DiscoverYourOnlineCollege.com

Online College Group Websites
& Directories

Introduction

• This site presents a directory of links to regionally accredited online college degree programs, and related post-secondary higher education web sites. The college degrees presented are primarily associate's (two-year) degrees or bachelor's (four-year) degrees. 

  The intent of this site is to help you get a "jump-start" on the process of searching for a well accredited college degree  program that is primarily available on the web and is an external / distance education program (external /distance program means that for the most part you don't have to attend classes on campus). In other words, an accredited college degree program that requires no or minimal (brick and mortar) classroom time, or campus residence, or campus visits. (You will have to take web or correspondence courses and you will have to study, of course.) To the left under "Pages on This Site" are links that will take you to other pages on this site where links to more information or to the university and college degree program home pages.

  There is rapid growth in online education, so that new university programs are constantly becoming available. The intent of this site is to help you get a good start on the process of searching for such grad schools.

  As in all important decisions in life, in choosing a college it is a good idea to consult a number of sources of information before making a final decision.

  A very few associate's degree programs and some bachelor's  programs require some resident time at the schools. The required time may vary from zero to about "two weeks" to about a year. If you are a working person who will be pursuing a degree part-time, the extent of residence requirements may be a critical factor in selecting the college or university.

  Of course, accreditation is a critical issue, especially in distance education, so I have included a page of accreditation organizations that will enable you to check up on the schools you find. Accreditation by a "regional accreditation" agency is usually THE basic standard you should look for in academic majors, and most other majors. Regional accreditation means that the merits of the degree you earn, and the academic courses you take, will be recognized across the country and by employers. I intend to include on this site only colleges and universities that have regional  accreditation, a school that doesn't have regional accreditation might be included only as an exception and would be noted as such.

  In some college majors there are sometimes "elite/advanced" levels of accreditation.

  If you are getting a degree in order to get employment or for professional or career development in a particular industry or in a particular business or corporate environment, it is a good idea to look at employment ads from that industry, and to talk to human resources people from that company or industry to assure what accreditation standard applies.

  Another good use of this page is to use it to find online college courses and classes that can enhance your personal, professional, or career development.

  I also included a page of some OTHER COOL INFO links that may be of interest to the aspiring graduate student. It also includes some basic information and links on FINANCIAL AID.
  

  If you are starting from scratch or from a very small number of college hours it would be a good idea to aim at getting the two-year associate's degree along the way. Having the associate's degree may enable you to earn somewhat better money now, which could help you to get the resources you need to keep up the effort required to get the bachelor. Another plus of getting the associate's is that if completing the whole "four-year" bachelor's degree should be delayed, you will still have that associate's degree in the meantime to help your earning power.

  Often institutions that offer only associate's degrees (such as a community college or a junior college) will have lower tuition than bachelor's degree institutions, and that is a big plus for them. However, if you intend to get your first two years of a bachelor's from such an institution  it is critical that you assure that the four-year institution you intend to continue with will accept the credits from your associate's degree.  Associate's degree institutions usually have so-called "articulation agreements" with many bachelor's degree institutions in which the bachelor's degree institution agrees to transfer credit for specified courses from the associate's degree institutions. In that situation getting credit transferred between the  schools is pre-approved. Other situations may be tricky. For example,  some bachelor's degree institutions may want pick and choose what credits it will accept. Another factor to be aware of is that there are bachelor's degree programs that are specifically designed for students who have already completed an associate's degrees from a regionally accredited institution...and these type programs are often more likely to accept maximum credits toward their bachelor's degree.  These programs are usually termed "bachelor's degree completion programs". So if you have earned an associate's degree from a regionally accredited institution and you are flexible in your choice of a bachelor's degree institution, it is likely that you will be able to get a good placement into such a bachelor's degree program.

  There are at least two broad categories of associate's degrees: those associate's degrees that are intended for students who plan to continue on for the bachelor; and those associate degrees designed for people who only intend to use the associate degree to qualify for an occupation. An easy contrast to make between these types of degrees is "automotive mechanic" is an occupational associate degree... where "psychology" would  be an appropriate major for an associate degree designed to support getting a bachelor's degree in psychology. While automotive mechanics is a great occupation, you could have trouble transferring credits from an automotive mechanics course to a bachelor's in psychology. Although some of the credits earned in getting an occupational associate degree will likely transfer to a bachelor's degree program...if you are planning on the bachelor's degree its probably going to work out better if you maximize the credit you can transfer by getting an associate degree intended to make the transfer. Also, it is highly advisable to try to plan to support your bachelor's degree major while getting your associates. For example, if you know you want a bachelor's degree with a major in education, you will want to get your associate degree in education because that way you are most likely to maximize the transfer of useful credits.

  My point here is that it's good to look before you leap.

  Again, choosing a regionally accredited institution is important because credits you earn there are more likely to transfer smoothly to other institutions.