Job Discussion Forums

[Jared]

Hello. Me again. Well okay I do understand that you don't need a degree for some ESL positions. I also understand that having one opens more doors. Does any one have a suggestion as to which university I should get a university degree from? First of all, I'm going under some training to get a TESOL certificate under Global TESOL College. What I'd like to do is study for a degree while I teach in a different country. My high school marks aren't all that great and I understand that most universities require your high school grades to be really high. Is there a university out there where I could be able to go in for a distance degree (bachelors degree) which won't really care about whether you have high grades from high school or not? Thanks.
Jared

[sojourner]

Jared,

Having a degree will certainly improve your employment prospects in the world of ESL teaching. More importantly, students will see you as an educated person - not merely an "ESL technician".

You asked about a good uni that offers distance/online degree programmes. I'm currently enrolled in the University of New England's online MA (Applied Linguistics) programme.That institution has had many years experience in the provision of distance learning programmes. However, almost half of its students are "internals", meaning that they attend lectures at that university - thus, it is definitely NOT a "degree mill". UNE has a very good reputation in Australia. Also, people from many countries are enrolled in its distance learning/online programmes.The fees would, I'd imagine, be lower than those charged by those Nth American unis that happen to offer distance learning courses. Apart from postgraduate programmes, UNE also offers many Bachelors' courses. For further details, check UNE's website: www.une.edu.au . When choosing subjects, make sure that they don't stipulate that compulsory residential school attendance is required - otherwise, you'll have to come to Aust once or twice a year ! However, a number of courses, esp. the online ones, don't have that requirement.

Just one final thing. In some of your earlier posts, you indicated an interest in working in Taiwan. I vaguely recall hearing somewhere that Taiwan is one of the very few places that don't recognise distance learning degrees, even those that were conferred by reputable institutions. I don't know how reliable that rumour is - who knows, the prohibition may apply only for certain types of degrees. Nevertheless, if your medium or long-term ambition is to work in Taiwan, it might be a good idea to investigate the matter regarding the recognition of degrees NOW. But even if distance learning degrees are not recognised by the Taiwanese authorities, don't worry too much about it - there are FAR MORE INTERESTING places in the world to teach in !

In choosing a uni, make sure that it is a reputable institution. There are a lot of places that offer "degrees" based mainly on the submission of evidence regarding one's "life experiences" ! Avoid those "unis" like the plague ! UNE, as I have already indicated, is a reputable institution, recognised by the Australian educational authorities. There are a number of other Australian unis that also offer distance learning/online degree programmes. UNE, and a number of other Australian unis, have policies regarding adult admission.Thus, if you are over 21, but whose high school grades were seen as inadequate for entry to tertiary institutions at the time, you may be provisionally admitted to an undergraduate programme.There could be something on the UNE website about adult admission requirements. Incidently, how old are you ?

Peter

[_KK_]

Try Athabasca University. Their website is www.athabascau.ca I am in the last year of my BA Psych program, and so far I've had no complaints. I even got a few classes done while I was in Hong Kong last year. PM me if you want more info.

[Twisting in the Wind]

I graduated from Indiana University's Distance Learning program with a BA (after having 3 years in house experience at another university in the states.) I highly recommend Indiana. Their program was great! I learned a lot, did the same coursework as those sitting in the classroom--in fact with all the papers I wrote, I probably did more in some ways. And they have interesting courses. The degree you receive is identical to the regular in house degree---it doesn't say "Distance Learning" or anything, so employers won't be able to discriminate against you for that.

But I understand that their requirements are the same as for students on campus---so they will probably require you to have the same GPA they require from their regular students.
Why do you want a distance learning degree anyway? Don't you want the experience of college life? Most people look back on those years as the best in their life--I would'nt have wanted to do ALL My college work via distance learning because I would've missed out on a LOT!

[cmoseley]

Grantham University. It's all online. And it's awesome.

www.grantham.edu