Category: Reviews
Find the Best Online University for You
Search our online university rankings and ratings below in order to select the best online university for your needs, then use the links to request a free information packet from that school:
Online University Reviews – 2009
Below you will find reviews of the top online universities. Students interested in a particular school can request free information directly from the online university by clicking on the ‘request free information’ links or read the review by following the links below:
Kaplan is one of the best overall online universities, offering a large number of well-reviewed associates, bachelors, and masters degree programs.
The most widely known online university, Phoenix offers top rated online programs for almost every career objective.
One of the best Christian colleges according to student reviews of online universites. Liberty brings together Christian ideals and a strong academic reputation to become a top tier online university for Christian adults.
The most prestigious online university due to its top post-graduate employment statistics, AIU is a top choice for working adults.
Capella’s national reputation in the job market for producing well-trained students makes it a leader for career advancement among the USA’s top online universities.
The nation’s oldest online university, Devry is online university reviews consistently put DeVry among the top online schools for overall ranking.
Online university reviews of Westwood consistently rank its online associates and bachelors degrees among the best online universities.
ITT is consistently recieves top rankings from online university reviews for its online technician programs. ITT offers both online and campus degrees throughout the US.
Though offering just a few online degrees, Boston U consistently recieves positive online university reviews because of its top academic reputation.
Consistently one of the best online universities in online university reviews of teaching quality and individualized courses, South is quickly becoming a top online university for bachelor’s programs.
Everest is among the best online universities for working adults. With some of the most flexible online course schedules as well as life experience and work experience college credits, Everest appeals to full-time working adults.
The quickest growing online Christian university, student reviews of Grand Canyon indicate it has the most flexible online class interface and top online masters programs.
Considered a best online university for working adults looking for scholarships and grants. Baker offers financial aid packages geared towards working adults.
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If you want to read more extensive online university reviews, please check out the following three reviews:
1. Capella University Review – A review of Capella University Online
2. Devry University Review – A review of DeVry University
3. University of Phoenix Review – A review of the University of Phoenix Online
Top 20 Firefox Extensions for Entrepreneurs
So you’re the web-savvy entrepreneur with enough business acumen and drive to make a success of your online venture. Now add to your arsenal with the best tools that will enhance your efficiency, and personalize the way you browse the Internet and scour it for information, making it obey your commands with little effort and even less time. Here are 20 extensions for the popular open source browser Firefox, that are a must-have in every entrepreneur’s tool kit.
1. Time Tracker: Productivity being the hallmark of a successful entrepreneur, time is of the essence when work is being done. How often have you looked at the clock with dismay to find that the day has gone by, and then at your work space with more dismay to find that you have no substantial results to show for all those hours? Time Tracker helps you keep track of the time you spend browsing the Internet using Firefox, enhancing your efficiency and effectiveness in the process. The counter, which pauses when you stop browsing, can be reset or set off for certain sites. A tooltip shows you the time that has gone by since you installed the add-on, the time since the last reset, and the time gone by today. The counter automatically resets at midnight.
2. Answers: The Internet made those big, heavy paper dictionaries almost obsolete. Now Answers allows you to look up answers and meanings on various dictionary and encyclopedia sites across the Web without having to explicitly surf their pages. All you have to do is hold your mouse over the word in question and press Alt and click (Ctrl for Linux users). A tooltip shows you relevant information on the same page. If you prefer the answer on a new tab, press Ctrl+Alt and click the mouse, and for a new window, use Shift+Alt.
3. Linkedln: A handy tool that links you to a network of professionals you can utilize for your business needs and contacts. The online community helps you find the employees you need through direct searches or referrals.
4. Firefox Extension Backup Extension: There’s no emphasizing the importance of backing up your data – and here’s an add-on that allows you to back up all your Firefox extensions, passwords, bookmarks, themes, preferences and cookies. Not only that, you can also standardize your browsing needs no matter which computer you use – FEBE allows you to synchronize your browsers on different computers by creating installable files when it performs the backups.
5. Firefox Companion for Ebay: If you do regular business on eBay, then this tool is an absolute necessity in your kit. You can stay signed into your account, on a secure basis, as long as you need to monitor bids on your site. This add-on allows you to set tailor-made alerts for both normal and auction listings.
6. Clipmarks: Bookmarks are fine, they help you store web pages to peruse as and when you need them, but there are times when you forgot what exactly caught your eye on a particular page and spend a considerable amount of time and effort in trying to figure out what it was. Well, such a situation need no longer arise with Clipmarks – you can save only the parts of the page you think relevant to your interest, be it some text, a link, a picture or a video. Besides saving them to your computer, you can also publish them on your web page (copyright issues not withstanding) or send them to friends. ClipSearch allows you to run a search inside the content you’ve clipped, based on keywords, tags, descriptions and titles.
7. Download Statusbar: This nifty add-on allows you to view the status of your downloads without having to open another window. It includes an interface that you can set to hide or show as and when you need.
8. WebMail Notifier: Tired of checking multiple email accounts? With WebMail Notifier checks Hotmail, Yahoo, Gmail, Daum, Naver, Empas and Nate accounts and lets you know how many new emails are in your inboxes.
9. WorldClocks: Working online means you tend to do business with people all over the world – and keeping track of local times is useful in such situations. WorldClocks allows you to view the dates and times at some of the world’s major cities.
10. Scrapbook: The Scrapbook extension not only lets you save web pages, it also lets you save parts of pages and whole websites, and also allows you to organize and manage your collection using easy search techniques.
11. BlueOrganizer: Reduce your browsing time with this smart tool – Blueorganizer helps you navigate easily between your favorite web sites. The add-on automatically adds shortcuts based on your browsing history, and takes you to those pages accordingly.
12. Mr. Uptime: A must-have tool if you have a very slow Internet connection – this add-on tries to access pages in the background even as you browse other pages that do open readily.
13. Foxmarks Bookmarks Synchronizer: Using different computers for your browsing needs does not mean you have to save your bookmarks on each on a dedicated basis. With Foxmarks Bookmarks Synchronizer installed on all the systems you use regularly, all your bookmarks are synchronized across all the computers. Using my.foxmarks.com, you can use any system to organize your bookmarks.
14. Calc: Keep a calculator handy for those quick computations, either in your sidebar or toolbar.
15. Free eBook Search: Looking for eBooks just got easier with this cool tool – base your search on book names, ISBN numbers, descriptions, author names or links.
16. Copy Plain Text: If you’re sick of all the hidden formatting, links and pictures that clutter a web page, then this extension is all set to be your new best friend. It allows you to copy just the text on any web page, even without the spaces that surround the words.
17. Adsense Notifier: Trying to earn a few bucks on the side with the ads on your site? Adsense Notifier keeps track of your income by displaying your Adsense earnings on your sidebar.
18. Yoono: Need all the information you can get your hands on related to a particular subject? The Buzz It! feature allows you to create a scrapbook of all text, pictures, videos and links that you think are important with just one click. You can add your own comments and descriptions to the page you just save, thus making it personal.
19. InFormEnter: Filling out web forms take up some time – time this tool is designed to reduce. InFormEnter adds an icon, that you can set to display information that you regularly enter, to each web field that requires data entry. One click on the icon and a drop down list lets you choose the information to be entered in that particular field.
20. PwdHash: A security measure for those of you who transmit sensitive information over the Internet, PwdHash generates per-site passwords when you prefix your password with @@ or press F2 before you enter the field. The tool prevents JavaScript from reading your password.
Online University Rankings 2008
UPDATED 2009 Rankings:
Below you will find the top 10 online universities for 2009. Students interested in a particular school can request free information directly from the online university by clicking on the ‘More Info’ links:
Kaplan is nation’s overall top ranked online university, with the highest number of #1 ranked associates, bachelors, and masters degree programs.
The most recognized online university, Phoenix offers highly ranked accredited online degrees for almost every career goal.
The Christian college with the highest online university ranking, Liberty combines Christian values and a strong academic reputation to achieve a consistent top 10 online university ranking.
The most prestigious online university due to its post-graduation employment statistics, AIU is a top choice for students looking for career advancement.
Capella’s national reputation in the job market for producing talented students, gives it a consistent top 5 online university ranking.
The nation’s first online university, Devry maintains a top online university ranking, especially for students interested in taking dual online and campus classes.
Westwood’s top 5 rated associates and bachelors programs bring it within the top 10 overall online university rankings. Excellent choice for online associates or bachelors degrees.
ITT is the best ranked online university for most technicians programs. ITT offers both online only or blended online / campus degrees in a wide array of technician degrees and programs.
The fastest growing online Christian university, GCU offers the best online interface and top masters degrees programs particularly in education and criminal justice.
One of the best online universities for working adults looking for affordability. Baker offers many scholarships and financial aid working students.
Search Online Degrees
In the past few years, one mode of education that has surprised everyone with high growth potential is online higher education. There is little doubt that it growing in full flow, but lack of transparency has prevented online higher education from reaching the zenith of its growth. The Online University Rankings 2007 produced by OEDb, a database of accredited online education programs shows how some of the most important degree-granting undergraduate online colleges and universities perform nationally and internationally. Smaller schools such as the Chamberlain College of Nursing and California Coast University were not included.
According to OEDb, they gathered data on eight different criteria that include acceptance rate, financial aid, graduation rate, retention rate, scholarly citations, and years accredited. The data is shown in a table that has the overall ranking for each college. Not surprisingly, Grand Canyon University secured the top spot in the ranking followed by Florida Metropolitan University. I am a bit surprised to see University of Phoenix at 15th spot. However, since the ranking is based on different metrics, there should not be any dispute. Read the complete article to know more about the universities that are listed in the rankings.
Big Cities on Top of Online Education
– Pushpa Sathish, Staff Writer
You would think that the majority of online students would be found in places with limited access to premier educational institutions, but that’s not the case, according to the results of a survey by eLearners.com. New York emerged at the top of the list of cities with the most number of online students, followed by Los Angeles and Atlanta. Others in the top ten are Chicago, Washington, Philadelphia, Miami, Dallas, Houston, and San Francisco.
On closer examination, the list does make sense though – these are the cities where traffic is terrible, where jobs are at a premium, and top qualifications needed to survive – all features that support the growth of online education.
The survey, when adjusted according to the population of each place, brought out the fact that military personnel are avid enthusiasts of online education. Of the top ten cities on the list, six are home bases or posts for the U.S. military.
Online education is growing by leaps and bounds in the country; The Sloan Consortium reports that there are 3.2 million students in the United States enrolled in at least one online course, while Eduventures estimates that 7 percent of all students pursuing a higher education belong to the fully online category.
Rwanda’s Distance Learning Program Fails
– By Pushpa Sathish, Staff Writer
It’s not all good news in the world of distance and online education. There are some parts of the world where education offered from a distance is not what it’s promised to be. Students in the African country of Rwanda are not too pleased with the Kigali Institute of Education. And rightly so, considering that a three-year course has extended to its sixth year, that face-to-face instruction times were drastically reduced, and that some students have been told to repeat whole years even after they had cleared the exams. All Africa reports:
"We signed a contract of three years running from November 2001 – November 2004. We were supposed to have completed our diploma courses by the end of these three years. Kigali Institute of Education authorities have continued to delay the completion of the program giving us many lame excuses," a student said.
MIT – Meeting Online Educational Needs
– By Pushpa Sathish, Staff Writer
Always wished you could study at one of the world’s most premier institutes? Well, your dream is almost a reality, thanks to the OpenCourseWare movement started at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The school, which already has 1,550 of its courses up on the Internet, with access provided free to anyone interested, is planning to make all 1,800 courses taught in its classrooms available online by the end of 2007.
It’s an ambitious and generous endeavor, and it’s been aptly dubbed “an act of intellectual philanthropy”. Internet users all over the world are able to access and download syllabus details, video and audio lectures, notes, homework assignments, illustrations, and other course content, not only in English, but also in various other languages with the help of companion sites that take care of the translation.
The OCW consortium, comprising MIT, Tufts University, the Johns Hopkins University, Michigan State University, Michigan University, Notre Dame University, and Utah State University in the United States, and institutions from China, Japan and Spain, has come in for some effusive praise from users the world over. While professors are using material from the site to supplement their own teaching methods, students are gaining by access to extra study material, and those with a thirst for knowledge are quenching theirs effectively. If you were to go by one user’s opinion, OCW is single-handedly undoing all the damage done to the United States’ reputation by the Iraq war.
The venture, while offering knowledge to all, is not a substitute for a formal education, as all its supporters agree.
For one thing, OCW learners aren’t able to receive feedback from a professor – or to discuss the course with fellow students. A college education is "really the total package of students interacting with other students, forming networks, interacting with faculty, and that whole environment of being associated with the school," says James Yager, a senior associate dean at the Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.
Even so, it’s a commendable and generous gesture on MIT’s part!
Mom’s The Word!
– By Pushpa Sathish, Staff Writer
Sure we all know that moms are great, but did you know that they are in great demand at Fortune 500 companies? If you’ve seen them balance the pressures of running a household, taking care of bratty kids, battling irate husbands, and yet coming out of this chaos with their sanity intact, you’ll know why.
Katherine Ellison effectively explains this demand in her book, “The Mommy Brain” – moms have a higher level of emotional intelligence that equips them with the necessary people skills that are deemed a necessity in any organization today to perform a variety of tasks under pressure, provide effective leadership, be dependable at all times, and work with care. This theory is supported by a study conducted at the Wellesley University that found that most women felt that they were effective leaders in their fields of work because they were mothers first.
The only thing that hampers their climb up the corporate ladder is the lack of a degree or formal higher education. With the advent of online education, that hurdle has been easily crossed. The Bureau of Statistics at the U.S. Department of Labor reports that the next ten years will see a rise in the number of women working in the IT and health sectors, and online education is a surefire strategy that will help them shine in their chosen spheres.
eLearning in the Spotlight
– By Pushpa Sathish, Staff Writer
A follow up on what’s been happening at Online Educa Berlin, the conference that is dedicated to discussing the advances in technology-supported learning and training – this year’s meet saw a record 2048 participants from a global spectrum of 92 countries. eLearning, its potential and place in the community were discussed at length by speakers from Canada and France. And as proof that technology can bring about a promising future in developing continents like Africa, the Director of the Kenyan Ministry of Education, Science and Technology expressed hope that mobile phones, which are more widely used than computers, could soon be used to educate the masses; the subject will be the focus of discussion at the second eLearning conference to be held in May.
2007 brings good news for CS aspirants as online CS course is launched.
Company Secretary (CS) aspirants have some good news coming their way. In 2007 the course would be available online. The current mode of doing the course is through formal class room teaching and or via post. However with the convenience of having the course online, the students will now be able to attend lectures via their desk tops. This any where and any time learning will help more and more people to have access to the program.
Mr N K Jain, secretary and chief executive officer, Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI) says that the course had already moved on to e-learning as the curriculum was being offered on CDs. This obviously is a step forward. The online course will commence in 2007 and the first program to be launched is the ‘Foundation Course’. Once the program is successful the online program will move on to the ‘Intermediate Course’ and finally in phase three the third and final part of the program will be launched. The Times Of India reports:
“Those students who have registe-red or are registering for the intermediate course on or after May 2006, will be required to undertake the 70-hour computer training course. It’s compulsory for them. Only those students who successfully complete the computer course, will be eligible for the CS exams in 2007," he added.