“Pursuing an online degree” plus 2 more |
| Posted: 20 Sep 2010 11:52 AM PDT NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- When the economy turns south, folks head back to school to beef up their credentials and safeguard against layoffs. But whether you are looking to earn your MBA or simply take some online classes to bolster your resume, most students fall victim to the same mistakes. Don't let these common online pitfalls cost you time or money. Check accreditation Before you choose an online college, the first step to take is to check out the school's accreditation. "If you attend an online college or any college that's not accredited by a federally approved agency, you can't get federal financial aid like loans and grants," says Kim Clark, writer for U.S. News and World Report and creator of financialaidletter.com. "Other colleges won't consider that transfer credit, and of course, employers aren't really that interested in it." Trade and technical institutions should be nationally accredited, whereas most other schools will receive regional accreditation. In order to be considered legitimate, the school must be accredited by an agency that is recognized by The Department of Education or The Council for Higher Education Accreditation. Head to chea.org to search a database of over 18,700 accredited programs. And ask your employer or prospective employer about which online higher education programs have provided employees with the best results in the past. Budget your time Your may save time on your commute by choosing to study online versus at a bricks and mortar institution, but an online course will usually require just as much study and prep time as a class you would take in a lecture hall with a professor. "I think a lot of people sign up for online courses thinking, oh, it's online, it'll be easy," says Kim Clark. "The teachers I've talked to say, at the minimum, you have to budget 10 hours a week for class time and study. And the best courses, 15 or 20 hours. And don't think you can take a vacation in the middle. A lot of these classes require you to post something two or three times a day." Flexibility is one of the great advantages of an online education. However, it is important set aside ample time during the week for assignments. And remember, although you may never see your professor or another student in your class face to face, that doesn't give you permission to sit in the back of the class and snooze. Participation may factor into final grades, so be sure to speak up during online discussion forums and chats with professors. Tech savvy If you don't have the necessary tools to make your online classes simple -- from set-up to assignment completion -- stop where you are and do not enroll. Enrolling without the proper technology can be the biggest mistake of all. Make sure your web browser is up to date and you have purchased any software necessary for the class before the start of the semester. "If you're a technophobe or you have an unreliable connection, or you're relying on the libraries' computers, obviously it's going to be difficult for you to complete an online course," warns Clark. And check out professors before you enroll. You want to make sure the teacher is comfortable with the technology too. "Teaching an online course is just like anything else and people get better at it with practice," says Clark. "It's a new field, so a lot of professors are just entering into this and are not so good at it." Check out potential professors and read about their online teaching experience and ratemyprofessors.com and pickaprof.com. Talkback: What is your experience, good or bad, with taking an online course? First Published: September 20, 2010: 2:47 PM ET This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
| Posted: 20 Sep 2010 02:41 PM PDT BOONEVILLE Northeast to offer ACT workshop - Northeast Mississippi Community College's Division of Continuing Education will host an ACT preparation workshop in Hargett Hall on the Booneville campus on Oct. 12-13 and 19-20. Sessions will meet from 4 to 8 p.m. Cost is $40. The session will focus on English, math, reading, science reasoning and test-taking strategies. Classes will be limited to 14 students. Pre-registration is required, and applications should be turned in one week prior to the class. For more information, perspective participants should call (662) 720-7277 or (662) 720-7296 or email continuinged@nemcc.edu. NORTHEAST MISSISSIPPI Application deadline nears for ICC's Health IT program - The registration deadline for a Health IT Workforce Training program administered through Itawamba Community Colleges is Friday. Classes begin Sept. 30. Eligible students must have a certificate, diploma or degree in any medical area or IT background or a minimum of one year experience in a health or IT field, both verifiable. The education is designed to be completed online in six months or fewer. For additional information, access ICC's website, www.iccms.edu, or contact Mallory Pennington at (662) 620-5145 or Lori Little at (662) 620-5122. OKTIBBEHA COUNTY Author Mortenson to lecture at MSU on Thursday - Humanitarian and Nobel Prize-nominee Greg Mortenson, author of the best-selling "Three Cups of Tea," will lecture at Mississippi State on Thursday. The 7 p.m. event in Humphrey Coliseum is sponsored by the university's common freshman reading program, Maroon Edition, and by the Shackouls Honors College and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. The event is free but requires a ticket for admission. Tickets are available at Barnes and Noble, the Campus Activities Board office and the College of Arts and Sciences. For information, see www.maroonedition.msstate.edu. "Three Cups of Tea," was a New York Times No. 1 book. It is about Mortenson's near fatal attempt to climb one of Pakistan's highest mountains and his ensuing effort to build schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan. ITAWAMBA COUNTY ICC to present speakers bureau program - Brian Anderson will present "Understanding Osama bin Laden" as part of the Mississippi Humanities Council Speakers Bureau program on Tuesday at 6 p.m. in the Crubaugh Technical Education Building seminar room on the Itawamba Community College Fulton campus. Anderson is a professor of political science at Mississippi University for Women, where he has taught for more than 12 years, offering a broad range of courses from "Terrorism" to "Campaigns and Elections." His research includes a book chapter on post-cold War U.S. foreign policy and an award-winning article on Bill Clinton's town hall debate style in the 1992 and 1996 campaigns. For more information, contact Larry Armstrong at (662) 862-8160. UNITED STATES Essay contest focuses on American citizenship - U.S. high school students and their teachers are invited to compete for nearly $115,000 in prize money by participating in the Bill of Rights Institute's fifth-annual Being an American Essay Contest. The essay's topic is "What civic value do you believe is the most essential to being an American?" The top three student winners and their teachers from each of the nine geographic regions will be announced at a special Washington D.C. Awards Gala in the spring of 2011. They will be awarded cash prizes of $5,000 (first place), $1,000 (second place) and $500 (third place). The contest will also award $100 honorable mention prizes to seven students and their teachers from each region. More information is available at www.BeingAnAmerican.org. LAFAYETTE COUNTY First Read Aloud award given to Michigan author - The University of Mississippi School of Education awarded its first Center for Excellence in Literacy Instruction Read Aloud Book Award to "My Daddy Likes to Say," written by Denise Brennan-Nelson of Howell, Mich. Angela Rutherford, director of the center, said the award recognizes quality children's literature which was read aloud to students and evaluated by children in kindergarten to the sixth grade. Only one book will be selected each year. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
| Is China Education Alliance Too Good To Be True? Posted: 20 Sep 2010 04:41 AM PDT China Education Alliance (CEU) provides onsite training and online education to both children and adults in China. The company trades for $120 million, but earned $15 million in 2009, expects to increase revenues by 30% this year, and has a $75 million net cash position. Its P/E drops to 3 once you subtract out its cash position. This is a very cheap asking price for a growing company in a needed field in a high-growth economy, but it does have a few risks. For one thing, the company may appear too good to be true for some investors wary of fraud. The company is not audited by a big-name firm; however, the auditors of this company do have several other clients, and do pick up their phones in both their New York and Florida offices, confirming their existence. However, they have been accused of being a little bit on the negligent side in the past. China Education Alliance management did state on their last conference call that it is considering switching to a more recognizable auditor now that it has grown considerably. Another item that may scare investors is the dilution of the company's stock. The company has gone from 25 million to 31 million shares in the last year, due to conversion of preferred shares into common, and the exercise of warrants and options. The share count should be more stable going forward, as no more pref shares exist, there are no more warrants outstanding, and options are being issued at a more reasonable clip (and only 400,000 remain outstanding). The company does trade at a premium to book value, so the investor does have to believe this company has some sort of advantage that can keep competition at bay. But there are other, well-capitalized companies that appear to compete with CEU. Despite the fact that management believes its shares to be undervalued, it appears intent on using its large cash balance to continue to grow, which could be very good (if returns on that capital continue as they are currently) or very bad (if competition forces returns to more normal levels) for investors. The upside for this company appears quite high. Investors will have to determine whether the downside risks are worth accepting in return. Disclosure: None Saj Karsan Saj Karsan founded an investment and research firm that is based on the principles of value investing. He has an MBA from the Richard Ivey School of Business, and an undergraduate engineering degree from McGill University. . This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
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