Non-tra***ional ways to get your degree

Non-tra***ional ways to get your degree

We all know that in our bad economic time now, a degree is very important in our life. Adults who need economic security are especially vulnerable if they do not have degrees. Unfortunately, their work or family obligations are obstacles that prevent many of them from returning to the classroom for that degree that may offer some insurance for their future. There are also people who love to self-study and decide not to go to school or quit the school (This situation happens most at developing countries, where the education system doesn't catch up with the modern knowledge) . Even they have gained strong knowledge themselves and are much better compared with any graduated students. But because they don't follow the system, so they can't get their degrees even they are good enough. As an education consultant at Kylincampus Online Technology Institute and HDKmedia Ltd, I have successfully advised many students in many countries to obtain their degrees by using non-tra***ional ways. I hope this article ,which I wrote from my experience, can give you some helpful information about how to get a degree in a most efficiency and effective way.

Most of us when we think about getting a degree, we usually think about going to school. I have also seen a lot of people in my home country (Vietnam) even want to go abroad to get degrees from foreign schools because they don't trust the education quality of the national school and/or they just want to become high-value employers when they come back. But not all of them are lucky enough to have a good financial support to pay the tuition for a degree from foreign institutions. In this article, I only concentrate on getting degrees by non-tra***ional ways which will save you much time and money in persuing your degree. In some cases, you even don't need to go abroad like most tra***ional students usually do.

In my list, there are three non-tra***ional ways to obtain a degree. You can get your degree by experience-based assessment, knowledge-based assessment or distance learning. Maybe some of you are already familiar with those non-tra***ional ways especially if you are living in US. For those of you who are new to them. Don't worry ! I will explain those ways for you one by one now.

1. Experience-based assessment

This is the fastest method to get a degree. Whenever you are in US or in your own country, you still have a change to receive your degree. There are many small colleges and universities that will grant their degree 100% based on your work experience and portfolio. Experience-based assessment is the best method for who have been already in the workforce or who have gained their knowledge through self-study and now seeking for credentials. The flexible of this method is you donâ?Tt have to go abroad for the assessment. What you need to do is submitting your resume, work experience documents, and all kind of related papers (non-cre*** courses, volunteer activities, travel, independent reading, hobbies and special interests). Surely some of this knowledge and experience must qualify you for college cre***. In case you are not qualified to get the degree without studying, you will be asked to take some specific online courses in order to fulfill the degree's requirements.

Getting a degree by using experience-based assessment technique is like playing a game. You will have *****bmit all of the requirement documents to the school, and they will assess your profile to decide whether they will give you a degree or not. I have consulted many students in developing countries to get a degree by using this technique, and the successful rate is 68%. Of course because the school where I am working for (Kylincampus Technonology Institute) have partnered with over twenty colleges/universities so we have a high rate of success and in some cases we can negotiate with them to grant a degree for our clients. But there is no guarantee one hundred percents that you will be granted a degree. If you want to try to get a degree through experience-based assessment, go to http://degree.kylincampus.com and submit your profile there. Our consultants will give you some valuable advices and the list of which school agrees to give you a degree. All of the consulting and information are free for you.

The problem of experience-based assessment technique is you canâ?Tt get a medical-related degree or law degree. If you want to get such kind of degree, you have to use tra***ional ways.

Getting a degree through experience-based assessment technique is the most desired way of many people, especially if you want to get a degree in the fastest method. Of course, this technique requires you to have strong experiences and knowledge in order to obtain the degree, but I have also succeed to consult a student in Vietnam who was a MCSD (Microsoft Certified Solution Developer) and only had 2 years experience in the IT field to get a degree. He was granted a BS degree by Trinity College in USA (www.trinity-college.edu) after two weeks preparing for the process. He got his degree sent from the school in his mailbox. It can't be easier !

People love to get a degree by using this technique because you may be granted a degree without taking any classes and course-works. In some developing countries where a foreign degree has much more value compared with a national school â?~s degree, people who are professionals in their field like to use this technique to get their degrees because it is fast, safe and worthy.

2. Knowledge-based assessment
This method is for who are currently living in US want to look for a degree in the fastest way. Those adults who, for whatever reason, failed to start or failed to complete an undergraduate BA or BS degree, and who now seek some method of demonstrating and translating current competencies into academic cre*** and thence into an accre***ed, and widely recognized college degree. The core of this technique is gathering cre***s by examination and converting it into a bachelor's diploma. I have seen a lot of motivated students will likely succeed in that endeavor. I had a change to consult a very high activated student from India who went to US for a 4 months working contract as a programmer. He decided to get a US degree while he was in the states. There was no way for him to do it in tra***ional ways so I suggested him using the Knowledge-based assessment technique. After 4 weeks hard studying and passed all the required exams, he got the ??oBachelor of Sience in Computer Sciencê?? from Thomas Edison State College. Of course he could apply for a job in the US after that and extended his visa.
After my experience with that talent student, I have consulted many more students to using knowledge-based assessment technique to take their degrees but no one could beat the time ??o4 weeks???. According to my experience, I thought four weeks is the practical minimum amount of time in which this process can reasonably be completed. The process includes the completion of all degree cre*** requirements. There will probably be an ad***ional delay while administrative gears whir and turn, before the actual degree diploma is cranked out. It's estimated that 15% to 20% of motivated adults could complete the process in under a month if inclined to do so. I think it entirely likely that fully 60% of motivated adults taking on this technique, could complete degree requirements within six months. I am as sure as I can be that close to 90% of motivated adults could complete degree requirements within a year. Of course if you have less knowledge coming into the process, it will take you longer to complete it. How much longer depends on your existing knowledge base, how efficiently you study, and your native wit.
Although as I already said, the core of this technique is gaining cre*** through examination but there is also portfolio cre***. But the maximum of portfolio cre*** is 30, so you can??Tt get your degree only with portfolio. The first part of this article I have talked about ??oexperience-based assessment??? technique, which would show how to get your degree based on portfolio.
When you decided to use your portfolio to gain the maximum 30 cre***s, you must know how to pay the game. Portfolio assessment is one alternative. This method requires that you map some demonstrable skill to a college cre*** course. For instance, assembly language programming 301 and (say) microprocessor systems design and peripheral interfacing 457 (from XYZ university) course requirements might be met and competency demonstrated by presenting narrative, source code, and schematic, of a Z80 based single board computer you designed in the 1980s (liberal arts cre*** - engineering cre*** would be time limited). You may have written a killer budget report for financial year 1995/1996 that could be used in evidence to garner cre*** in the equivalent Financial Management course FIN3AXD at UCLA. Alternatively, you may just play the banjo like a banshee and have sniffed out a college cre*** course that maps to that demonstrable skill. The key point is that the competency for which you request cre*** must have a corollary in some accre***ed college course. You choose the course and the college. Very flexible !
Currently, there are only three colleges agree to give degree by using knowledge-based assessment method. They are Charter Oak State College (COSC), Excelsior College, Thomas Edison State College (TESC). These three are known as assessment institutions, since they can be used to collect and collate cre*** from disparate origins. When enough cre*** of the correct type and in the correct proportions has been earned, these institutions will then award the student an accre***ed bachelor's degree that will enjoy wide recognition in the United States.
If you decide to get your degree by using knowledge-based assessment technique, the first important step is choosing the right school from one of three colleges mentioned above. A number of factors should be considered before that decision is made :
1. COSC and TESC are state funded, Excelsior is not. If money is tight, COSC and TESC can sup at the public trough but Excelsior cannot.
2. Both COSC and TESC evaluate portfolio cre***. Excelsior accepts portfolio cre*** but does not evaluate it, that is done elsewhere.
3. Excelsior has a very comprehensive and easily accessible online library of catalogs, sample test papers, and other student related reference documents. These make life much easier for self-starters to act as their own best advisor. This is a big factor in favor of Excelsior in my opinion.

4. Excelsior awards generous cre*** for a good pass in GRE subject exams. COSC awards less generous cre*** in GRE subject exams but accepts a mediocre pass score. TESC awards no cre*** for GRE subject exams.
After enrollment in one of these three colleges, you will have to make a plan to study and take all the appropriate exams. If you have already taken GRE, CLEP or DANTES, you are already having some cre***s.
Those exams you are going to take are not difficult as much as GREP. The key point is you have to study in the right way and straight to the main point of the exam. I highly suggest you to have a counselor to help you along the way because they know what they are doing and certainly find out the most effective solution. I am currently working as an Education Director of the ??onon-tra***ional degreê?? program at Kylincampus Online Technology Institute. You can reach our program at http://degree.kylincampus.com . If you need to know what is the best option for you to get a degree, please submit your profile at our site and our consultants will help you for free.

3. Distance Learning
Earning a degree if you're working (or simply busy) isn't as hard as it used to be. The time, distance and financial constraints of higher education have all but disappeared with the arrival of distance learning via telecommunications and online technology. If you're already in the workforce but would like to earn a degree or just want to obtain a foreign education quality in a cheapest way, then the opportunity is there. It may require some technological know-how, current computer equipment, and a lot of self-discipline, but it is definitely easier and more effective than it used to be.

Today, you can earn a degree from a major university without ever having sat in one of their classrooms. Many colleges and universities are jumping on the distance learning bandwagon and offering online courses and degree programs. There are even consortiums of universities, such as Canadian Virtual University (CVU). CVU offers no courses or degrees itself, but simply acts as a portal for courses from 13 universities across Canada. There is also the Global University Alliance that is a consortium of nine schools from the United States, Britain, New Zealand, Australia and the Netherlands. There are even schools that are complete, stand-alone virtual universities with no campuses, no football teams, and no fraternity row.
With a computer, a 56Kbps Internet connection and a little self-discipline, you can earn a degree from home, work, or anywhere else for that matter. Online degree programs follow much the same routines as tra***ional learning, with a few twists. There are lectures, but they won't be in person. There are assignments, but you won't hand them to your instructor. There are exams, but you won't be able to look at your neighbor's paper. There may be a set time that "class" begins, but you don't have to be there then. In most situations, you are free to "go to class" when it fits your schedule. If you get a phone call during class, you don't have to miss anything. If you get sick, you don't have to ask for someone's notes, you just visit the lecture later.
You'll communicate with your instructor by e-mail, chat rooms, bulletin boards, and instant messaging. Your classroom will live in a special software program that uses text chat and bulletin boards, as well as streaming audio or recorded lectures. You may be put into a virtual workgroup with other students and be required to solve a problem. You may have to work through interactive puzzles and quizzes. Contrary to popular belief, you will have contact with other students and the instructor.
Other advantages include more direct interaction with instructors because the online classes are small with about 15 to 22 students in each class, and one-on-one guidance in areas that are open enough to allow students to explore topics in-depth and from many accessible sources.
In fact, online training program is the cheapest way to have a quality education and recognized degree. It is also the most desired study way of many students in developing countries who donâ?Tt want to go abroad. The tuition for online training program is usually twice or three times cheaper than in-campus program, but has the equivalent degree. The most problem about online training is people donâ?Tt believe in its quality and donâ?Tt recognize how potential it is. In some developing countries, online training is something new and strange. I have hard time to convince students in such countries to take online degree program instead of the out-dated program in their national schools.
The most important part of taking an online training program for your degree is choosing the right school. The most important thing to check out before you begin any kind of distance learning program is the accre***ation the school has, or claims to have. I suggest you to choose the school which is accre***ed by the US. Department of Education, because in case you want to go to US for an in-campus training or change to another US school, your online cre***s can be transfered so you donâ?Tt have to take these courses again. Remember that there are many other accre***ion organizations but only the school which is accre***ed by the US. Department of Education has transferable cre***s.
The best bet is to stick with a known, reputable university or college that is offering online/distance learning. That school's reputation will be at stake so it is more likely to have the same quality online as offline. Of course, there are some good programs from universities that are strictly online. According to an article by a former student at the University of Phoenix Online, many students feel as connected with other students as they would if they were on a campus attending classes in the tra***ional way.
Here is the list of some reputed universities that provide online degrees :
+ Duke University's Global Executive MBA Program
+ Florida State University: Online and Distance Learning programs
+ Iowa State University
+ George Institute of Technology
+ The University of Georgia
+ Ohio University
+ Ohio State University
All the mothods above are known non-tra***ional ways to get a degree. Of courses there are many other ways out there, but thoses three are very popular and effective. In case you have a full scholarship from a foreign school or big financal support from your family, so you can afford to go abroad to study at a reputed institution. You should thank God that you are much luckier than many people out there. But for those, because of whatever reasons, want to seek a degree from a foreign school but feel like hitting the wall, just don't give up. There are many ways to reach your goal, both tra***ional and un-tra***ional. My suggestion is you should ask someone already got their degree about how they did it as old people often said "Want to know the rock ahead ? Ask someonce coming back" . In case you need more assistances, you can go to http://degree.kylincampus.com to get more informations. We also have many representatives in my countries are ready to assist you. Good luck on your career !
Tri Huynh
Education Consultant
KylinCampus Technology Institute (www.kylincampus.com)
101 Acton Road
Westford, MA
USA 01886