Web WonderAll things web related plus a few surprises

More Students Getting Degrees At Online Schools!

Not everyone who sets out on a path toward an online degree sticks with the program. About one in every two Americans who begin college distance learning or traditional college never finish it, according to the Lumina Foundation of Education. Now, some states are working to improve college graduation rates.　 

Through an alliance known as Complete College America, representatives from 17 states plan to work with colleges and universities to improve graduation rates, according to a March 2010 Associate Press report. As part of a separate initiative intended to boost college completion rates, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire and New Mexico plan to next year allow high school students to take college entry exams in the 10th grade. Students who pass the exams have the option to earn their diplomas immediately and move on to community college, while others would have a better idea early on of what’s expected at the college level and be able to retest in their junior and senior years, The New York Times reported. If you need more information about online masters, look on the internet.　

The U.S. Department of Education has identified full-time jobs, delayed college entry, dependants and alternative high school credentials as being among the college completion risk factors, according to the Pew Research Center. A student’s single parent and financially independent status can also make a difference, the 2002 research center information suggests. At the time, African-American and Hispanic undergraduates reportedly maintained more of these risk factors than white undergraduates did.　

The percentage of minority college students, and Hispanic students particularly, has been increasing, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. A recent American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy report confirmed that fewer Hispanic students complete college than those of other racial and ethnic groups. Only 51 percent of Hispanics at the average college or university complete a bachelor’s degree in six years as compared with 59 percent of white students at those same schools, the “Rising to the Challenge” report noted. Many resources are available when researching additional information about online masters programs.　

Likewise, online college classes tend to appeal to adults, according to the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning, and online college enrollment numbers also have been rising. Online college enrollment for fall 2008 had increased by 17 percent over the previous year, with 4.6 million students (one-quarter of all college students) taking at least one online college class, a Sloan Consortium study noted. One study dating back to 2000 found that online college drop out rates can extend beyond 40 percent at some institutions, according to a report from the United States Distance Learning Association. Students who enroll in online college programs because they’re too busy for classroom courses might nevertheless have a hard time keeping up with their studies, reports in the Chronicle of Higher Education and USA Today noted.　

Rising to the Challenge recommends that colleges and universities focus on and commit to high levels of retention and completion; that they provide Hispanic students with better consumer information, including information about schools within their academic and financial reach and schools with successful Hispanic student track records; that they improve financial aid counseling; and that they encourage students to attend more selective schools, if they qualify. The report also recommends tying university aid to school performance standards, including student graduation and labor-market success, rather than on enrollment.　

It’s becoming increasingly unusual for students to enroll at one institution and remain there for their entire college education, the American Council on Education has reported, attributing this in part to working adults who return to school. More than one-half of bachelor’s degree recipients attend more than one institution and are in some instances taking classes at two different institutions simultaneously or moving among multiple institutions, with non-enrollment intervals in between, the council noted. Online college studies have shown a strong relationship between self-motivation and academic persistence, according to the Distance Learning Association report. Studies and reports have also suggested that successful distance learning programs are strongly tied to instructors, including those who maintain personal contact with students, provide quick responses to their questions and concerns, advise them in advance what’s required of coursework, offer interactive elements such as message boards, and provide flexible course formats that better enable students to juggle their studies with work and family responsibilities. Understanding all you can about master’s degree may be the key to your success.　

Colleges, universities and non-profit organizations such as the Lumina Foundation and the National Association of System Heads have, like states, been making strides to improve college graduation rates. One university in Texas has long offered an online bachelor’s degree program that it touts as a degree completion program and that reportedly provides as many as 59 hours of college credit for technical and experiential credit. A community college and a university in Arizona have more recently begun working together to point students toward coursework that’s required for certain degrees, to guarantee these students university admission and to make them eligible for limits on annual tuition increases, according to a March report in the Sierra Vista Herald. A California college is working to add a personal touch to online classes by employing a program that allows professors to deliver lessons and messages to students with Webcam video recordings and to use the service, Skype, for live, video conversations with students, the USA Today article reported.　

With the availability of college distance learning classes, students just entering college or those returning to obtain or finish a degree are discovering this works for their life. Of particular note are those who obtain a distance learning master degree. This allows them to concentrate on their heavy duty careers while advancing to the next level.

Millennial Marketing – Online, On Campus

Illinois Fighting Illini NCAA Trash Can Cooler $19.95 Product serves as a collapsible trash can or cooler with a PVC leak-proof lining. Stands 19″ tall and 16.5″ in diameter. Features carrying handles for easy transport. Screen printed logo featured on the front of product….

Targus XL Backpack Designed for 17 Inch Notebooks TXL617 (Black with Blue Accents) $48.71 This XL Notebook backpack holds to its name of being extra large fitting widescreen notebooks with screens up to 17″. This backpack has a large section for books and binders and a padded notebook sleeve to protect the notebook. Other features of this backpack include a line-out porthole for headphones an audio player sleeve removable mobile phone case on the shoulder strap multiple accessory pocke…

Incase Campus Pack, Black (CL55305) $44.93 Our Nylon Campus Backpack is the perfect carrying solution for all your essentials. The Nylon Campus Backpack features a plush faux-fur lined notebook compartment that will fit up to a 15 MacBook Pro as well as an interior slip pocket for an iPad. It also features padded back panels and shoulder straps, top-loading handle and zippered storage and quick-access pockets….

Incase Nylon Campus Backpack Our Nylon Campus Backpack is the perfect carrying solution for all your essentials. The Nylon Campus Backpack features a plush faux-fur lined notebook compartment that will fit up to a 15 MacBook Pro as well as an interior slip pocket for an iPad. It also features padded back panels and shoulder straps, top-loading handle and zippered storage and quick-access pockets….

NCAA Washington Huskies On Campus Full Button Jacket – Black/Purple $110.00 Washington Huskies On Campus Full Button Jacket – Black/PurpleContrast pipingTwill applique team logos100% Cotton shellTwo front pocketsDry clean onlyTeam color accents100% Polyester liningInterior slip pocketOfficially licensed Washington Huskies heavyweight jacketImportedQuality embroideryInterior cell phone pocket with hook and loop closure100% Cotton shell100% Polyester liningQuality embroider…

NCAA Kansas State Wildcats On Campus Full Button Jacket – Black/Purple $110.00 Kansas State Wildcats On Campus Full Button Jacket – Black/PurpleQuality embroideryInterior cell phone pocket with hook and loop closureContrast pipingInterior slip pocketTwill applique team logos100% Polyester lining100% Cotton shellImportedTeam color accentsTwo front pocketsDry clean onlyOfficially licensed Kansas State Wildcats heavyweight jacket100% Cotton shell100% Polyester liningQuality emb…

Principles of Marketing (13th Edition) $55.00 Today’s marketing challenge is creating vibrant, interactive communities of consumers who make products and brands a part of their daily lives. Learn how to create value and gain loyal customers. Kotler/Armstrong is a comprehensive, classic principles text organized around an innovative customer-value framework. Students learn how to create customer value, target the correct market, and bui…

Public Relations: Strategies and Tactics (9th Edition) $15.00 Comprehensive and current, Public Relations: Strategies and Tactics 9/e helps readers better understand the basic concepts, strategies, and tactics practiced in public relations today. In its ninth edition, Public Relations: Strategies and Tactics combines numerous real-life case studies with fundamental concepts of the field to help readers relate theory to the actual practice of public relations…

Principles of Marketing, 12th Edition $0.09 Principles of Marketing, 12th Edition [Hardcover]Philip Kotler (Author) Gary Armstrong (Author)…

NCAA Classic Fleece Blanket $19.99 Watching the game is fun, but being cold while you’re watching isn’t. Keep nice and toasty with this NCAA® classic fleece blanket from Logo Chair®. The durable polyester blanket is decorated with sublimated graphics so the team colors and logo will hold up wonderfully over time….