In Pursuit Of Higher Education Online
There is an up-and-coming trend in education called distance learning. This is a direct result of increasing use of the Internet as well as the fact that more people have to work during traditional school hours in order to make ends meet. You need to be cautious when researching schools, however, since there are many educational institutions that provide diplomas and certifications that have no value in the world of work.
When employers evaluate the education of a potential employee, one of the first things they look for is whether or not the school was accredited. These are periodically evaluated by the governmental agencies to ensure that their expectations, coursework, and diploma programs provide the best education possible. This is especially important when evaluating online educational institutions since ensuring that the efforts result in the position desired upon conclusion is important.
A further reason to ensure the program selected meets the endorsement requirements outlined is that if one wishes to pursue higher education later on, completed credits cannot be transferred to accredited institutions. What this means is that in the event a higher degree is desired, the education process would have to be started over. Instead of spending two years to earn a bachelors degree, for instance, four years would have to be expended.
Researching various options will help narrow the choices to only schools which have achieved accreditation. These can include regional locations, those specializing in distance learning, faith or academic based programs, or those that specialize in specific careers such as with legal careers. The best way to tell is to enter the school site and look for a tab that specifically discusses their accreditation status. Additionally, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) website also lists institutions who meet this criterion.
In order to know that the information provided meets mandates there are several things to look for. Both the US Department of Education as well as the Council for Higher Education will have a list of schools that meet the qualifications. Additionally, the Council for Higher Education has a database as well as a directory that will help individuals verify the schools status then direct them to the appropriate website.
Online schools can also earn endorsement through the Distance Education Training Council or through specific programs such as the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education, Health Education Schools, or one of the many other disciplines. Regional bodies can also issue accreditation.
There is little more important than pursuing education beyond high school. Without a degree or certification in a specialized field, upward mobility in the workplace is limited and achieving financial freedom is almost impossible. Although some achieve success without it, these cases are rare. In order to ensure that any online coursework taken leaves the door open for continued education, it’s important to make sure that the school providing instruction meets the minimum requirements demanded of institutions of higher learning who provide services online.
The Fracture of American Education
A “fracture” is defined as the separation of an object into two or more parts because of being under stress. Today, the American education system is under extreme stress, as it is attacked from the right for being too expensive, from the left as not holding teachers accountable, and from the business community, as not providing the graduate students industry needs. This stress is splitting education into two groups of students and educators; haves and have nots.
After World War Two, the United States recognized the need to educate all its citizens. The technological advances of the war made it clear that the future would require massive numbers of well- educated and technologically sophisticated workers. Finding such as these were also supported by reports from the American Society of Engineering Education which was appointed in May 1952 to study this problem and produced the groundbreaking report, “Summary of the Report on Evaluation of Engineering Education” known as the Grinter report. The age of atomic energy would require larger numbers of trained employees in engineering sciences.
The result of reports such as this was the opening of university doors to increasing number of Americans. The United States in nineteen fifties and sixties became the shining beacon of educational success to the world. Yet, today as the country enters the 21st century and a new era of technological advancement, we begin to see those doors closing. In the name of fiscal responsibility, conservative administrations around the country are balancing budgets by drastically reducing, or in many cases eliminating areas of education and technology. This year, the state of Florida will take $1.75 billion from its educational budget for grades K through 12, and additional significant amounts from its colleges. In states all across the country educational systems are under extreme stress, not to do more with less, but to do something with nothing.
At a time when the country desperately needs well trained and well educated workers, we are removing the very institutions that can provide them. In the years that I have been involved in education in this country, never have I seen such drastic cuts. This stress is creating two particular classes a people within our society, those who have the funds to seek education, and those are being denied access to education because of these cuts. Even as these administrations begin to reduce funding four educational systems throughout the country, the president of United States begins to list all the virtues and needs of having a better educated society to remain competitive in this technological world. These two forces are moving in opposite directions to each other and creating the very stresses that will break our system into two competing camps of haves and have-nots.
The poor, minorities, disenfranchised, will be forever locked out of the system because of economics’, and declining opportunity as schools reduce instructors and become more selective in the types of students that they take in an effort to meet the requirements imposed by governments in these tight fiscal times. Already in states such as Michigan there is discussion underway to close half of the public school systems of the state in order to meet fiscal stability. With moves such as these it will not be long before we have seen the establishment of a permanent underclass that will be forever denied education. But this is not the only stress on the educational systems in this country. Teachers find themselves under attack by the very government that is extolling the needs for more educated populace.
In contrast to conservative interest, the Federal Department Education has begun to create its own stress on the educational system as it changes the requirements for instructors and for educational institutions that hire those instructors. In 2011 there’ll be rule changes governing a significant sector of the educational systems in this country called “gainful employment”. These regulations will require institutions to ensure that students graduating from their programs reach a certain level of heat up within the first two years after graduation, or risk losing their Federal funding to result of this is the institutions will eliminate many programs that have been having difficulty placing students into full-time positions in the numbers the department of education requires.
This also means that these same institutions have begun to shift away from hiring the most capable of teachers, to a posture of hiring the most educated instructors. In the last year I have often battled with institutions of this type concerning education for security professionals. Often, the most qualified person to teach a course in criminal justice will be a police officer. But, these individuals will often lack the upper level degrees institutions now seek to meet the guidelines of the department of education. This increase in the educational requirements is felt to be a theoretical way of guaranteeing that the programs will have the best educated person for the instructors, so the students will be better prepared.
This of course means that instructors that are police officers with years of experience in the field and highly qualified will be excluded from these positions because they lack upper level degrees, such as the master’s degree and the Ph.D… This process will create any delete structure for college professors that, we upgrade the radical training, but lacked practical application, and experience. Strangely, one of the forces most active in creating this particular stress on the educational system is that portion of society which benefits the most, the private sector.
As the cost of educating professionals and employees in this country has risen, private industry has begun to look to foreign countries for qualified professionals to satisfy their job needs. A process of outsourcing has become a statement of fact for American business. As a result, the number of students applying for technological education in United States is on the decline, while competition for education in engineering and technology in countries such as China and India is on the increase. A prime example of this is the nation of Japan, which was once considered the technological rival of United States.
Today Japan’s growing society is having trouble finding qualified employees to do the technological jobs that countries industries need. In the last half decade, Japan has been forced to import engineers, technicians, and scientist from India and China because it cannot graduate enough to meet the needs of its country. We’re already beginning to see the development of a similar pattern in this country.
In the sixties, seventies, eighties and nineties, United States attracted far more students to universities here for advanced training than any other country in the world. In the last several years that process has begun to reverse. Students no longer see the United States as the mecca for education that it once was. As this process accelerates it will be easier to find cheaper professional labor in foreign countries for lesser salaries. As Jacob Kirkegaard wrote in his book, “The Accelerating Decline in America’s High-Skilled Workforce: Implications for Immigration Policy,”
“…. American skill levels have stagnated and struggled to make the global top 10. As baby boomers retire, the United States risks losing these skills altogether. In response, the United States should address high-skilled immigration in its broader foreign economic policies in an attempt to remain a global leader in the face of accelerating global economic “
Attractive Campus and Online Art Education Degree Universities
An art education degree is a sure key to unlocking a world of unlimited opportunities. Apart from the demand of childhood educators, art educators, business educators, music educators, special educators and other classes of educators being always high these degree can land you in various other lucrative careers. This includes being an education expert, researcher, scholar, writer, motivational speaker and even an historian. You can also with an art education degree freelance in photography, design and writing while still in your main profession.
A sure passion for teaching needs to be the main driving force to go for this degree. These must be backed with competencies in emotional, visual and tactile ways to impart knowledge to someone as this degree involves teaching toddlers, adolescents, and mature people and in other cases people with special needs. You must have that ability to emotionally handle all these classes. After analyzing yourself the next step is selecting your preferred university. There are many universities in America that offer an art education degree. Depending on your mode of study whether studying on campus or online you will be able to find an accredited university in your desired geography after searching the U.S department of education comprehensive database of accredited post secondary institutions.
Accredited universities include the following: Capella University, university of Phoenix in Phoenix Arizona, De Vry University, Walden University and also Kaplan University. You will find more accredited universities in Degrees.net and many of the best art schools are listed. Walden University in Minnesota is an ideal university if you want online masters. It has been recommended by the Minnesota board of teaching and receives postgraduate online students from all over the world. Specialty subjects in the post graduate program are teacher leadership, integrated technology in class, education leadership, adolescent literacy and theology and other general fields. All these are offered by the Richard W. Riley College department of Walden University. Also among the best art schools is the Southern New Hampshire University. It offers among the best online studies. It was awarded awards for best online degree by The New Hampshire Business Review. You will need 120 credit hours to complete your masters online if you choose Southern New Hampshire University.
Different states have different teacher certification and different teacher regulation bodies. Some universities will offer you a teaching license to teach in various states while others will license you to teach in only one state. Before being awarded teacher certification you will have to sit and pass some examinations. In Minnesota you will have to pass PRAXIS 1 and PRAXIS II tests. For more about teacher licensing and practice in Alabama you should contact the Alabama State Department of Education, they will steer you in the right direction. In Washington you would need to get in touch with the office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction.
In whichever state you choose to carry out your art education degree verify with the state education department if the chosen institution is accredited. In case you choose an art school online ensure it has the leading technology, electronic portfolios, podcasts and Virtual Field Experiences.