My Ashford University Experience : online university

That old feeling of being overwhelmed

Cajun — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 02:26:00 GMT

Today was kind of rough for me. I worked from home which was great but I just realized something about 5 minutes ago. I’ve been sitting in the same chair in the same place since 7AM with the exception of a 30 minute break for lunch, an hour break...(read more)

Yet another Reason to Love Distance Education

Cajun — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 20:42:00 GMT

Oklahoma and parts of Texas are either in or soon will be in a big 24 hour ice storm. In fact it’s predicted to be so bad this evening that my job cut everyone loose at 2:00PM. Another great thing is that today I am working remotely, as in not in...(read more)

Routines and Rhythms: The keys to your success

Cajun — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 01:50:00 GMT

I’ve said it before I’ll say it again, two things you need to be successful as an online student, especially one who is also professionally employed, is good scheduling and time management skills. The thing that I use to meet the rigors of...(read more)

Long Days, Longer Nights

Cajun — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 01:07:00 GMT

“I guess it’s easier to get an online degree” she said to me shortly after congratulating me on finishing the requirements for my MBA.

“Whaaaaattttt?!?!?” was the reply that screamed in my mind. I suddenly had fuzzy vision as my blood pressure shot up with a white hot rage. Suddenly I hated her with the passion that only an office worker who has suddenly found his sandwich that he dreamed about all day is missing from the community refrigerator at work could possibly understand. But I calmly replied “not really” while my left eye twitched uncontrollably. How utterly dismissive was that right?

So for those looking into the “easy” online path, here is a little bit of what you can expect.

Expect:

1.) Reading assignments on the scale of between a mere 20 pages upwards to 180 pages within about a week’s time. Sorry, not too many pictures and this is single spaced in dry academic books.

2.) Writing assignments as small as 3 pages to as big as 30, depending upon the week and all. Good news though, at least you can double space these but yeah, you’ll still have to finish it within the same week as the reading assignment.

3.) To have to actually understand not only what you are reading but why exactly it was written and how it fits into the course objectives. This can slow reading considerably.

4.) Cold coffee.

5.) Tired eyes.

6.) Stress and frustration that only a sheep herder allergic to wool could relate to.

7.) An irritated spouse who is frustrated at having to spend so much time alone because you have to figure out how to perform the dreaded regression analysis over a seemingly inadequately supplied amount of information.

8.) To form a seemingly unhealthy bond with your laptop or PC.

9.) To gain weight, lose weight or both though not likely at the same time. Possibly neither but given the amount of time you spend at work then at school workouts are definitely going to become a luxury if you are married and/or have kids.

10.) To learn how to have a meal while driving, reading or even typing.

11.) To learn the joys of having slick textbook pages stuck to your face when you wakeup suddenly realizing you wasted precious time on something as trivial as sleep.

12.) To suddenly realize that while you were studying or typing away the sun came up and you haven’t been to bed yet. Oh yeah and you have to be at work in 2 hours.

13.) Long days at work and longer nights at home.

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10 Questions, Apprehensions, Worries and Wonders of Becoming a New Student

Cajun — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 04:51:00 GMT

Adult learners will often go through some realizations and some fears when enrolling in a new degree program. At least I did and most of the people I know have. So if you enroll in a new school or undergo a new degree program here are some common feelings and thoughts.

1.) “Did I make the right choice?” Believe it or not this thought pounded through my head a hundred times over when I was at Southwestern College during my first class or two. The same thing happened when I enrolled at Ashford. Second thoughts is your subconscious mind telling you that you have just made a big, major decision. This is a totally natural question and feeling so if you get this don’t worry about it. It is very likely you are experiencing a natural apprehension.

2.) “What if…” fill in the blank. You spent so much time looking for this degree program, researching and playing scenarios over and over in your head that you are likely to still be in the habit of running “what if” scenarios even after you commit to a school. You may find yourself reconsidering and thinking of enrolling in school B vs. school A. Again, this is natural as you have made researching the best degree and school for you something of a past time. Hobbies can be hard to let go of and obsessions even harder still.

3.) Euphoria that exudes from you like a nervous energy. There is the high of enrolling and making a decision.

4.) There is also the low, the somewhat cold depression that a decision has been reached and you are passing into a new phase in life.

5.) There is the excitement at being a student again.

6.) There is the worry that you may not make it.

7.) There is the wonder at some of your peer’s work, much of which may not seem up to par by your standards for your given level of education. (Fret not however as I guarantee you that people fail when not meeting standards at most if not all colleges).

8.) There is the discovering of your new role as student, something modifying your identity.

9.) There is the resentment at being accountable to yet something else and often you may find yourself resenting anyone who dares shoulder you with even more responsibilities.

10.) Lastly there is the pain of learning new things, new systems and new changes. Like all growth, some discomfort is natural.

I hope that helps

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