My Ashford University Experience : certificate

Fan Mail: How’s LSU Going?

Cajun — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 18:05:00 GMT

I haven't really said much thus far about how my experience with LSU is going. Primarily because in all truthfulness there's really not much to say at this point. I just started my 3^rd lesson out of 16 today and have not yet taken a proctored exam. The lessons focus on 1 chapter of the textbook each so with 16 textbook chapters there are 16 lessons, logical. The lessons consist of multiple choice and answer matching type questions along with some essay questions pulled from the text and I am willing to bet that there will be a case study or two. Thus far there really hasn't been any math to deal with, strictly rules, definitions, scope and purpose of using cost accounting.

I really need to spend more time doing my work for LSU, so far I have been distracted by the goings on with Ashford to really put forth the time and effort LSU really demands, which just because it's self paced does not mean that it is less work. I submitted a lesson online for the first time yesterday, and before you ask it's not any kind of blackboard, or at least not any kind of blackboard style I have seen. You get a electronic copy of your LSU Independent Study Guide, along with all notes and question sheets if you wish to print them off rather than saving your answers as a .DOC file or simply mailing them in. I think I have the format right on the lesson submission but I'll know for sure when I receive my grade. Until then I'll just complete the work and "bank" my assignments.

As for Leading Organizational Change at Ashford, this course is moving along pretty well. I start week 2 today and will attempt to complete both my discussion questions and start the prep work for the written assignment so that I am able to take this weekend off fully without any guilt. Remember all my blog posts about the importance of planning? Where here is planning in action and hopefully with a benefit. I'm off of work for the next week so it should be a more simple task than it normally would be. I'm stoked about finishing this course because that will mean I am six weeks away from completion. I'll start getting "senior-itus" (a misnomer I know) once I am in the single digits for weeks to go.

A really good thing to report is that another two more of my officers have decided to return to college. That'll make a grand total of 3. I'm actually privately proud of this fact and hope that I can motivate even more people into returning to school. I'm really hoping my youngest brother will at least.

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A New Student Portal at Ashford and Getting Ready for LSU

Cajun — Thu, 29 May 2008 08:12:00 GMT

I had to register tonight on a new student portal at Ashford University. The old one was pretty cool but nothing to really write home about. It was kind of like something that Southwestern College had, basically it had my grades, my schedule, finances, GPA, next scheduled course, etc. The new Ashford portal has pretty much all of the same stuff, even the little graphic display bar graph which shows the student how far they have gone; only here everything is a lot slicker. The outlay is better, it’s colorful and everything is pretty easy to find, all in all I’m pretty impressed.

I also have received my grades for week 2, so far so good as I’ve still got an “A” for the course but I’m still adjusting a little bit to the instructor’s preferences though. I was gigged for not providing a reference page for a case study, even though I really didn’t use outside sources and answered the questions from the text but strictly speaking I guess I should have referenced the textbook. The course is going well and I’ve already received the registration date for my next course which is typical as this is week 3 already. Wow, halfway done already and it feels like I just started. And for those keeping score, the GPA is still on track for a 4.0 barring any unforeseen ugliness, so cross your fingers.

I need to register and enroll for my first LSU class tomorrow so I guess I’m about to find out how easy it is to have transcripts forwarded from Ashford University to somewhere else. Hopefully that goes well, as of now even though my application has been approved I still need to have the prerequisite courses transferred/recognized, otherwise it’ll tack on two more courses on a 5 class certificate program, that’s over ½ of a masters degree…if these were masters level courses. They may as well be though; after all they are in my weakest area of business so it’s guaranteed to be an uphill climb.

To brush up on my accounting though I purchased Teach Yourself Accounting in 24 Hours, this is a very simplified basic accounting book that’s actually not half bad. Also I purchased the Accounting Game: Basic Accounting Fresh from the Lemonade Stand. I know what you’re thinking, these are very, very basic books, but really there’s more to them then you may guess. Even though I made an “A” in Managerial Accounting and Managerial Finance, it was like trying to get a drink of water from a fire hydrant, possible but quick and messy. This material should refresh my memory a little and get me back into a number systems type of thinking in reading and preparing various financial reports, etc. I’ll let you all know how it goes with a book review or two. Hey if nothing else, I’ve still got my Portable MBA in Accounting and Finance, already a book that I highly, highly recommend.

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Tonight I have applied to LSU

Cajun — Thu, 15 May 2008 03:36:00 GMT

I’ve been talking about it for a while now and tonight I finally put my money where my mouth is. I paid the $50 application fee and applied to the LSU post graduate Certificate of Accounting program offered through the distance learning portion of the Ourso College of Business in Baton Rogue, Louisiana. I will be working on this as I complete these last 3 classes of my MBA program. The thing that makes this possible is the fact that these courses are completely self paced. One downer is that I will have to take the mids and finals at a proctored testing center, the kind that you have to pay between $25 and $50 per test at but other than that it looks almost perfect for me.

The certificate requires a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited college…check. It also requires at least 6 intermediate accounting classes…um…check…sort of. I took Managerial Finance and Managerial Accounting in my MBA program so I’m hoping that this will do. Otherwise I may have to remediate by taking 3 to 6 hours of intermediate accounting which would really stink, but at least I wouldn’t be getting in over my head.

I really haven’t decided to go into finance or accounting as a profession, but I do have a significant hole in my managerial skill set and I think this will fix that and give me something to show for my efforts. That plus the certificate program is dirt cheap and gets me half way to a CPA in Texas if I ever decide to go that route.

Lastly there is the nostalgia. As a kid I was a hard core, dyed in the wool Tiger fan, still am. I was raised in and near Baton Rogue, a town that bleeds purple and gold. Every kid from that area wants to grow up to go to LSU and my grandmother always wanted that for me and my brothers so this kind of fulfills that desire. Every member of my family on my dad’s side with the exception of the few who attended Tulane, attended LSU. So there you have it, how could I ask for anything else right?

Geaux Tigers!!!

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10 Traps, Pitfalls and Shortcomings of Earning a Degree Online Part II (6-10)

Cajun — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 01:56:00 GMT

This is part II of a two part series. (Click to view part I.)

6.) Technology. Technology is an inevitable part of being an online student. Using new, unfamiliar software and mastering the art of using it skillfully will become essential. If you are still carrying a pager, use a rotary phone, are afraid of a fax machine and believe scientific calculators are still over $100.00 you may need to reassess your ability to adapt quickly enough to learning via an online format.

7.) Will power. Also called grit, guts, stamina or courage. You must have the ability to get knocked down and get back up. You have to be able to motivate yourself, likely nobody else will do it for you. If you get an “F” on an assignment you really worked hard on, it’ll knock the wind out of you. But you have to get tough, work harder, be objective and keep slugging away. Nobody is likely going to be cheering you on, nobody will beg you to do the work, nobody will care if you drop out or fail other than you and possibly close relatives. It’s up to you to get it done. You have to be able to accept failure and move on. You have to be able to overcome your shortcomings and keep growing. You have to accept the fact that you are nowhere near perfect and get over yourself enough to get better. You have to have will power. Campus based students will have to have some of this but they will also have the support of a peer group and the knowledge that their friends are sharing their experience. You on the other hand are going to go it very much alone by comparison.

8.) Self -discipline. Self-discipline is not will power, but it is a close cousin. The difference between will power and self discipline is that will power is what motivates you. Will power is the voice in your head that tells you go get up and keep going when you’ve been knocked down, the thing that keeps your feet moving underneath you when you don’t think you can run anymore. Self-discipline is the fore knowledge of what you need to do, making a plan and sticking to that plan no matter what. Self-discipline is the ability to delay pleasure in the knowledge that the sacrifice will pay in the long run. Will power is the drive where self-discipline is the map. One without the other is useless. You have to be self-disciplined. You will not have the peer support or pressure to show up to class every day like your campus-based peers will have. You will not be meeting friends in study groups at night motivating you to do so. Your success and reaching goals will depend 100% on your ability to envision what needs to happen and stick to the plan.

9.) Reading comprehension. You will have to read everything you learn likely. Where your peers can sit through lectures and hear the information, you will have to read it. Where your peers can reinforce the knowledge imparted to the class through discussions, you will have to read and write about what you are learning. It is likely that you will be required to have a higher level of reading comprehension than your campus based peers because it is the primary if not the only means of communication in online learning. You likely will not have auditory reinforcement of the information like sitting through a lecture. You will not likely have the visual of seeing the information being demonstrated on a chalkboard. With rare exception all the information relayed to you will be via text and graphics, nothing more. You will have to learn to comprehend what you read. This will include skillful note taking, learning your reading comprehension limits (we all have them) and develop a means of overcoming your shortcomings. For example, I find it hard to concentrate on a text for over 30 straight minutes without a break. Otherwise I am reading, but not comprehending the text. The more precise and dry the material, the shorter my attention span is. As such I take careful, easily referenced notes and take a break of 5 to 10 minutes at least once every half-hour without fail. That is what works for me, you will have to develop a plan that works for you.

10.) Communication through writing. This is a shortcoming for many, many people. I revise reports daily as part of my official duties in the workplace and I continually see people who struggle in the area of communicating effectively in written word. You would not be alone in this struggle. I too have spent and continue to spend minutes upon hours upon years developing my writing skills. It is an art form that few people if any, ever perfect, yet one that must be mastered to a high level of competence in online learning as this will be your primary if not only means of expressing your thoughts and engaging in the communication process. You may have a way with words and wit in person, but translating this onto the page is a struggle I believe most people, myself included engage in.

Well there you have it. I hope this post does not scare you off of attempting a degree online, but there are things you need to be aware of before committing your time and money to such a momentous undertaking as earning a degree online.

I welcome any comments, questions or suggestions you may have here or email if you prefer.

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10 Traps, Pitfalls and Shortcomings of Earning a Degree Online Part I (1-5)

Cajun — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 07:40:00 GMT

Okay I know it seems strange for a guy who is all about distance education to write about the negative aspects of learning online, but for the sake of fairness sometimes it is necessary to look at the bad side of learning as well as the good. After all it is important to make a well-informed decision when considering going back to college. If you choose to become an online student sooner or later you will note some of the pitfalls, traps and shortcomings of learning online. Personally it is my belief that you should go into the decision informed and with fore knowledge of struggles you may face.

So without further ado:

1.) A feeling of detachment and/or loneliness. Often times a distance education student will not feel part of the school by which they are earning their degree. I have experienced this myself at Southwestern College. The school is a private, campus-based college with colorful newsletters highlighting student life, showcasing beautiful pictures of the campus and there was even a forum by which students could post questions to the College’s administration. However online students really didn’t really have any representation in the literature or forums of the school other than what was provided on Blackboard. To make matters worse going online to the bookstore to order a tee-shirt or something would inevitably lead to a phone call the next day stating that they cannot process your order because the bookstore didn’t update their page with current stock. Instead you had to kind of blindly guess at what they did have and didn’t have at the moment making you feel just that much more out of touch. Often times as an online student you just feel alone and detached. Kind of like you are in an individual struggle and that you will make it or lose it by your will and determination alone. Though this isn’t true at all, it may be a feeling that you experience as I did when working for years on a degree online, where there is little to no tangible gain as you progress. Especially when the school is primarily geared towards campus based students and the online college is just an extension of a greater overall mission. Ironically however upon graduation, being able to walk around a campus and meeting dozens if not over a hundred of my fellow online graduates led me to feel an unbreakable attachment and source of pride in my school that I had not previously experienced. The very fact that there was this living, breathing organization that I was now a permanent part of, that I could see and touch just led me to a sense of belonging. Meeting people that had experienced what I had experienced only bolstered the feeling of belonging. Of course the faculty and staff made sure that we graduates experienced this even to the point of lining the halls and applauding us as we walked to our seats. The very thing that can cause you to feel isolated during the process can also lead you to feeling a part of an overall larger picture upon graduation, in my case it was the campus itself that I had never seen. I arrived a stranger and left as a part of a family.

2.) Distractions. It is so easy to be distracted when you are not expected to show up to class. All of a sudden hundreds of “more important” things will pop up that you have to take care of and before you know it, you are hopelessly behind. You absolutely must be self-disciplined and be pragmatic enough to say “no” when you have to. I know that at home we often have more distractions than anywhere else. We have kids, spouses, chores, internet, television, video games, our hobbies, books we enjoy, cooking, cleaning, shopping, etc. You have to cut things out of your life to go to school online, period. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Look at your life, is it full? Can you cut back on anything or cut anything out altogether? If you cannot, you will not be successful online.

3.) Fatigue. I have found that the only way to stave off fatigue as an online student is to stick to a rigid schedule. If you do not, you will get behind. If you get behind by the time you catch up you will be behind on the following week’s work and it will become a exhausting cycle of stress inducing, sleep depriving and relationship busting work. Once you become fatigued as a student online it can literally take months to recover if you do not get a break between classes. Avoiding fatigue is no joke when you make this type of commitment so beware this potentially fatal pitfall. Many students who hit the wall and take a “break” never come back.

4.) A feeling of being overwhelmed. Learning new things can be exhilarating yet stressful. Wonderful and altogether overwhelming. Most of the feeling of being overwhelmed is how you react emotionally to the stress of being forced to learn something new within a predetermined time frame. I have felt it, you likely will to. After a while though you just have to learn to control your emotions and not let them control you. A feeling of being overwhelmed can spoil the experience for you, sabotage your work, destroy your schedule and quickly lead to our #1 enemy, fatigue. Find ways to relax and calm down. Learn to embrace change. That sounds kind of corny but it is against our nature (for most of us anyway) to embrace change but it is absolutely vital for you to do just that.

5.) Venting. Being an online student does not mean that you are free of the stresses that classroom students experience. But it does mean that you are likely not going to have the same sort of outlet that your campus based peers will have like standing in the hallways after class complaining about the enormity of an assignment, or how your last grade was unfair, etc. Instead you will likely complain to your spouse, who will quickly tire of it. Then you may try your friends and coworkers who will likely tire of it just as quickly. It’s not that they don’t care, it’s just that most of them cannot relate or just do not share your feelings. Sooner or later you will have to find an alternate manner of venting and “letting go” of some of the pressure that can build up. I find that forums like eLearners provide or blogging helps a lot more than I could ever explain. Once you’ve experienced what I’m talking about, this will make more sense. By the way, do not fall for the temptation of complaining on the discussion boards on Blackboard in your classes. Trust me, it will not come off like you intended.

I welcome any comments, questions or suggestions you may have here or email if you prefer. Part II (numbers 6-10) will be posted tomorrow night.

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