Education News and Views

Archive for August, 2009

Degree.com Announces: Online Studies are 1st Rate. Study Finds That Online Education Beats the Classroom

Monday, August 24th, 2009

Concluding 12 years of research the US Department of Education has found that an online degree indicates a higher level of performance than traditional study.

(EMAILWIRE.COM, August 24, 2009 ) Miami, Florida – Recently, the SRI International for the Department of Education presented a 93-page report based on one of the hot topics these days i.e. online education.

Unexpected but true, the report concludes that students following an online educational program demonstrate a better performance as compared to students attending the traditional instructive programs.

The results of the report are based on the extensive research on online teaching against the usual classroom teaching from 1996 to 2008. Although some part of it was in K-12 settings, a greater part of the research was completed at the level of colleges and adult continuing-education programs of various sorts, ranging from medical instruction to the military training.

The analysis was based on the 99 studies dealing with points, determining which sort of education (online or class room) is suitable for student performance in the different educational courses. It then became apparent from the facts of those studies that on the average, students following a few or a number of courses online would possibly rank in the 59th percentile in terms of tested performance, whereas the average classroom student would score in the 50th percentile. Now, this assumption reflects a considerable amount of significant difference in both the learning systems.

According to Barbara Means, the lead author of the study and an instructive psychologist the study is actually meant to promote the fact that online study these days is far better than the conventional educational strategies. However, this in no way means that it is time to say farewell to classrooms. The main idea of the study is to promote online education at an advanced level for an improved and convenient educational system. And the reason behind online education’s success is the progress in technology and the addition of advanced online tools, which have together made online learning much better and easier.

According to experts, online education, including both the degree.com bachelor degree and graduate degree, plays a key role in providing individual attention to each student that becomes extremely difficult in a classroom having loads of students. Therefore, a huge student majority finds this system more engaging and beneficial than the traditional one.

Dean Philip R. Regier says, “We are at an inflection point in online education.” In accordance with Mr. Regier’s prediction, the greatest near-term growth will prove to be in continuing instructive programs. As a matter of fact, a typical university accommodates 5,000 students in its continuing education programs, both through in-person classes and online courses. If this educational trend continues to maintain its popularity, the strength of students is expected to triple within the coming three to five years.

On the other hand, it is believed that online education can further play a role in completely converting college campuses too. Today, universities and several K-12 schools are making use of online educational management systems, such as the Blackboard or the open-source Moodle. These are widely used in submitting coursework, reading lists, and class timetable and even hosting certain Web discussion boards.

It is because of the increased involvement of social networking technology, things appear to be quite different. Students will not only help themselves but learn to assist others as well. For instance, it will be understood that college students are familiar with the fundamentals of calculus, and the classroom time will emphasize more on relating the math to real-world problems — possibly in understanding the physics of weather changes or ups and downs in stock rates. This means that people can attain a degree faster and easier today than ever.

According to Mr. Regier, the latest educational strategy can play a key role in the development of learning communities in the middle of students in a variety of ways. It is true that online learning will give education a new face- something beyond the classrooms. Education will then be independent, available for anyone residing anywhere. This certainly can change the way we work and can surely influence the literacy levels in a positive manner.

Tags: , ,
Posted in Press Releases | No Comments »

Why Do Texas Illegal Aliens Benefit From Instate Tuition to the Exclusion of Nonresident United States Citizens?

Tuesday, August 4th, 2009

U.S. Citizens who are residents of the 49 states outside of Texas cannot benefit from instate tuition when enrolled for a degree, illegal aliens can. The Attorney General responds.

(EMAILWIRE.COM, August 04, 2009 )
Houston, TX August 4, 2009

The BIG question as to whether Texas is in violation of federal law and the Equal Protection Clause of…the United States Constitution (USC), by allowing illegal aliens in Texas the benefit of instate tuition in state colleges and universities to the exclusion of nonresident United States citizens was answered by the Attorney General of Texas, The Honorable Greg Abott.

In a bid to answer that question, the AG referred to the Education Code Sections 54.052(a)(3) and 54.053(3) of the U.S.C. where the bone of contention usually arises from. Section 54.052 governs the determination of resident status for in-state tuition eligibility at state colleges and universities in TX. That section of the constitution states that a resident is a person who:

(a) Graduated from a public or private high school in this state or received the equivalent of a high school diploma in the state, and;

(b) Maintained a residence continuously in this state for:

I. The three years preceding the date of graduation or receipt of the diploma equivalent, as applicable; and

II. The year preceding the census date of the academic term in which the person is enrolled in an institution of higher education.

For residency to be determined the individual person is required to submit relevant information disclosing his or her resident status. If the individual has not yet attained permanent residency or citizenship of the United States YET, he or she may sign an affidavit that states he or she will apply to become a permanent resident of the USA as soon as he or she becomes eligible.

After considering the above named sections of the 8 U.S.C. it is paramount to look at section 505 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 which states: “Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an alien who is not lawfully present in the United States shall not be eligible on the basis of residence within the a State…for any postsecondary education benefit unless a citizen or national of the United States is eligible for such a benefit (in no less an amount, duration, and scope) without regard to whether the citizen or national is such a resident.
By doing such evaluations therefore the Education Code sections 54.052(a)(3) and 54.053(3) would conflict and therefore preempted by section 505 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 codified at the 8th United States Constitution. If the state statutes provide a postsecondary education benefit to an alien who is not lawfully present in the United States on the basis of residence, within the meaning of the federal statute, unless a citizen of the United States is eligible for such a benefit…without regard to whether the citizen or national is such a resident.

However the terms, “post secondary education benefit” and “residence” are not defined in the federal law. In addition, no Texas or federal court has construed these terms or considered the substantive application of the federal law to a statute similar to the Texas statutes. Therefore, in conclusion, while a state court in Texas following the reasoning of an intermediate California state appellate court decision, could find that 8 U.S.C. preempts Education Code sections 54.052(a)(3) and 54.053(3) to the extent of the conflict with the federal law.

To keep following this story go to www.degree.com the premier internat online degree portal.

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Press Releases | No Comments »

Which Degrees Will Get You the HIGHEST Paying Job? Second in a Three Part Series

Saturday, August 1st, 2009

Engineers are at the top of their class for earnings.

(EMAILWIRE.COM, August 01, 2009 ) Fort Lauderdale Florida – Engineering Majors Snag Better Salaries.

The debate is over, it has been confirmed that the highest earning college degrees are indeed the math majors and in particular the engineers and not the medical professionals as many have been led to believe.

In a research conducted by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) under the directorship of Ed Koc, which collects data from 200 college career centers within the US, Petroleum Engineering emerged as being the highest earning college degree having the graduate starting off with an annual salary of roughly $83,121. This may also be attributed to the rarity of the commodity (oil)! These highly paid professionals derive their living from deducing ways of harnessing the rare commodity from below the earth’s surface after locating their reservoirs.

The second highly paid college degree is the Chemical Engineer majors, who manufacture plastics and power cells et cetera, earning a staggering $64,902 while the mining engineers scoop an average of $64,404 snatching the third most highly paid degree position.

Overview of the top 15 highest earning college degrees:
• Petroleum Engineering – $ 83,121
• Chemical Engineering – $64,902
• Mining Engineering – $64,404
• Computer Engineering – $61,738
• Computer Science – $61,407
• Electrical Engineering – $60,125
• Mechanical Engineering – $58,766
• Industrial Engineering – $58,358
• Systems Engineering – $57,438
• Engineering Technology – $56,447
• Actuarial Science – $ 56,320
• Aeronautical Engineering – $56,311
• Agricultural Engineering – $54,352
• Biomedical Engineering – $54,158
• Construction Management – $53,199

From the above, it is evident that computer science, actuarial science as well as construction management are the only non engineering high paying degrees. This goes to show just how much emphasis is laid out on math-related diplomas and degrees since such high salaries are as a result of very few graduates in the engineering field. The job market is very much affected by demand and supply and that is why arts oriented majors’ end up being lowly paid. This is because they tend to be very many in the job market. In essence only 4% of the college graduates are engineering majors while 16% are social sciences majors and another 16% being history majors.

Ed Koc states that, “Math is the crux of who gets paid…If you have those skills you are an extremely valuable asset. We don’t generate enough people like that in this country.”

To learn about the right degree program for you visit www.degree.com Many of these degree are available as on line study.

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Press Releases | No Comments »