Evaluating Teaching in Higher Education

The Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education is a seminal and influential paper and a popular framework for evaluating teaching in Higher Education. Students should know what is considered as good practice from their professors in undergraduate education.

Deciding Whether to Return to School or Not

Janet Clarey created a pro/con list to help her decide whether to return to college for another graduate degree or not . A similar list, with the information targeted to each user, should be useful to all adults thinking about returning to college

Accreditation of Colleges and Universities

Onlinesapiens provides information about College and Professional Accreditation, including the list of the Regional Accrediting Associations, Databases to find the accreditation of colleges and universities, Professional Accrediting Organizations and a discussion about National Accreditation vs Regional Accreditation.

Read all this information to be sure to select a college education that will be accepted by both employers and other colleges (if you want later to transfer credits to another higher education institution)

What do Employers Think About Online Degrees

Higher education can benefit from understanding how employers perceptions affect students’ employment opportunities and, in turn, affect the institutions granting the online degree. In addition, research in this area potentially contributes to the field of knowledge by helping prospective students, as consumers of higher education, make informed choices about their degree attainment paths.
Read more: Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration

Your Participation in Online Course Discussions is Mandatory

In online courses, contribution to online classroom discussions is mandatory, recorded and marked. This is a significant shift for students accustomed to in-class discussions.

There is a tendency for students in onsite classes to not say anything at all, and let the more verbal students dominate the discussion. My impression is these people did not read the assignment, and simply were unable to contribute to the discussion. This doesn’t happen in online discussions, as there is a requirement for all to contribute to discussions; as well as a record of the participation.
Source: AchieveYourCareer Blog

As an example:

To get students to appreciate the significance of the discussion forum, Heflin has a Web page in her courses that explains the grading rubric for discussion and her expectations. An important part of her rubric is having two deadlines for each weeklong discussion. The first deadline, which occurs in the middle of the week, is for students to post their initial responses to the discussion prompt. Then the students have until the second deadline to respond to at least two classmates’ initial responses.
Source: Asynchronous Discussion: The Heart of the Online Course

Online discussions provide opportunities for richer discourse through written discussion that allows students to spend time crafting their responses.

Student interaction mostly occurs through an online threaded discussion that allows students and instructors to interact in asynchronous time. This is a significant shift for students accustomed to in-class discussions. It may provide opportunities for richer discourse through written discussion that allows students to spend time crafting their responses. When asked how they made the most of their online interaction with other students, these students mentioned some interesting techniques. One student commented, “Interacting with the other students was the fun part of my (online) classes. As much as possible, I would post a response, question, or comment to another student’s posting. This built up an online relationship.” Another student suggested, “Respond to several student postings, but make sure you have something meaningful to add, don’t just say ‘good post.’ Also, don’t always interact with the same few classmates. Look for something to say with various students.”
Source: EDUCAUSE Quarterly.

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Find Out What Careers Are Best Suited For You

The Virginia Education Wizard (via Career College Central) helps you find a career best suited for you:

Take a quick assessment to find out what careers are best suited for you . Find out what your interest type is and what careers are matched to that interest. Tell them what you value in a job and learn what careers match those values.

Free Online Courses Reviews, a Forum Thread

Great thread at Degreeinfo Distance Learning Discussion Forums where people find and review free online courses since 2004.

Successful Online Learners Have The Characteristics That Employers Seek

Online degrees are no longer causing red flags on resumes for employers. In fact, many attributes of the online learner are what employers seek. They want lifelong learners, self-motivated workers, and critical thinkers — all of which apply to online learners.
Read more: UMassOnline Blog

Read also my post: List of Characteristics of Successful Online Learners
So successful online learners already have the characteristics that employers seek from college graduates. It makes sense, then, that employers would appreciate candidates who earned their college degree online.