Online education & degrees

[Walkman]

As I stated in the thread about officers & college degrees, I never finished college. That's something I'd like to finish up someday. I read about different classes available through the USAF.

Are AFAIDL classes good for real (and transferable) college credit? Is there a way to get a degree through it? What about the classes offered from the other branches of service?

[Stonewall]

I don't know if AFAIDL classes are, but real in-house PME is.  For instance, my college accepted everything from Basic Training to NCO academies as college credit.

BTW, just got back from my Algebra class....HATE ALGEBRA!!!

[arajca]

Some AFIADL courses CAN earn college credit. How much and which ones depend on the college you are transfering them into. There is a link on the AFIADL site to a guide to recommended college credits by and accrediation agency for correspondance courses.

[SDF_Specialist]

I tried to contact AFIADL to find out if anything from the 13 course was transferable. Turns out, most colleges won't accept those credits. Kinda sucks. I was hoping to avoid the communications class I have to take (it's not my kind of Comms).

[James Shaw]

My school gave me credit for Squadron Officer School. The ACE recommendation is what they look for. The credit was supposed to be for 6 for graduate level. They gave me 9 for undergraduate level. Worked out great for me. I called them before I started it to confirm transfer credit.

[SarDragon]

I don't know if AFAIDL classes are, but real in-house PME is.  For instance, my college accepted everything from Basic Training to NCO academies as college credit.

BTW, just got back from my Algebra class....HATE ALGEBRA!!!

And just remember - Higher math is nothing more than advanced ways of proving your incompetence in algebra.

[Dustdevil]

K, I just want to warn you about the pitfalls of distance education.  The huge majority of those that start never finish.  There is a popular misconception that online or self-study education is somehow faster, easier, or cheaper than traditional college education.  Trust me, it's not.  The hardest part that most people encounter is simply finding the discipline to devote sufficient time to regular, uninterrupted, serious study and assignment work.  It's easy to show up for class when there is a professor waiting on campus to take attendance.  But when you have all the distractions of a family, professional, and volunteer life, it's [darn] hard to make yourself "show up" for class every day or so.  And the work is not easier, by any means.  Not having somebody to stop and ask for clarification right there on the spot creates problems, because you will frequently forget to e-mail that question later.  Of course, some courses are going to be easier than others.  You can probably knock off correspondence or telecourse English composition without much trouble.  But trying to learn any kind of science - even the social sciences - is not a good idea on any level.  Even if you pass it, the level of understanding you take from the course is inferior.  And education isn't just about aggregating credit hours.  It is about acquiring knowledge.

Along that same line, regarding the AF courses, you need to determine if the hours you can get from them will actually apply to your degree.  Even though their hours are fully accredited, they need to be applicable to your degree plan to do you any good.  An associates or bachelors degree isn't just a collection of any 60 or 120 semester hours.  Each degree requires very specific courses, leaving only a few hours for you to choose on your own.  So just make sure you're not collecting credits that you will never be able to apply to your degree.

If you are very mature, very disciplined, and have plenty of free time each day to devote to the work, you can indeed be successful with distance education.  But, despite the advertisements, there are really few real degrees you will get through strictly self-study.  The science stuff, you're just going to have to go to class for.  Unless you are just so far up in a mountain cave that there are no community colleges within driving distance of you, or so totally overwhelmed by family and professional commitments that you simply cannot spare the time, there really aren't too many good reasons to go with distance education.  Heck, community colleges are cheaper too, so again, seriously consider your learning style and aptitude, as well as your educational goals before you drop any money on distance courses.

Good luck, and props for seriously considering your future!  It's nice to separate yourself from the "I don't need all that book learnin'" crowd.

[isuhawkeye]

 :clap:

[BillB]

I have earned three degrees from accrediated universities. A B.A. in Journalism, a B.S. in Public Administration and an M.A. in Humanities with a major in history. Plus enough credit hours to qualify for a State Teaching Certificate in Journalism and social science. I was lucky in that I got 49 semester credit hours from military courses that I took that could be used for part of the degree requirements. Most of the other credit hours were from a local community college, undergraduate and graduate courses from the University of Florida as a "traveling student" or by corrospondance including credit by examination for once course from the University of Ohio.
With the M.A. from California State University, Dominguez Hills, I was able to phone the instructor when phone rates dropped in Florida, and he was still in the office in California, so I was able to get answers to areas I didn't understand.
Overall the cost of a degree by corrospondance was only slightly lower than coursework in residence. In Florida persons over age 55 can take courses at Community Colleges without tuition, only books and lab fees if any. And textbooks are not cheap, but most community college libraries have copies of the texts in the reference section. In theory, it's possible to earn an associate degree for less than $500.
The time demands would be the biggest problem for the average adult learner. I put at least one hour a night and half a day on weekends for study.

[Walkman]

Thanks for the warning Dustdevil. I'm thinking that I might do a combination of online courses (one that will transfer) and hit some classes at the local university (Utah State). With owning a business, CAP, Scouts, youth ministry and a huge family, the ability to be flexible here and there (online classes) really helps.

[ColonelJack]

Amen, Dustdevil!

I'm working on my doctorate in education at Walden University online, and I think it's way harder than a traditional classroom setting.  I can be notoriously lazy and put things off.

In fact, I keep putting off joining Procrastinators Anonymous.

Jack