Higher education is now easier and more convenient as a result of online universities and colleges.
Now, you have no excuses regarding acquiring that degree or going for that certificate. This is because you can actually acquire that from the comfort of your home.
The basic tools you need are just your internet-enabled personal computer, pen and paper for jotting down points and your ability to sit at a place and learn.
With your tools, you can now have access to some of the world’s best universities. Moreover, online universities are cheaper, together with other values which makes them your best bet for acquiring your degree programme.
Here, we want to bring to your fingertips all you need to know about the best online universities in the world. We would provide information on their cost, reasons to choose an online university and every other guideline on how you can succeed in these universities while sitting in the comfort of your home, pressing your computer.
Below are the best online universities in the world:
Table of Contents
UMass has about 113 online programs in its portfolio. About 12 more can be accessed both online and on campus. The university is specifically for masters studies and their programmes centre around business administration, nursing and public health programmes. The online programmes are taught by the same professors who handle the on-campus programmes. Upon graduation, students have the opportunity to come to the campus. They also have access to library resources and academic counselling.
The tuition for UMass Online University is between $125 and $1980/credit hour.
There are over 90 online degree and certificate programmes offered by the University of Missouri. Out of the 90, 9 are bachelor’s degree programme. Students are to participate in on-campus tests and hands-on learning. The same faculties that teach on-campus learning also handle online programmes. The semesters last between 8 and 16 months, though it is solely dependent on your choice of course. Also, the studies are open schedule and you can learn at your own pace. Additionally, students are taught using Blackboard, Moodle and Sakai to allow them easy access to the classes.
Tuition is $500/credit hour.
There are numerous bachelor’s degree programmes offered by the University of Oklahoma. Some of them include Liberal Studies, World Cultural Studies, Administrative Leadership, and more. The online programmes are taught by over 100 experts in diverse fields. Students are assigned an advisor that is to help to create a graduation plan for the students to speed up their learning process. The University of Oklahoma is an accredited university. It also favours those who wish to study while working or those with a family to take care of.
The tuition for the online programme is $200/credit hour.
The university is designed to suit graduate students. There are various bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral programmes offered at the Mississippi State University Online Education. Students who transfer from another accredited university must have up to 61 credits for the university to recognize such students. Lectures, here, are set up through Blackboard which is an organized systematized programme for learning.
Furthermore, online students who qualify for financial aid can have the privilege. This is, in addition, to various scholarship programmes offered to students. The university also imposes an in-state tuition rate to all students, irrespective of their state of residency.
Tuition is $405/credit hour.
Liberty University is owned by Christians and so, classes are taught from the perspective of Christianity. The university offers more than 250 online courses at all higher levels. They include certificates, associates, bachelors, masters and doctoral programmes. There are more than 95 000 students who offer these online programmes at Liberty University. The students also enjoy the same quality of education as those who study on-campus.
Tuition is 390/credit hour
Northern Arizona University offers both bachelor’s and master’s programmes which include hospitality, engineering, administration, communication, and so on. It is an asynchronous online university and flexibility of schedule is offered to online students. The online portal is open for students who wish to study at any time of the day. It is accredited by the Northern Central Association of Colleges and Schools while being recognized for its high research activity by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education.
Tuition is $455/credit hour.
The University of Minnesota offers bachelor’s, master’s, doctoral and post-baccalaureate programmes on different online courses such as accounting, management, communications, and so on. There are also several hybrid programmes offered by the school where students can study partially online and on campus.
Just like on-campus students, online students have access to academic advisors and numerous resources offered by the University of Minnesota Online Education. Assignments and tests are organized through Moodle, with some lectures being accessed on the school’s iTunes account.
Tuition is $557.55-1,323.50/credit hour.
New Mexico State University offers its programme and helps you to derive the satisfaction that on-campus students enjoy. Their programmes include certification, bachelor’s and master’s programmes. There are over 15 000 students in this online programme. The school has also received recognition from the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.
Tuition is $278.60-907.10/ credit hour
Texas Tech University offers bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral programmes for students who choose to study online. There are also various post-graduate certificate programmes which include software engineering, soil management and wind energy. The university uses Blackboard to promote its programmes and make learning fun for students.
Tuition is $459.00/credit hour.
The University of Cincinnati offers above 70 degree and certificate programmes in various academic fields like early childhood education, radiation science technology, criminal justice, and so on. It also offers online master’s programmes in different fields like education, taxation, pharmaceutical sciences, and so on. You will also have access to online orientation, library resources, tutoring and academic advising.
Tuition is $400/credit hour.
Running both online and on-campus programmes basically requires the same things. Though admission conditions might vary by school, most of the degree programmes require the previous level results. For example, to offer an undergraduate programme, you must present a high school result.
Some schools also require a minimum GPA. In some cases as well, you might need to submit an essay, ACT or SAT scores and recommendation letters. To apply for an online university programme, you might also be required to pay an application that ranges from $25 – $50.
Upon receiving your acceptance letter, it might be required of you to meet the same conditions for a traditional classroom programme like maintaining a certain GPA. In a nutshell, every requirement met by on-campus university programmes is likely to be met by online programmes, though there is variance according to schools.
Among the numerous reasons for choosing an online programme, one criterion stands out and that is flexibility. Online programmes offer flexibility to students, allowing them to have a choice on how to fix their schedules to accommodate their learning time as well as have time for other duties.
If you live far from the school, you are not just saving money on commuting; you also save a lot of time and stress that would have been encountered on the way. These savings can have a positive impact on your life in the long run.
Another consideration that attracts students to online programmes is cost. It is often more affordable to enrol in distance education than to just get stuck in life, trying to figure out how to pay for complementary stuff. Online learning helps to reduce costs associated with accommodation, transportation, and so on.
If you suffer from any health challenge, an online programme might be your best bet as you are limited in your mobility and would have better access to healthcare services.
Furthermore, online programmes make provisions to study part-time or complete your coursework at an accelerated pace. This also helps you to choose learning and evaluation formats that best suit your personality. There are a lot of options here and they include taking tests, completing coursework or compiling portfolios.
There are also top-notch tutors and experts in their academic fields who handle the classes. So, this is a great opportunity to learn from the most experienced and brilliant professors in your field.
A 2009 meta-study from the Department of Education proves that some students who take online courses surpass their classmates in traditional classrooms. Therefore, online university education is as effective as traditional on-campus learning. The major difference lies in choice. You can choose what you want and the best way to learn.
Choosing an online university may not be as easy as you might think. In short, it might be so easy, but choosing the best may not be that easy as there are many criteria the university must meet to guide your decisions. Below are some of them:
One of the top criteria to help you make the best choice of online universities is their accreditation status. Accreditation status will help you know if the school is recognized by the state board or if it is just another avenue to swindle you of your hard-earned money.
An accredited university means that it met the standards that place your degree programme as a valued and acceptable programme and the university is worthy to teach that programme. With accreditation, it means that you can proudly present your certificate to your potential employers without any fear of rejection. Furthermore, if the university is duly accredited, it might have an impact on your ability to apply for financial aid or transfer credits.
To know the accreditation status of your dream online university, visit their official website. You can also visit the country’s Department of Education because they have a list of the recognized regional, national and programmatic accrediting agencies. There are national or regional agencies whose duty is to assess universities to ensure they meet the required standards of education in that region or country. In addition, individual programmes may also be accredited by an individual board.
There are over 2000 accredited programmes online, so, you have quite a number of them to choose from. Always make sure the university you are applying for is accredited to avoid wasting your time, effort and money.
For you to select the degree level to pursue, you must know the level of education you have achieved and your career goals. There are both bachelor’s and master’s online programmes, together with online associate programmes. So, your goals will determine your degree level.
After understanding what degree level you want to pursue, it is important to carefully select your majors. The majors to select from have great impacts on your career and future prospects. It is through the programmes that you would build the skills that would guide your choice of career and what to make out of your future.
Look through the different majors offered by different online universities and be certain they relate to your field of interest. Find out the specific required courses in each major. In addition, consider the specific skills (hard and soft skills) that would be most valuable to your current and future career. If it has no business with your potential career path, you may have to drop it.
Different online programmes offer different levels of flexibility. The following are the types of flexibility online programmes might offer you.
There is no doubt that getting a degree pays off in the long run. According to Social Security Administration, male graduates earn, on average, $900 000, while their female counterparts earn $630 000 over the course of their lifetime. This does not mean that some females do not earn more than some males. Individual earnings vary based on the level of education, course of study, career and gender.
Similarly, the cost of online university education can vary widely. You have to also put into consideration that the cost of education has skyrocketed over the last decade. It does not also mean that online programmes are far cheaper than traditional on-campus programmes (though they are cheaper in some cases, depending on the programme and university of study too). However, it will save you a lot of stress, the cost of commuting to and fro school as well as give you flexibility to manage work and family.
Everyone knows that taking online programmes means that you have no business with attending classes in person. Hey, it is not always like that. There are schools that require your presence once in a while: for examination or other purposes. So, you have to put into consideration if you will be able to make it to the campus if duty requires you to do so.
Earning an online degree does not come cheap. You’ve got to have some money in your account before launching out. You could pay from your pocket using savings, or loans, or you may seek financial assistance from your school or other bodies. With financial assistance, you can take care of your tuition, housing, feeding, and other expenses.
Some online schools could allow you to pay in instalments on a monthly basis or quarterly, as the case may be. However, if you can pay a lump sum for each semester or session, it is not bad as well. The deferred payment plan may incur some interest and you must finish the payment before the end of the semester.
The financial aid you might need could be in the form of grants, fellowships, scholarships or loans. However, they are highly competitive and you may not be so lucky to obtain one, the reason you must have some money in your pocket before setting out to acquire an online degree.
Students learn better in online programmes with the aid of computers and internet-enabled gadgets. You do not need to attend classes on campus in person, except in some cases. You can visit the school’s website for all the information you need to know, especially, with regard to course content. Included in the curriculum are lectures, interactive sessions, quizzes and assignments.
Most of the online courses are run on a weekly schedule. However, only a select few require that you be in a specific place and at a given time. These exceptions are noted in the schedule when you register. So, it is not going to be a nasty surprise.
Interestingly, most online programmes have orientation materials that are posted on Blackboard. Assuming you are just new to online programmes, your school might organize an in-person Blackboard-specific orientation during the first week of resumption. You will be shown how to log in, submit your assignments, and every other thing you need to know about your online programme. It is recommendable for you to take this online orientation, and ask all possible questions, in order not to encounter any hitch while the lecture is going on.
In addition, there are a variety of university degree options online and they include certificate, bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral programmes. You also have so many available subjects online, even the hardest ones like health sciences, criminal justice, communications, education, nursing, and so on. Upon completion of your degree programme, you are awarded a certificate equivalent to that of your on-campus peers. One beautiful thing is that your online degree certificate may not specify that it was acquired online.
Videos, audios and downloadable PowerPoint presentations are the media used to carry out the lectures by professors and instructors. There are also discussion boards where students can interact with their peers and instructors to discuss assignments, lectures and others.
Typically, you are required to complete your assignment offline and submitted through the course management systems. The tests may take place online with time limits assigned to them. Some schools also required their students to take proctored exams at approved testing centres.
You also have the opportunity to view or work on your course materials at any time or day you wish. You can communicate with your instructors and fellow students via live chats, emails or forum postings. In case you encounter any problems, do not hesitate to contact your instructor. Even if the class is not in session, you can still reach out.
In conclusion, the content of an online degree programme is the same as the traditional on-campus programmes, however, they both differ in delivery of course materials, class interactions and methods. To derive the best out of your online classes, it is advisable you have a laptop or desktop, instead of using any kind of phone. All online courses use Blackboards to manage content, communication and assignments. However, all online courses are not designed the same way, the instructors and tutors mostly choose how best to run the classes.
If you long to take an online university education, due to your schedule, go ahead and do so. You will enjoy basically everything you would have enjoyed in a traditional classroom. Make sure you do some research on a number of individual universities to make a choice. Do not be limited in your knowledge; everything is available on the school’s official website.