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I have a Bachelors in Public Administration, however, I am no longer working for the government and wanted to switch career paths.
Anyways, I live in Florida and I'm looking for degrees that could be completed ENTIRELY online. I found a few schools, but they always have a "catch." Their curriculum is either mixed-mode or they require you to show up on campus at some point.
I did find UM-Flint and Dearborn and I was interested in finding out how these school were perceived. Granted, I did find many positive reviews, but also found negative reviews from people saying that Flint/Dearborn grads are not viewed the same way. I don't know how true that is since I do not reside in Michigan (nor will I ever).
I'm sure some of you will say "you're in Florida, what do you care about that?" or "no one in Florida will ever know the difference," but please look at it from my perspective. This will be a big investment on my part since it will be paid for by student loans, I want to know if the degree will be respected, regardless of whether employers recognize the differences in campus or not. I want to know all of the positives and negatives associated with earning a degree from either one of these campuses.
In my opinion online degrees serve a great purpose if one is currently employed and needs to achieve a higher degree for advancement with that employer. Given the economy and competition for jobs you'll need the advantage of a more prestigious education since you'll be applying from the outside. Who would you hire, someone who went through the effort of attending class and obtaining a degree from a reputable brick and mortar school or someone who sat at home alone and learned online? As an employer I would need compelling evidence that you were in fact an ambitious individual if considering you over an applicant who chose a more traditional education.
In my opinion online degrees serve a great purpose if one is currently employed and needs to achieve a higher degree for advancement with that employer. Given the economy and competition for jobs you'll need the advantage of a more prestigious education since you'll be applying from the outside. Who would you hire, someone who went through the effort of attending class and obtaining a degree from a reputable brick and mortar school or someone who sat at home alone and learned online? As an employer I would need compelling evidence that you were in fact an ambitious individual if considering you over an applicant who chose a more traditional education.
Well, the whole reason why I was asking is because I live in an area where the best school (U of Miami) is WAY to expensive to attend and the other colleges (FIU, FAU, Nova, etc), are not even ranked on a national scale.
I understand what you meant by the online part, but I was fully aware of that. I was more concerned about how well U of M Flint was perceived (and not just in the Michigan area).
The way I think of Univ of Michigan and it's satellite campuses is along the lines of the Univ of California schools. UC Berkeley and UCLA are prestigious schools and well respected around the world. UC Riverside or UC Santa Cruz, though still very good and respected schools, just don't quite carry the same level of clout.
University of Maryland has been pushing its online program lately. They're a good school as well if you are afraid of possibly being overshadowed by the Ann Arbor school.
Though it may also be worth seeing what kind of financial aid you can get from Univ of Miami. You may be pleasantly surprised.
Well, the whole reason why I was asking is because I live in an area where the best school (U of Miami) is WAY to expensive to attend and the other colleges (FIU, FAU, Nova, etc), are not even ranked on a national scale.
I understand what you meant by the online part, but I was fully aware of that. I was more concerned about how well U of M Flint was perceived (and not just in the Michigan area).
Thanks, Kyle.
Actually the Master's Program at FIU's School of Public Administration is ranked #57 nationally which is equal standing of Brown, Auburn, LSU and Rutgers.
The way I think of Univ of Michigan and it's satellite campuses is along the lines of the Univ of California schools. UC Berkeley and UCLA are prestigious schools and well respected around the world. UC Riverside or UC Santa Cruz, though still very good and respected schools, just don't quite carry the same level of clout.
University of Maryland has been pushing its online program lately. They're a good school as well if you are afraid of possibly being overshadowed by the Ann Arbor school.
Though it may also be worth seeing what kind of financial aid you can get from Univ of Miami. You may be pleasantly surprised.
I looked into U or Miami before looking at any other school and unfortunately the program I was interested in requires students to be on campus for some classes, which is not possible in my case. I was disappointed, believe me.
Quote:
Originally Posted by kyle19125
Actually the Master's Program at FIU's School of Public Administration is ranked #57 nationally which is equal standing of Brown, Auburn, LSU and Rutgers.
Certainly not as much clout as Ann Arbor, but I don't think it will matter much if you aren't going for some highly competitive job at a highly competitive company. I run into people in my profession with degrees from anywhere and everywhere (online schools, small private schools I've never heard of, large universities that don't rank high) and it hasn't seemed to hamper their careers. They don't have highly prestigious careers, per se, but they are still making a living, some great, some good, and some just alright.
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