More and more companies are recognizing the worth of an MBA acquired through a distance-learning program; some are even sponsoring their employees to take such courses from accredited institutions.

General Motors pays for its employees to earn an MBA through an online curriculum framed by the New York Institute of Technology and the Cardean University. Employees of Ingersoll-Rand are offered a customized online MBA program by the Indiana University while Capella University offers tuition discounts to employees of Fortune 500 companies like Boeing, Johnson & Johnson, and Wells Fargo for putting the school on "preferred provider" lists.

Enrollments at online MBA programs have soared to an all-time high, from almost nil 10 years ago to 125,000 today, while applications to traditional business schools have dropped considerably. This is because most people have reached a point in their career where they feel that an additional degree will come in handy, but cannot afford to take time off exclusively for study.

An online degree is manna from the heavens for such a crowd. They can spend a few hours a week "at school", and use free time between work and family commitments to access course readings, video clips and class discussion boards through websites. They can participate in online discussions and return tests within certain deadlines. More than 150 accredited business schools now offer online versions of their curricula, says the Get Educated website, which tracks online education.

While critics may harp that online programs do not grant access to powerful alumni networks or to the most prestigious consultancies and investment banks, respect for these degrees has increased. "Our perception is that an online education from a reputable college or university is as valuable as the degree offered on-ground," says Alan Fisher, manager of corporate extended education at Intel, which pays for employees to earn MBAs through various Web-based programs. "We don't differentiate between the two. Anybody who says online MBAs don't work is just fooling themselves."

With the advent of online universities and colleges, the pursuit of education is no longer limited to the confines of the four walls of a classroom. A virtual study center can be created right in your home, and you can earn a degree or diploma of your choice from the comfort of your favorite armchair. But how do you choose the best education institute that suits your needs? How do you avoid the numerous online scam operators that prowl the Internet in search of an unsuspecting victim? Here are a few tips to help you decide on the right option for you.

First and foremost, you have to know clearly what you desire from an online education. Is the degree or diploma you earn going to enhance your future job prospects, or are you enrolling in a course just to broaden your horizons? Evaluate the time and effort you can spend on studying and doing assignments, and decide on a schedule that is suited to your daily routine.

The next step is to locate the ideal institution that offers the course you want to take. Check out various options before making your final decision. Browse the information available on the university’s websites, procure information brochures and ask around regarding the credibility of the institution. You certainly don’t want to spend your time and money just to earn a fake degree! So check out the accreditation of the institute you choose very thoroughly before you enroll for any course it offers. A university with the proper recognition will go a long way in brightening your job scenario!

Finally, familiarize yourself with the various facilities offered by the institution. Most universities offer two-way audio/video conferencing facilities, study aids and tutoring options, reference links, library access, technical assistance, discussion threads and interaction with fellow students among a host of other features. Make an informed choice on what option suits your routine the best.

Read more about choosing the best online university.

The commitment to pursuing an education while fulfilling other demands on their time is driving more and more college students in South Dakota’s public universities to the Internet in search of online classes. The number of electronic credit hours delivered in 2004-05 has increased by 36 percent.

Harvey Jewett of Aberdeen, president of the South Dakota Board of Regents which governs South Dakota’s six public universities __ Black Hills State University, Dakota State University, Northern State University, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, South Dakota State University, and the University of South Dakota, said  that the public university system is expanding its range of electronic offerings in tandem with a group of professors who have a flair for developing online courses. There is a growing need for universities to create more educational opportunities for nontraditional students who cannot attend college on campus and for employers who want their workers to earn degrees or diplomas, he added.

Black Hills State University has seen a rise in the number of registrations for Internet classes and correspondence courses offered through video conferencing, in 2004-05. Sheila Aaker, extended services coordinator at Black Hills State University, said that the main purpose of online classes is to increase the school’s market, especially now, in the face of the decreasing number of high school graduates in South Dakota and most Midwest states.

The reason why most students chose online classes over traditional ones is varied; some cannot rise early to attend an 8 a.m. class because of conflicting work timings, others may just prefer to gather information online rather than hear a professor lecture. A surprising aspect is, that of 10 students who take online classes, 4 live on campus. The responsibility for gathering information rests on the student during an online class, adds Aaker; in a classroom lecture, the student depends on the teacher to provide useful data on the subject.

The classes offered online are on par with those taken by traditional students since the Board of Regents policy places strong emphasis on distance-learning classes to be of the same standards as traditional ones, Aaker said.

Video conferencing which uses two-way audio and video relays is the most preferred method for online classes, especially for subjects that do not have large numbers of students majoring in them, such as French or German, or when high schools cannot or do not want to employ teachers for a particular subject.  A teacher on one campus can teach his or her own students simultaneously with students on other campuses through a video conference.

Though it is unreasonable to assume that online enrollments will increase at their current rate, Jewett thinks they will grow at the rate of 10 percent a year.

With more importance being given to health and physical fitness these days, it is no surprise that the online physical education classes on offer from the Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) since the spring of 2005, has scores of takers.  MPS has over 300 students who signed up over the past year for its budding online physical education classes, and demand is moving further up, noted Kathy Burns, an MPS spokesperson.

"Things have changed in the twenty-first century in many ways, and one change is the wide variety of options and lifestyles for our students," Jan Braaten, curriculum coordinator for physical education and health for the Minneapolis Public Schools, says by way of explanation for the popularity of the course. The Advanced Placement classes offer accommodating and flexible schedules for teen mothers, athletes who participate in a wide range of sports activities and students with a medical history, adds Baarten.

The curriculum meets both national and district standards. Students are required to obtain a medical certificate from a doctor before they meet an instructor to establish their to establish their basic fitness level.  After these preliminary tasks are completed, Braaten says that the students receive a heart-rate monitor and are taken progressively through meticulously formulated physical education modules.

Students who enroll for the course are required to maintain a sport/activity journal in which they have to make entries regarding their heart rate, their perceived exertion rate and other relevant details, after a thorough workout, which should last for a minimum of 30 minutes. The journal must have the approving signature of a parent, coach, trainer or any responsible adult. Braaten explains that they are encouraged to work out at least thrice a week. The online program is designed on parallel lines with current trends in physical education to ensure that the students get a healthy workout.

Kathy Burns says that other school districts are making enquiries for the participation of their students as well. Requests for information about online physical education classes have come in from all over the United States and from as far away as Australia, she adds.