Click and Earn a Master’s Degree
Written by Marty Kauchak
Completing an online master’s degree requires a significant investment of time and other resources, much like an in-residence program.
Instructional strategies and university policies are evolving to better enable the military learner to complete online academic programs.
WHY AN ONLINE MASTER’S DEGREE?
Proponents and practitioners of advanced distributed learning point to one bumper sticker for their program: A learner may complete an online course on a 24/7 basis, anytime, anywhere. Service men and women have read that message. Members of the military complete master’s programs to remain competitive for promotion or to prepare for employment in the private sector. As they meet DoD’s increased personnel and operating tempo levels of the long war, servicemembers continue to raise families and have other commitments.
Jim Landerkin, federal program manager, Capella University, provided one online institution’s perspective on the advantages of online learning for a servicemember.
“Military servicemembers are seldom assigned to one location long enough to begin and complete a traditional classroom-based degree program,” he pointed out. “Prior to the introduction of online degree programs, a servicemember who transferred to a new location mid-program had to search for a new school with a “I enrolled in Capella’s online program because it off providers A survey of online master’s degrees revealed their subject areas range from accounting (Liberty University) to transportation and logistics management (American Military University).
These programs are gaining in popularity with DoD learners. “More than 17 percent of our students are active-duty military personnel from all branches of the service or military-affiliated, such as veterans, immediate family members, National Guard/ reservists and civilian employees,” observed Capella’s Landerkin. “This number is growing fast, and almost 20 percent of our enrollments this year are military-affiliated,” he emphasized. He echoed the trend reported by other online university spokespersons. Walden University has 52 military personnel enrolled in master’s programs.
Eighty-five percent of students the American Public University System are either active duty or Reserve component learners. The system consists of American Public University and American Military University (AMU).
An AMU official provided one insight into the opportunities available at his institution for military graduate-level students.
ONE ONLINE UNIVERSITY PROFILE
AMU launched its online academic program offerings in 1993 with three master’s programs, recalled Jim Herhusky, executive vice president for institutional advancement. The university expanded its online academic programs to also include associate's and bachelor’s degrees, and, now, 20 masters offerings.
With respect to its master's programs, “military studies remain our largest program because it includes a lot of majors and concentrations that cover everything from unconventional warfare to Civil War studies, to land and air warfare. It’s quite a comprehensive military studies curriculum," said Herhusky. More than 600 students are pursuing a master’s degree in military studies, with another 3,000 master’s candidates pursuing other programs.
Student demand provided the impetus for AMU to broaden its master’s portfolio over the years to include business administration, criminal justice, national security studies, and strategic intelligence and other programs.
"We've also previewed our homeland security degree in May 2001," commented Hershusky. "Along with that, soon came emergency and disaster management and other subject areas," he said.
AMU’s largest and fastest-growing master’s program is strategic intelligence. The degree was initially titled “Intelligence” but evolved to focus on higher-order planning, assessment and other intelligence community skill sets. The institution’s next three largest programs are military studies, homeland security and business administration.
OTHER PROGRAMS
Other online universities field master’s degrees in other areas of interest to the military learner.
Walden University’s programs include a Master of Public Administration through “the only graduate school in public policy and administration available fully online,” as well as a Master of Business Administration, said David Brigham, vice president for student development, Walden University.
The Master of Public Administration program has nine areas of specialization; the MBA has 12 specializations.
American Graduate University’s (AGU) School of Acquisition Management provides federal government contracting professionals with opportunities to earn three graduate degrees and six certificate programs. Through the university’s partnership with Defense Acquisition University (DAU), DoD personnel who have earned Level 1, 2 or 3 certifications in one of the department’s acquisition, technology and logistics workforce career fields, may receive advanced standing for a maximum of two DAU courses. Applicants who have taken an additional two DAU courses may be eligible to challenge two similar AGU courses, noted the AGU Website.
Other institutions offer degrees in more diverse areas.
American International University Online offers an MBA in nine concentrations, and other programs in education and information technology. Southern New Hampshire University provides one Master of Education and Master of Science programs in seven fields. Northcentral University has an MBA, Master of Education and Master of Arts in psychology.
Another trend of interest is that traditional in-residence programs are including online learning in their curricula. The University of New Haven’s master’s programs in national security will include two online courses for the fall 2007 trimester.
INVESTMENTS
The military student enrolled in an online master’s program must make investments in terms of dedicating a number of hours per week to complete coursework and paying tuition costs—much like his or her counterpart in an in-residence course. AMU’s Herhusky stated that the average online master’s student at his institution carries a one- or two-course load. And with each course is the expectation that the student will devote a number of hours to complete required assignments and supporting work.
“I average between 12 to 20 hours per week on course work in order to get the most out of the material and student interaction for two courses per quarter,” volunteered Major Cliff W. Gilmore. The Marine Corps major is assigned to the recently established Marine Corps Forces, Special Operations Command. He is completing a Master of Science in organizational management with a leadership concentration through Capella University. A student at Walden University may expect to spend on an average 10-20 hours per week completing course work, remarked Walden University’s Brigham.
Flexible program completion time is another inducement to complete an online program.
Colorado Technical University Online states a master’s degree may be earned in as little as 15 months. Colorado State University’s Distance MBA can be completed in as little as 21 to 24 months, or may be extended up to five years. “Most full-time professionals complete the program in four years or less,” reads the university’s Website.
In addition to the investment of time, enrolled students also pay tuition, which is often reimbursed through a DoD or Department of Veteran’s Affairs (VA) program.
Major Gilmore reported that his course of study is funded through a combination of three programs: Tuition Assistance, Top Up (a VA program) and the GI Bill.
Two representative graduate tuition rates listed on online university Web sites in late July included: AMU, $250 per semester credit hour; and Walden University, $250 to $865 per semester credit hour.
VIRTUAL INTERACTION
One of the major adjustments students face when completing an online course at any academic level is the lack of direct face-to-face and real-time feedback from an instructor, or colleagues from the class. Several instructional strategies address this shortfall, and are making online learning more attractive for graduate and other learners.
“We don’t have the face-to-face interaction, or socialization, [as in a residence program],” said AMU’s Herhusky. “But, they are electronically built into our learning management system software (Educator), which has chat rooms, discussion boards and other enablers to allow communications to occur between students and faculty, and between students—all in a privileged environment,” he noted. Indeed, AMU requires its faculty to have interactive exercises to engage students with each other and the faculty.
The University of Tulsa offers a lock-step, cohort MBA Online, according to Heidi R. Herrin, MBA online enrollment management coordinator at the University of Tulsa. “Classes are taught by the same tenured, nationally recognized professors who teach the on-campus students. Students take two classes per term for six straight terms with the same group of students in each of their courses,” she said.
Capella’s Landerkin provided another observation. “It’s a mistake to equate sitting in a classroom with socialization. In fact, Capella students report that they feel closer to their online classmates than in previous face-to-face environments. We like to say that, at Capella, there is no back row. Everyone must participate.” University policies are evolving in this area. At Capella, every student is encouraged to create a descriptive profile (including photograph) that other learners can access. Over the course of a degree program, students will likely be in several courses together and significant networking takes place over time. In addition, the university provides other communication vehicles, including a military member discussion board and an in-school instant messaging capability.
Capella’s courses require weekly interaction with other learners, which is facilitated through its course management system. The course “welcome page” (iGuide portal) also allows its learners to access the university library, writing assistance center, learner support, advising staff and other support services in real-time rather than having to travel across campus to access the same services.
THE RIGHT PROGRAM
Selecting the right program is the most important college related decision a student will make, whether it be online or on campus, according to the University of Tulsa’s Herrin. “I often ask potential MBA candidates to determine their objective in getting an MBA, then to decide what program best meets their needs,” Herrin said. “In their decision-making process, students need to consider not only the program’s curriculum, but also the caliber of students the program is attracting, the completion ratio, flexibility, networking opportunities and the faculty. Students often overlook faculty. Candidates should ask themselves: Will a degree from this university open doors for me?”
ACCREDITATION
The accreditation process ensures that education provided by institutions of higher education meets acceptable levels of quality. The prospective student should consider whether an institution is accredited prior to enrolling.
“It’s critical to be accredited,” opined AMU’s Herhusky. “An unaccredited degree, whether it be distance learning or residence, is not very valuable to a student, because an employer, or an institution at which he or she may later want to matriculate, would not recognize that degree,” he added.
“As an advisor for an MBA online program, I strongly urge students to check out the credentials of who will be teaching them and to also check into the association who is accrediting the university,” University of Tulsa’s Herrin continued. “If they are planning on getting an MBA, then they need to drill down another level and check into the accrediting association for that business college.”
The University of Tulsa is accredited by The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB).
Some of the accreditation standards established by regional accrediting bodies that online programs must meet include modification of the content of in-residence courses for online delivery and the preparation of faculty members to use this instructional medium.
The Higher Learning Commission (HLC) of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (the association is one of six regional institutional accreditors in the United States) and the Accrediting Commission of the Distance Education and Training Council (DETC) are agencies which most commonly accredited the surveyed programs.
AMU has been accredited by both organizations.
Several other online universities providing master’s-level education and some of their accrediting organizations include:
Colorado Technical University Online, Northcentral University and Walden University (by the HLC); Southern New Hampshire University (by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, the Association of Collegiate Business Schools and New Hampshire Postsecondary Education Commission); American Graduate University (by DETC); and Liberty University (by the Commission on Colleges Southern Association of Colleges and Schools).
NEW PROGRAMS—2006 AND BEYOND
A number of new online degree offerings have recently begun or are planned for introduction.
Capella has launched a number of new specializations, three of which are in the MBA (project management, information technology management and health care management).
For its part, AMU has three master’s programs in education (administration, counseling and teaching) in development. These programs will also be offered for credentialing at an unspecified near-term date.
Webster University will begin instruction in five online programs during the summer and fall 2006 semesters: Master of Arts in human resources management, management leadership, public relations and international relations, and a Master of Science in finance. ♦