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Bryan Fox
Joined: 28 Jan 2009
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 Posted: Wed May 12, 2010 1:00 am Post subject: Validity/Utility of Online MA TESOL Programs |
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I'm sure this question has been raised in a forum before, but I can't find the answer, and I'm just as sure I'm not the only one with this question.
Is an online MA in TESOL going to be regarded/valued in the same way as an onsite MA? I'm looking at a few programs in Australia - the universities are reputable (in fact, one is my undergraduate alma mater), but I'm just on the fence as to what it's worth. They charge the same as the on-site program, they offer the same courses, as well, but I'm still unsure.
I know many people working here in Korea with online MAs, but what about elsewhere? I already have an MA in another field, and 12 years experience as well, but I feel I'm still being shut out of the 'top tier' jobs. I don't have the finance or the inclination to take two years out of my working career to enrol in a 'traditional' program.
I'm primarily doing the MA for the enhanced employment prospects (as opposed to the gain in pedagogic knowledge, which is also important). Will this be money well-spent?
thanks in advance |
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fl4mers
Joined: 26 Jan 2010
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| Posted: Wed May 12, 2010 6:05 am Post subject: |
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Personally, I would say that whether the course is online or not should not really matter as long as it is from a well recognised institution (but then again I'm not really one to say, as I am only just starting out. Therefore, I'm not speaking from experience). However, may I suggest another alternative? If you can't take out 2 years...how about 1? The MA courses in the UK only take one year full time, so that might be an option and then you would have an on-site MA 
Anyways, I looked up some universities in England that do an MA TESOL and I found a little gem in the process. The University of Manchester does an MA TESOL, and they offer it on-site as well as via distance learning. It is one of the traditional red-brick universities and it is very well recognised, so they might just be offering the answer to your search.
Here is the link: http://www.education.manchester.ac.uk/postgraduate/taught/courses/course/?code=01367&pg=1
Good Luck! |
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Thiuda
Joined: 14 Mar 2006
Location: Religion ist f�r Sklaven geschaffen, f�r Wesen ohne Geist.
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cubanlord
Joined: 08 Jul 2005
Location: In Japan!
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| Posted: Wed May 12, 2010 3:55 pm Post subject: |
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All I can say is this, OP:
I am on my way back to the US. I was recently offered two positions back in the United States, one of which was a tenure-track position at a college. I have a limited-residency Master of Science in Education w/TESOL concentration from Shenandoah University. Does that answer your question?
With that being said, all those that said doing a master's via distance wasn't worth anything, well, there you have it. Now sit there and try to argue otherwise. |
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lukas
Joined: 22 Aug 2009
Location: Bucheon
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| Posted: Wed May 12, 2010 5:22 pm Post subject: |
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| cubanlord wrote: |
All I can say is this, OP:
I am on my way back to the US. I was recently offered two positions back in the United States, one of which was a tenure-track position at a college. I have a limited-residency Master of Science in Education w/TESOL concentration from Shenandoah University. Does that answer your question?
With that being said, all those that said doing a master's via distance wasn't worth anything, well, there you have it. Now sit there and try to argue otherwise. |
Interesting post Cubanlord, and good news for you. It sounds like you have a sweet gig.
If you don't mind me asking, whereabouts are you going in the USA? Also how long did it take you to finish your course? I'm guessing about 2 years. |
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Kaypea
Joined: 09 Oct 2008
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| Posted: Wed May 12, 2010 5:33 pm Post subject: |
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Awesome, Cubanlord.
I'm pretty much set to start the U of Birmingham MA in TESOL in Korea, while teaching full time.
I want to teach ESL at community colleges back in Canada eventually, and I think I'm on the right track.
Does anybody else have inspirational stories about success with these distance ed MAs? |
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cubanlord
Joined: 08 Jul 2005
Location: In Japan!
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| Posted: Wed May 12, 2010 5:59 pm Post subject: |
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| lukas wrote: |
| cubanlord wrote: |
All I can say is this, OP:
I am on my way back to the US. I was recently offered two positions back in the United States, one of which was a tenure-track position at a college. I have a limited-residency Master of Science in Education w/TESOL concentration from Shenandoah University. Does that answer your question?
With that being said, all those that said doing a master's via distance wasn't worth anything, well, there you have it. Now sit there and try to argue otherwise. |
Interesting post Cubanlord, and good news for you. It sounds like you have a sweet gig.
If you don't mind me asking, whereabouts are you going in the USA? Also how long did it take you to finish your course? I'm guessing about 2 years. |
Thanks. I know it sounds really stupid, but I was laughing my ass off when I did get those offers. I was laughing because you get so many people on Dave's and in the world in general that sit there and put down distance learning by saying things such as, "no one respects it, you can't get a job elsewhere, etc.". Yet, here I was offered a phenomenal position at a wonderful college. People should really think before they speak (me included).
I'm going back to FL. My program was 2 years, but I finished in 1.5 years because I doubled-up on two semesters since I had vacation at work and could handle the workload (though it was NOT easy).
Oh, and for the record, out of 11 full applications sent out from South Korea, I received 6 interviews and 2 offers. 2 interviews came after I had 2 offers, so out of the first 4 interviews, I had a 50% success rate....with my distance learning master's. |
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Thiuda
Joined: 14 Mar 2006
Location: Religion ist f�r Sklaven geschaffen, f�r Wesen ohne Geist.
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| Posted: Wed May 12, 2010 7:24 pm Post subject: |
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| Kaypea wrote: |
| Does anybody else have inspirational stories about success with these distance ed MAs? |
After doing a distance MA with UNE and a distance Post-Graduate Cert in Linguistics Research with Macquarie, both in Aus, I applied to two PhD programs. I received offers from both universities, one in Korea the other in Aus, with both offering me a full scholarship. I'm now doing my PhD in Ling at a Korean university; following the course work (and the successful completion of the comprehensive exams), I'll be off to Aus to finish the research and write up component. |
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jpotter78
Joined: 29 Oct 2009
Location: Seoul, South Korea
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| Posted: Wed May 12, 2010 8:41 pm Post subject: |
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| I did a MA Education online with Michigan State University. It definitely helped me get jobs, improved my teaching greatly, and was generally a great experience. If you don't want people to know you did it online, don't tell them. My transcripts and diploma say nothing about online or distance learning. It is the same degree, physically, and the same courses that an on-site person has/takes. |
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Unposter
Joined: 04 Jun 2006
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| Posted: Wed May 12, 2010 11:08 pm Post subject: |
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Cubanlord,
I was just kind of curious...do you think you got those job offers just because you had a Master's in a specific field or do you think other qualifications, skills or experiences were important, too? If so, what other qualifications, skills or experiences do you think would help land a similar job?
Also, I was curious what kind of department, what kind of students and what kind of classes would you be teaching? What kind of research if any would you be required to do?
I understand if you did not want to answer all these questions but if you could it would be awfuly nice! Thanks! |
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cubanlord
Joined: 08 Jul 2005
Location: In Japan!
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| Posted: Thu May 13, 2010 12:17 am Post subject: |
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| Unposter wrote: |
Cubanlord,
I was just kind of curious...do you think you got those job offers just because you had a Master's in a specific field or do you think other qualifications, skills or experiences were important, too? If so, what other qualifications, skills or experiences do you think would help land a similar job?
Also, I was curious what kind of department, what kind of students and what kind of classes would you be teaching? What kind of research if any would you be required to do?
I understand if you did not want to answer all these questions but if you could it would be awfuly nice! Thanks! |
Hi Un,
It wasn't just because of the master's. My point was that having a distance learning degree does not preclude one from getting good jobs such as tenure-track positions back in the US, which is what a lot of people on here were arguing a few months ago, in other words, that distance MAs or MSs are a waste of time. I was just proving them wrong.
Here is the info. you asked about:
department - Humanities Department
students - ESL students (i.e. those that need to improve their English in order to take university-level courses 'be matriculated'...from all over the world)
no research was required as this particular college's emphasis was on teaching ability and administrative support. Although, research could only help with actual tenure.
Listen, the degree is just a piece of paper; it gets your foot in the door. I've published in some of the top-tier practical journals & magazines in our field. Also, I have presented all over Korea and at the TESOL conference, which was held in New York in '08. I've trained hundreds of teachers and was active in my field. Finally, I had international experience, and (which a lot of places were looking for), I am fluent in at least 2 langauges. The culmination of those things and my interviewing skills landed me the offer. I can't say that it was one thing such as the master's.
People shouldn't be fooled that they will get an offer solely on the degree. The fact that I had done an continue to do so much in my field demonstrated my dedication. However, there were numerous people on here flapping their gums saying that distance learning is crap, a waste of time even when done through an accredited uni., etc. My post was aime DIRECTLY at them.
Seriously, where this is a will, there IS a way. And let me tell you...I had that will. |
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Unposter
Joined: 04 Jun 2006
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| Posted: Thu May 13, 2010 3:43 am Post subject: |
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Cubanlord,
Again, thanks a lot! That was a big help.
And, congratulations on the position. I am glad the hard work has paid off.
the Unposter. |
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jugbandjames
Joined: 15 Feb 2010
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| Posted: Thu May 13, 2010 12:48 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
I am on my way back to the US. I was recently offered two positions back in the United States, one of which was a tenure-track position at a college. I have a limited-residency Master of Science in Education w/TESOL concentration from Shenandoah University. Does that answer your question?
With that being said, all those that said doing a master's via distance wasn't worth anything, well, there you have it. Now sit there and try to argue otherwise. |
I think your experience is probably atypical. I currently teach at a community college in the US, and my school would never hire someone with an online degree. I don't know of a single faculty member with an online degree. I know the people who do the hiring for the ESL faculty and the humanities faculty, and I've discussed their hiring standards with them at length. Right now, you need about 3-5 years of full time teaching experience at a college or university to be competitive for a full-time position. It's a very competitive job market at the moment. Whether warranted or not, bias against online degrees exists among the faculty at traditional schools.
Your experience proves it's possible to get a job, but I still think it's unlikely. |
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aweitzm1
Joined: 23 Mar 2010
Location: Florida
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| Posted: Thu May 13, 2010 2:26 pm Post subject: |
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I am interested in doing an MA program starting next spring online for my MA in TESOL.
What are the best American schools that offer online programs. I looked at UMASS but it looked expensive. I also looked at Anaheim University but I am not sure about their reputation as an online program.
I want to get the degree to further my credentials to teach abroad.
I would be interested in hearing others comments. |
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cubanlord
Joined: 08 Jul 2005
Location: In Japan!
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| Posted: Thu May 13, 2010 2:38 pm Post subject: |
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| jugbandjames wrote: |
| Quote: |
I am on my way back to the US. I was recently offered two positions back in the United States, one of which was a tenure-track position at a college. I have a limited-residency Master of Science in Education w/TESOL concentration from Shenandoah University. Does that answer your question?
With that being said, all those that said doing a master's via distance wasn't worth anything, well, there you have it. Now sit there and try to argue otherwise. |
I think your experience is probably atypical. I currently teach at a community college in the US, and my school would never hire someone with an online degree. I don't know of a single faculty member with an online degree. I know the people who do the hiring for the ESL faculty and the humanities faculty, and I've discussed their hiring standards with them at length. Right now, you need about 3-5 years of full time teaching experience at a college or university to be competitive for a full-time position. It's a very competitive job market at the moment. Whether warranted or not, bias against online degrees exists among the faculty at traditional schools.
Your experience proves it's possible to get a job, but I still think it's unlikely. |
The first bold demonstrates the sheer ignorance of those on your hiring board. Distance learning programs are equally, if not, more effective than on-site programs. The only difference is the lack of face-to-face networking with your peers. People usually create a bias toward something when they aren't in the know, whether due to their laziness or a lack of resources. I guess Harvard and other ivy league schools don't know what they are doing since they do offer distance learning programs?
The second bold has nothing to do with a distance program; why would you feel compelled to write that? It's off-topic.
Thanks for your opinion, but I don't think my experience was atypical. As I said, degrees are just one of many things good hiring committees look at when evaluating potential employees. If your college puts that much weight on where the degree was done, then what can I say? They obviously have their priorities screwed up. "Hey, let's not hiring someone from XYZ University because they are obviously bad teachers." Do you see the problem with that logic?
Aforementioned, the degree is just a small piece of the whole. I sure wouldn't want to work for a college that puts that much emphasis on where you obtain your degree. It isn't where you got your education per se; it's what you do with it. It's the voluteer service that a person does. It's the training and the publishing that gets them further, not a piece of paper. |
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