Tepper Launches an Online MBA for 2013 - Carnegie Mellon University’s Tepper School of Business is
becoming the latest business school to jump into the online education business as it enrolls the first class for a FlexMBA program that will begin in August.

Tepper’s three-year program, which will be conducted partially online and partially in person, offers the same faculty and curriculum—and the same admission and graduation requirements—as its highly regarded full-time and part-time MBA programs. It follows similar programs at Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business and the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. (see HERE)

Students who enroll in the FlexMBA program will be able to enter either the traditional part-time or full-time MBA programs at Tepper after the first year if they choose, says Robert Monroe, director of the FlexMBA.

The first set of acceptance letters for the initial round of applications recently went out to applicants. Monroe expects to have from 30 to 60 students in the first class. Although the school will cap the program’s attendees at 60, it will accept fewer students if applicants do not show they are qualified.

Those who enroll in the FlexMBA will spend five weekends with their classmates on the Tepper campus in Pittsburgh, as well as in New York and Silicon Valley. In-person meetings will include classes, workshops, leadership coaching, and career development. In between, students will spend six weeks participating in online education, which will include live classes, video, readings, and exercises.

Professors will determine the best use of technology based on the nature of the courses they are teaching. For example, students in the negotiations class might negotiate with one another via e-mail or Skype, says Monroe.

“We’ve come up with all sorts of neat ideas to meet the same objective but take advantage of the new technology,” he says. Professors are hoping to use the knowledge gained from operating the new online program to improve the other MBA programs at Tepper, he says. (see HERE)

Students who enter the program in 2013 will pay $118,080 for all three years, which is the same price as Tepper’s part-time MBA program but nearly $25,000 more than the UNC online program, MBA@UNC. They will also pay their own transportation expenses for each of the five on-campus weekends, though the school will provide hotels, meals, and shuttles during their stay.

While prospective students remain concerned about how employers and others might view their participation in an online program—many of which are considered sub par when compared to brick-and-mortar courses, Tepper promises to deliver the same rigorous education.

Ultimately, Tepper wants to embrace technology and reach more students with this degree, says Monroe. “We really see this as part of the future of MBA degrees,” he says. “Clearly, we want to be part of the trend.”

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Telling Online Learning Benefits the Environment 2013 - Online students have the flexibility to log in

and complete their coursework at any time from virtually any place. They customize their schedules and pace themselves to accommodate work, family, lifestyle and other considerations. 

What's more, students save time and energy by taking courses online. Typically, they also realize cost savings associated with commuting, such as bus fare or gasoline, parking, and vehicle wear and tear as well as time away from work, child care and various other expenses. (see HERE)

As Earth Day approaches on April 22, here's something

else they can feel good about: Online learning benefits the environment. Consider the energy consumption associated with on-campus classes, meetings and study groups. Environmental impacts range from electricity to lighting, heating and cooling campus facilities to the use of consumables, such as traditional textbooks and other paper products.

A study by the United Kingdom's Design Innovation Group found that producing and providing online educational courses consumes up to 90 percent less energy and produces 85 percent less in the way of CO2 emissions per student than comparable on-campus courses. Of 79,000 plus students who attend Ashford University, approximately 99 percent are enrolled in online classes. The world is their classroom and they're making the world a greener place.

Moreover, Ashford University's academic offerings, specifically in environmental studies, prepare students for increasingly popular green-collar careers in private, non-profit and government sectors. (see HERE)

"Online higher education is innovative and forward-thinking," Dr. Adam Selhorst , who chairs the environmental studies department at Ashford University, said. "It conserves resources and reduces education's carbon footprint on our environment."

Source : www.prnewswire.com

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Quality Of The Best Online Education Institutions 2013 - Thanks to the development in Internet technology and increasing use of Internet by the users worldwide that has led to explosion of online colleges/online universities that award online degrees in different streams such as associate's, bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees. The goal of providing education by one of the accredited online schools or online colleges/universities is to ensure that programs provided by these institutions of higher education to all potential students are quality and meet the exact demand of student's character's and personality development. However, considering the abundance of online schools/colleges, students should avoid the fake ones and make sure that the online education institutes are accredited and recognized by a state government.

The importance of getting online master degree or online bachelors' degree from an accredited online school is that students of different kinds can get the utmost benefits out of it. It ensures accredited higher learning for students, who are physically challenged, soldiers and those students living abroad and busy working class people just to mention a few. There is basically a slight difference between physically attending a lecture class by sitting an auditorium and watching a webcast video of your professor online. The first option requires you to be physically present there while the second option lets you enjoy the lecture of your professor from the comfort zone of your home.

More so, there is a difference between accreditation of the quality of the online degrees and on-campus degrees. Most of the top-notch online colleges or schools are regionally accredited. However, a variation in public perception about these accredited online colleges is a common occurrence.

Considering the importance of getting online masters degree from an accredited university seems much more cost-effective way of realizing your dream of higher education. Since, offline education institutes are not suitable for physically disabled or busy working class people or those staying in foreign land, the online college or university is really a one-stop destination for them to achieve higher accredited education. There are considerably a large number of online universities or colleges in the world offering their quality education to all those students/business executives/employees who seek a comfortable way of getting higher education without any hassle of attending class. From getting quality online degrees to enjoying comforts at home, online colleges or schools or universities are ideal choice in this regard.

While you are thinking about pursuing higher education through online colleges, you should consider some vital points beforehand in this regard. Considering abundance of online colleges/universities, it is important to make sure whether the college you chose to study is accredited. This will ensure that the online degree you have earned is a genuine academic record of your study in the college. More so, you should get all essential information about the online college from students or online reviews to finally deduce the reputation of the college. The Internet is fraught with such resources that will guide you which online degree or school will be an ideal choice for your academic purpose.

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Will Online Education Make Us Smarter? - Predictions are 1/2 of higher Ed will be online in the next 10 years. K-12 will follow by 2019.  How do we assess quality with all of the online education providers that are out there? Small start ups and giant MOOCS. Think a lot about how to get personalized support to individuals. Think about scaling content while not losing the focus on the individual.

Adult learning space, higher Ed, and K-12 all have different needs so they create different markets. All of the panelists are from companies that connect teachers directly to students. InstaEdu - even split between high school and college with about 10% adult learners. Students come at first for immediate need and then wind up staying because they build a relationship with the tutor. Teachers are students at high end universities.

Course Hero - 80% higher Ed students. Building learning content that students can access on their own. Building quality content from students and teachers takers time. Requires feedback from students.

Udemy - 80% male because focuses on tech space. Adult learners adding to skill sets or learning about hobbies. Students like the on demand aspects of the learning. Teachers are industry experts, half of whom have some sort of previous education experience. Motivated by reach they have and ability to share their passion. A few instructors have earned $100,000.

Important to get feedback from students through surveys to assess quality of teaching and content. Make sure reviews are available to future students. Can base revenue sharing on popularity/effectiveness of teacher.

Also important to support course developers/teachers with instructional design training since many may not come from education backgrounds.

Certification: In some cases, must have gone to a particular school (top colleges) and have prior experience in tutoring. See very few problems after getting through the initial screening process for tutors.

How do you know it is working? Re-engagement is huge. If students are willing to pay more for more tutoring, that's a good sign. Comments and reviews from students are also important. Survey students to see if they feel they have improved in their understanding or have gotten other benefits such as job advancement or career change.

What is the motivation for online learners? Often it's increasing a grade or obtaining a certification.

What is on the horizon for building the online learning space? We are still in the early days - 1st or 2nd inning. To get more mainstream: build quality content in multiple languages, bring down costs, provide more certificates/certifications. Mobile devices will help integrate online learning into people's busy lives. Need to watch for over-regulation and under-regulation.

Q From audience: How do you scale giving rich feedback to thousands of students with budget constraints for hiring staff?

A: Peer to peer tutors or peer grading can help. One to one teaching will never be free. It is a tough problem.

Q: Any unexpected gains from online tutoring?

A: Learning is on demand any time you need it. Can take courses in subjects not available locally. Badges make it fun for students to learn beyond basic requirements.

Q: How can online learning help students that traditional schooling fails?

A: More diverse set of teachers to choose from so more chance of connecting. Online learning in conjunction with in person can help support students. Finding niche content that engages students in ways that in-person only schools with more limited offerings can't. Offer practical, job-focused and passion focused content to students.

Q: Are any courses accepted by colleges?

A: Udemy has a few professors who use their online courses as part of blended learning. Not transferable to just any institution though. People are willing to pay for high quality content even without a degree plan.

Q: What about copyright?

A: Instructor is responsible for content copyright. If company receives a DMCA notice they remove the content. Course Hero runs a filter to detect content that might be a copyright violation and works with instructor to verify.

Q: How do you avoid mistakes in growing your company?

A: There will be mistakes. And it takes time to build success. You can't do everything overnight but you can do a lot over a longer period of time.

Q: How do you deal with communication problems from students?

A: Try having visual elements with text. And don't forget in person tutoring might be the best if there are communication/language barriers.

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Best Distance Learning Mathematics Degree 2013 - The following universities are offering distance learning programs in the field of Mathematics/Statistics:

The Open University (UK)

• It offers a number of Maths degrees including the BA/BSc (Honours) Mathematics; BA/BSc (Honours) Mathematics and Statistics; BA/BSc (Honours) Computing and Mathematical Sciences; BA/BSc (Honours) Economics and Mathematical Sciences; etc.
• It also offers the MSc in Mathematics for mathematicians, scientists and engineers. Options include calculus of variations, functional analysis, number theory, fractal geometry, and coding and approximation theory.
• The University achieved the second largest climb in UK research rankings in the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise.

Sheffield Hallam University

• It offers the MSc/PgDip/PgCert in Applied Statistics for statisticians or those employed in related areas such as planning, operational research, business intelligence, marketing.
• The course is delivered by distance learning, with tutorial support.
• It is one of the UK's most progressive universities, ranked top among all new universities in the RAE 2001.

University of London

• The BSc in Mathematics and Economics degree programme has been developed by academics at The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).
• The programme is designed for those who want to pursue a career in economics and need a firm foundation in mathematics.

University of Southern Queensland (Australia)

• It offers the Graduate Diploma of Mathematics by distance education.
• This program gives graduates from a non-mathematical area the opportunity to gain knowledge and skills in areas of mathematics. Applicants whose degree or equivalent qualifications includes a major in mathematics or statistics will not normally be eligible for admission.

Texas A&M University (USA)

• It offers the Masters of Mathematics with a Teaching or Computational Math Option.
• The degree program is fully online. All courses will be taught over the Internet. M.S. students will be quired to complete a final examination after completing all program requirements.
• The University is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

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Some of The Most Common Myths of Education - Despite profound popularity, the concept of online education has not been able to gain complete acceptance. This is because of the myths regarding the concept education. 

Some of the most common myths of education are:

• courses are identical: It is generally assumed that the content and the results of all online courses is the same but this is not true. While some courses deliver only the crest of a particular concept, others provide an in-depth knowledge about the course. Some recognized courses offer a lot of dynamism and versatility.
• It doesn't require faculty: It is sometimes believed that online education will reduce the need for faculty and qualified instructors. But, this is not the truth. It has been observed that the greatest reason for a student's success is a motivating instructor. In an online class, the size of the class might be small or large, but there always faculty members to support all the students. Qualified faculty is also required for writing and creating new courses.
• Online courses are less worthy: Many a times it is believed that courses don't hold the same worth in the eyes of the employers as a regular course. But this is not so. The correct blend of online and offline education and appropriate professional experience can do wonders to your career.
• You have to be tech savvy: Many people think that an e-learning class requires one to be highly tech-savvy and requires you to possess high level of technical know-how. But in reality, online courses are designed in a very user friendly manner. They are especially designed to cater to the needs of the common man.

It takes lesser efforts: People believe that online learning takes less time and is an easy way to take a degree. If you are taking up an online course just because you want to take a short cut in your career, then online education isn't certainly the right option.

These are the most common myths that are associated with online learning. Students are sometimes skeptical about adopting online education because of these myths. There is a need to realize that online education is much more than what it is thought to be. It isn't a shortcut route but a catalytic factor which will help you to enhance your career.
One such measure to promote online mode of education has been taken by EduKart. EduKart provides certificate courses in Digital Marketing certified courses, Retail Management (certified by RAI), Financial Management (Wealth Management certified by AIWMI), Programming Language (certified by CSI), Project management and in Skill Development. It also provides some UGC-DEC-AICTE UG and PG degree courses like BBA, B.Sc.IT, MBA and M.Sc. IT.

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