Search Results matching tag 'online college'

The unadvertised skills online students have that increase their corporate worth

Cajun — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 20:15:00 GMT

It’s almost 3PM and I’ve spent almost all day either on the phone, answering email, filling out online forms or instant messaging coworkers, contacts, supervisors, project managers, etc. I have spent my entire day coordinating over a dozen different teams to work towards one objective on a million dollar project that will be executed for only 2 ½ days. In other words, months and months of planning and preparation is going into holding a workshop that costs hundreds of thousands in productivity, opportunity cost, etc. in addition to travel expenses, hotel, etc. We’re talking over 200 people on multiple project teams, often with overlapping personnel, working towards a series of deliverables to be realized in very little time. Sound like a logistical nightmare? So what does this have to do with online learning whatsoever? A lot actually.

All throughout my BS and MBA programs I had to develop and refine multiple skills that I use almost daily in the workplace but that had absolutely nothing to do with the actual degree plan itself. These skills have value in the workplace and may even be listed on your resume to effect if worded correctly (don’t forget to be honest though).

For example I’ve had to learn how to work remotely, unsupervised for long periods of time and meet deadlines, details as to “how” to get the work done or “when” were never provided, only when it was due and what it should look like. I had to learn how to communicate effectively in writing, email, papers, etc. I had to get used to the idea of working with people I’ve never met or seen. I had to learn how to read and think critically and provide feedback, again to people I’ve never met or seen. I’ve had to work in groups and teams, develop relationships and gain the trust of people I’ve never met or seen. I’ve had to develop schedules, agendas, document progress, stay on course and meet milestones and objectives and even work with my own personal budget towards those objectives so that I have enough money for things like books.

So in short here is a list of the skills you will or have learned, use and maybe mastered. If nothing else you can certainly list them on your resume:

Ability to:

1.) Schedule

2.) Budget

3.) Coordinate

4.) Meet Deadlines

5.) Communicate effectively in writing

6.) Think and read critically

7.) Communicate effectively verbally

8.) Develop and maintain excellent collaborative, working relationships

9.) Prioritize

10.) Plan

11.) Develop and meet milestones

12.) Follow detailed, sometimes complex sets of instructions

13.) Be detail oriented

14.) Be analytical

15.) Keep a big picture focus

16.) Track progress and document success

17.) Understand scope and limitations

18.) Stay within scope

19.) Receive and provide constructive feedback

20.) Learn new concepts quickly and independently

21.) Work with little to no direct supervision

22.) Multitask

23.) Remain organized

24.) Work well under stressful conditions

25.) Work with technology in communication and collaboration with others

And that’s just off the top of my head. What other unadvertised skills do you think you’ve developed as an online student? You may be surprised if you list them all. You may have more corporate worth than you even imagined…

Thinking of Dropping Out? You’re not alone…

Cajun — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 11:59:00 GMT

Far be it from me to ever encourage anyone to forgo getting an education, as it is probably one of the most worthwhile things a human being could ever do. That being said there are times in life when “dropping out” or dropping a course or quitting a particular program is the right call. For example in my own academic career I can think of at least 3 times where I did that exact thing and each time it was the right decision.

The first time I ever dropped out of a program was actually at Kaplan University’s College for Professional Studies. During my degree program Kaplan University rolled their College for Professional Studies into their overall Kaplan University flagship school. This did several things, first the students who had gone beyond a certain point were offered to finish their current degree program at the agreed upon tuition rate as it was when they enrolled but they would lose the student support services that up to that time they had enjoyed. Essentially they would be on their own. Also they had strict deadlines for academic progress to be met or they would be automatically dropped. Otherwise the students could matriculate over to Kaplan University and pay almost 4 times their current tuition rate and finish there. Essentially the catalyst for my dropping out was Kaplan changed the terms of the deal. At times there a student may find themselves in a degree program where the school changes the terms of the deal, whether that be a significant increase in tuition cost, adding multiple courses to the degree program or in some cases eliminating the degree program altogether in favor of something more trendy. Anytime this happens the student should weigh their priorities and look at their options and choose what is best for them. I know that changing from the known to the unknown can be nerve wracking but look at it this way, either way you will have to change, but when the school does it you have to do it on their terms, when you do it you can do it on yours.

The second time this happened to me was after I enrolled and completed my first course at St. Joseph’s College of Maine in their Leadership MBA program. I had been planning to enter this degree program for years, I fantasized about it, I longed to be in that program. I was so sold on the idea of their MBA program and on St. Joseph’s College of Maine in general. However after completing the course the school presented me with one of two unacceptable alternatives. Either I could forgo tuition reimbursement from my employer or I could forgo financial aid. They would not allow me to use both as this was their school policy. I appealed, I begged, I pleaded and cried but nobody was willing to challenge their policy for little old me. It absolutely broke my heart to do so but I dropped out of the program. I knew that taking on unnecessary loans, adding to my already seemingly huge pile of debt was irresponsible and unfair to my family. The costs were not terribly prohibitive compared to some schools but the return on investment would be hurt and financially I could not justify it. In this example the school placed themselves out of reach for me. If a student should find themselves where a school places themselves out of reach, whether that be you are denied admission into a degree program, whether the school is prohibitively expensive or whether they simply require more prerequisite courses than you are prepared to complete, this is a viable excuse for dropping out of a degree program and looking elsewhere. There’s no shame in it, life just works out that way sometimes.

The third time this happened was at Western New Mexico University. I was enrolled in their Masters of Liberal Studies program with an emphasis in Criminal Justice and Management Information Systems. The cost was cheap, the courses looked interesting and the school pretty much on the surface met all of my criteria perfectly. I was excited to start and eager to get to work. However about 4 weeks into my first two courses it became readily apparent to me that the school had serious technical, pedagogical and administrative issues. They were ill organized, the classes were poorly conceived, poorly executed and overly burdensome for seemingly little payoff. In short the school did not meet my expectations. Sometimes this happens and it’s a tough choice as whether to stick it out or make a change. Personally, I feel if a school does not meet the student’s expectations early on they should move on and look elsewhere. Of course I’m as patient as the next guy but when it comes to investing money and time into an undertaking I want to ensure I am investing in something worthwhile.

So to recap if you are thinking of dropping out of a program you’re not alone. I consider myself reasonably successful academically and I’ve dropped out of no less than three programs. It’s all about your priorities, needs and options and whether a program is right for you. Being stubborn when things aren’t working out just isn’t worth it, so if you are struggling and unhappy in your program, if the terms of the deal have changed unreasonably or if you are longing to enter a program that is simply out of reach, it may be time to drop out and move on to something better or at least more suited towards your needs.

Don’t get an MBA (or any degree) if you don’t like the process

Cajun — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 02:57:00 GMT

Greetings from Kansas City. Tonight I am sitting in a hotel room in Kansas City trying to knock out some work before another meeting tomorrow. Ever wonder what life looks like after an MBA? Well I seem to be living it. Ironically enough all the same things that I had to do as an MBA student I am now doing as an MBA graduate. Working late into the night? Check. Studying up on new sometimes complex material and giving an opinion or at least formulating some sort of research and/or documentation? Check. Reading, studying and basically constantly being bombarded with new information? Check. Good times and bad times? Check.

Here’s what I’m learning, if you don’t like what you’re studying or the process of earning your degree, you may not exactly like your future career. For example there are aspects of the MBA program that I frankly hated and some things that I loved. I don’t think that as far as being just enjoyable or interesting that it was as good as studying criminal justice, but then that’s just how I’m wired. On the flip side the personal life demands that working in criminal justice placed upon me were simply ridiculous but I’m finding that the further up the ladder one climbs in business, the more business can resemble those same types of demands if one is not careful.

I’m starting to discover that the time management skills that I spent so much time developing and honing to perfection as a graduate student are now becoming increasingly necessary as a professional. As most of you know I’m not too keen on traveling with a pregnant wife at home and fortunately I don’t have to travel too often but I am starting to take more and more work home with me, which isn’t too exciting. I’m hoping that my newfound commute aboard a train can be capitalized upon allowing me to knock out a couple of hours at work while going to work. So how is all of this going to affect my Bellevue University degree program? Well, quite frankly I think Bellevue is going to help me keep things in focus if nothing else. See much like any of you, I have my limits. If I start missing deadlines, dropping in grades or simply become overwhelmed then I know that there are places that I have to cut back or improve my time management skills. Earning a degree at Bellevue basically forces me to step away from work long enough to start managing my time, budgeting study time based upon deadlines and inevitably I have to start charting out my work too. I work off of “to do” lists. Tonight I will sit down and write down “tomorrow I need to have ‘X’” completed by the end of the day and then work from that point backwards. I’m starting to find this is working for me pretty well thus far.

Anyhow, back to work…

Going Green

Cajun — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 22:50:00 GMT

Today I decided to try something new, taking the train and bus to work. I’ve never really done it before but thought “hey, if I can work on the train at least that’s a productive use of my transit time as opposed to simply sitting in traffic focusing on driving all the way home". They’re kind of pushing the whole “going green” thing at work so I thought “why not” and decided to try it. Now here I am on my way home and writing this brilliant blog post in the process. Okay maybe not so brilliant but give me some credit, you’re reading it right?

So with all the hype about going green happening everywhere how come we never see this argument applied to earning a degree online? After all, online students don’t need to sit inside of classrooms made of stone, wood, copper, etc. nor do they need to suck up air conditioning, use the toilets, or have any other carbon foot print creating creature comforts. In fact all they really need is a network connection and a server from which to interact with their fellow students and instructors. In fact if you just wanted to get totally nuts, you could even say that online students do not need paper textbooks either. With the recent onslaught of Kindles and netbooks, and Google’s promise to publish online every text ever written in the history of mankind, books may become obsolete sooner rather than later, at least from a student’s point of view. Why pay $90 for a paper and cardboard textbook when the virtual version is only $35? Not only is this earth friendly but it’s also a better use of your personal financial means, thus increasing your benefit to investment spent on education.

So next time you hear someone talking up the virtues of going green, tell them you have a radical idea about how going green in education is already an entire possibility. Not only will you be right, you’ll be politically correct too and how often does that happen these days?

Does your GPA matter to employers?

Cajun — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 18:30:00 GMT

So I’ve been asked if your GPA matters to employers or not. Well, this is kind of a “yes” and “no” type of question. Yes in that an employer will often ask if you received any honors in school, etc. or at least make note of any that may be listed on a resume. In some government jobs your GPA will be requested on an application or even may be requested in some form of transcript type request, especially if performing jobs requiring a high amount of public trust (law enforcement) or requiring some form of security clearance. On occasion government contractors may request transcripts which will reflect your GPA however this is as much to verify the authenticity of your degree as anything else.

Now for a reality check. In reality your GPA matters not a bit in most cases. Though at times you may be asked to list it, I cannot recall a single conversation where someone’s GPA has come up in the hundreds of job interviews and follow up meetings afterwards. Only a couple of times have any honors come up and usually it is only regarding those graduating with honors, not to talk about someone’s meager 2.0GPA. In most cases, by the time a transcript has been requested from a school it is because that person already got the job (from an interview and qualifications standpoint) and they were simply going through the background check as per standard operating procedure at most if not all law enforcement agencies.

In the case of working in IT the short time that I have, it is the major and the level of education that carries weight, not your honors or GPA. On top of all of that though are specific skills and certifications (PMP anyone?). So yes, your GPA could matter but no, it’s not a big deal in the real world in most cases.

What completing that 1st course means to me

Cajun — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 18:52:00 GMT

This is week 10 of my Business Telecommunications course at Bellevue University. This marks the final week and I’m through, officially 1/12 (8.3%) complete towards my MS degree. I know it doesn’t sound like much but finishing the 1^st course is a huge milestone in earning a degree. In fact it is the single biggest milestone until you finish the last course in my opinion because it demonstrates several things.

1.) That you can succeed in this school and in this program.

2.) That you have what it takes to graduate so now it’s just a matter of desire, at this level rigor will largely be much the same from one class to the next only some minor curriculum details and/or subject matter change significantly. Format and everything else will remain the same.

3.) The first course is a confidence builder.

4.) Finishing the first course teaches you how the “system” works at this given school, which is a tough learning curve in of itself.

5.) To successfully complete one course you’ve had to make lifestyle changes which are the single toughest obstacle for most people, but once you’ve done it you quickly forget you lived any other way.

6.) No other milestone says “I’m serious about this” like completing your first course.

7.) Completion of your first course means you’ve settled on a school or university, picked a major, picked a minor (or concentration) arraigned for financial aid or funding and done all the preliminary work and made all the preliminary decisions to get to this point, which is no small feat in of itself.

8.) Completing the first course will hopefully have demonstrated some areas you are strong in and some areas where you need improvement, such as scheduling, working under pressure, reading comprehension, writing skills, etc. Therefore you’ve already learned as much or more about yourself than anything else.

So I’m almost done, this is the last week. I’m so excited and I’ll post an after action report after the final grades are received.

A Matter of Timing and Planning for Disaster

Cajun — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 23:09:00 GMT

Today I did my discussion question, replied to three discussion posts and finished my written assignment. Now all that’s left to do is sometime tomorrow I have to work some more on my group project (though I will not write the entire work myself this time). So all in all I got an insurmountable amount of work done very quickly. How did I do that? One word, planning. See I told you all about how I haven’t had internet and how my personal computer was deciding to give up the ghost on me, well I didn’t sit around just twiddling my thumbs, I went ahead and read what the assignments were going to be this week and spent almost all of my efforts reading up on those areas. That way when I had time for lunch today I knocked out everything in about an hour since I already fully understood the topics, all I had to do was find references I could tag on to a paper I had already written based upon what I read. In other words, support my argument.

Oh and before I forget, AT&T did finally show up today and fix the internet connection to my house and for some reason my personal laptop has decided it’s not quite so ready for retirement after all. What a weird week this has been so far.

So here’s the future plan should this stuff ever happen again.

1.) At some point in the near future I will be buying another, reliable laptop. I’ve got too much on the line right now to not have this. For now I use my work computer as a plan “B” but at any time I suppose company policies can change. All it will take is one stupid act by someone to shift the entire corporate policy.

2.) I am currently becoming familiar with WIFI hotspots in my area. So far there’s Starbucks which isn’t terribly user friendly since I have to have an account, then there’s McDonalds which from what I understand is you just walk in and bam, you’re off to the races. I’m wondering if there are others, I think there’s a Duncan Donuts and a few other places like that within 2 miles of my house.

3.) Lastly I’m going to start printing all of my assignments in detail and pin them up at my house and at work to cross off as I complete them. That way even though I don’t have connectivity I can still knock it out and simply save it to a jump drive for when I do have connectivity.

So what’s your plan?

Yet another way school prepares you for the workplace...

Cajun — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 02:18:00 GMT

Things at work are starting to get nuts. I’ve been assigned two big conferences to host, one in September and one in October, the October one due to end just 1 day before my wife is due with our first baby. That plus school work and don’t forget, when not hosting conferences I have my regular duties and I’m on a project team. It’s almost like my life has been hit with a fast forward control where 5 hours of sleep is all I get and this it’s work from 6 or 7AM to whenever I get done, like tonight and it’s 9:14PM. Yikes! And I still have a paper to write before Sunday night. Good thing I don’t waste my lunch hours doing silly little things like eating. Oh no, instead I hit the gym and read my books on cardio days and catch up on anything I’ve missed. On weight lifting days, well…I’ll just have to catch up elsewhere. I’m likely going to get stuck working late tomorrow night too, yep, for those of you keeping score that’s Friday night.

See? School really does prepare you for a demanding and rewarding career (my job really is rewarding, no sarcasm here). Occasional late nights, long days, lost weekends and missing out on doing the fun stuff every once in a while are the types of sacrifices most success stories are built upon. It’s really no different working this late at night on homework or professional work, work is work and you have to be dedicated in either instance to do it well. The only difference is your professor expects nothing less yet somehow my boss is seemingly impressed. Go figure…

Either way goodnight from what has been a long, long day and promises to be another long, long day tomorrow.

Develop a Plan: Also, Tip of the Day on Twitter

Cajun — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 12:35:00 GMT

I don’t know why it hasn’t occurred to me to blog over this before, but I run into people almost daily at work, or church, or hear from them in email or occasionally discussion forums where they are going to school with really no direction, or majoring in something they are thinking about changing or know they need to go to school but have not selected one yet and they’re not sure really where to start, etc. They all have something in common, they don’t have a plan developed for their life over the next 5 to 10 years and because of that, even though they know they need a degree, they’re not sure why, for what purpose or how the degree will help them in the future. So you want to earn a degree? Start with a vision of where you want to be in 5 years. Don’t do this in 5 minutes but really take some time and think about it. Think about your personality, what you like to do, your strengths, your family situation, your lifestyle, etc. Think about all the things you want to keep the same and then think about all the things you wish you could change. What would your life look like then? Will a degree help you get there? Would your vision include a career change? A promotion?

Next, think about all the things you need to do to get to that vision. It’s okay if you don’t know all the steps, but a general direction should do. Now think about the tools, experiences and credentials that will help you climb those newly defined steps towards your vision. You’ll notice that you’re starting to get a clearer picture of the type of degree you need and how it fits into your overall plan and how your plan leads to your vision. After a while things will just seem logical and you’ll be making progress, but it starts with that all important vision, which leads to a plan, which leads to choices, in that order. So before you end up floundering at a community college for 6 years with nothing to show for your efforts, before you end up spending $50,000 on a BS in Liberal Studies because you couldn’t find a major you were comfortable with, stop and just spend some time dreaming and thinking about where you could be a short few years from where you are now.

*Also on a side note, watch for my Tip of the Day on Twitter. These will be short one off suggestions on study tips, effective shortcuts, advice, etc. Think of them as your “fortune cookie” for the distance learner.

Look Out! Cajun’s going to Twitter!

Cajun — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 21:21:00 GMT

Hey guys and gals. I’ve had a reader suggest that I start to Twitter in addition to this blog. Hey, I’m here to please. I’ve registered my account and you can follow me in my daily activities as they relate to online education here http://twitter.com/elearnercajun. Now of course this doesn’t replace the blog, obviously I can only shout out random stuff, but I thought this might be a good idea to see what goes into the daily routine of this particular online student. For example today during lunch I worked out and studied while on the stairmaster for 40 minutes. This morning I spent about 20 minutes reading my textbook while I ate breakfast. Things like that and maybe you can pick up a bit on my habits and see them in action (when I remember to post). If I start getting a lot of followers I’ll keep it up, if not, well…I won’t waste anymore of my time or anyone else’s for that matter.

So if you read this blog I highly encourage you to sign up. Who knows, I might start a Cajun’s fortune cookie of the day type suggestion shout out on study tips, gripes, suggestions or random brilliance that you’ve come to know and love me for. For example, follow my progress while I plan the imminent demise of my non-participating graduate project group members. Share in the sweet, sweet victory of my “A+” and watch in transfixed horror at their own staggeringly appropriate “F”s.

Either way it’s a good time to be had by all.