Category: MBA Advice
Using Your Life Experience To Enter an MBA Program
Posted by Career Diva in MBA Advice Wednesday, 28 January 2009 16:24 No Comments
Study Group for One: How to Be a Successful Distance Learning Student
Posted by Career Diva in MBA Advice Wednesday, 28 January 2009 16:23 No Comments
Congratulations! You are now an official college student and the real journey to complete your education has just begun. Distance learning can sometimes be stressful, frustrating and lonely but it can also be the most fun, interesting and enlightening time in your life. As a distance-learning student you are constantly challenged with each assignment and your learning capabilities are stretched to the limit in order to accomplish immeasurable educational goals. Being a distance-learning student myself, I learned that being armed with useful information is the key to surviving and obtaining distance learning achievement. Here are five ways on how to be successful in completing your distance learning education.
Time management/organization – Time management and organization is the most important ingredient to becoming a successful distance-learning student. As a distance learning student, it can be difficult at times to juggle the responsibilities of career and family while trying to balance college courses and class assignments effortlessly. Investing in a day planner or organizer strictly for your class courses will help keep time management of your college courses in perspective. This will also eliminate crunch time and overbooking of other family and/or career responsibilities. Ensure that you are allotting enough time in your schedule for study time. Most distance learning courses take a lot of discipline, individual reading and intense comprehensive in order to grasp the concept of the assignment. Therefore, ensuring that you are allotting enough time in your schedule for study time is imperative. Keep your daily and school organizer together, so when you are checking your daily schedule, your school planner is right there as a constant reminder.
Read and reread syllabus – The class syllabus is your guideline and foundation of any college course and can make or break your success in passing the class. Because a distance learning course has limited restrictions on actual “in class” time, the syllabus is made of specific course information that can help guide you through the course without any added headaches. The instructors put a lot of time in designing distance learning courses therefore, read the syllabus carefully and pay special attention to grading systems, extra credit opportunities and assignment due dates. The syllabus should be the first thing you place in your day “school” planner along with writing down each and every assignment due date and reading homework (if applicable). Once again, your syllabus is the most important piece of paper you will receive from your distance-learning course therefore keep this information handy at all times during your duration of the course.
Know your instructors schedule and available “office” hours – Most instructors distance – learning instructors are limited on availability to their students therefore, knowing your instructor’s accessibility will be invaluable during the time you are taking their course. Also, be sure to check the syllabus for your instructors e-mail address and prefer mode of communication. Some instructors are real sticklers on time constraints so knowing your instructor’s schedule will save a lot of time when it comes to communicating with him or her.
Utilize online libraries – A distance-learning student does not have the luxury of utilizing the college library unlike on-campus students, therefore they must rely on online libraries to accommodate their research. Most colleges have online libraries available to distance learning students especially if the school has a real strong distance-learning program. So check with your college or instructor on how to utilize the college online library system. If not, there are a few good online libraries currently on the web. Some of the good ones are; Questia and The Library Spot. Also, check with the local college in your area about getting access to utilize their library. Some local community colleges allow distance learning students’ limited access to their campus library during regular semesters.
Participate in discussion and chats- Participation is the other key to becoming a successful distance-learning student. Online discussions are used to talk about current assignment or chat with other students in the class about an upcoming project. Most online chats and discussions are simulated like an online study group on which you can bounce ideas among classmates and get answers to questions on assignments or readings.
Distance learning can be challenging at times, but can also be a very educational and truly amazing learning process. If you follow some of these key pointers in achieving distance-learning success, you could possibly come out on top as a successful distance-learning student.
About The Author
Career Diva is a freelance writer who has written articles on career advice, job search, fashion, music and dating/relationships. I enjoy researching cooking/food websites and writing book reviews. She currently holds a Bachelor’s in Business Administration, and is currently pursuing a Masters of Arts in Liberal Studies.
Discussion Board Guidelines
Posted by Nick Roy in MBA Advice Tuesday, 13 January 2009 13:30 No Comments
Here are some discussion board guidelines for a distance learning course at Liberty University.
Throughout the course, students will be required to make a minimum of weekly posts to the discussion board. In large part, the quality of interaction on the discussion board is how a student’s class participation grade will be derived. All of these posts will be in the full class discussion forum. Each week on the Discussion Board, starting with Week 2, you will see 3 to 4 questions that you are required to discuss with everyone. There will be FIVE graded full-class discussions during the course. These discussions will be more general and theoretical in nature, much like a general class discussion in a residential setting.
Each student is required to make at least ONE substantive original post (thread) for each of the questions and at least TWO short interaction/reply posts to two other student’s original posts. However, each student may also make more than the required posts. You are encouraged to talk with one another as much as possible.
Each Discussion Board requires a minimum of an original post (at least 200–250 words answering the questions given) and the two smaller interaction/reply posts (50–100 words). While students are encouraged to participate more actively in the learning activities, only the original and interaction/reply posts will count toward the grade.
All original Discussion Board posts are due on Wednesdays by 11:59 p.m (ET). All interaction/replies to discussion board posts are due on Saturdays by 11:59 p.m (ET).
If you do not respond by these time deadlines, your interaction will not “count” (Blackboard records the date and time!) and, therefore, you will not receive points toward the grade for that assignment. But this will be a much more valuable experience if students post soon after the questions are announced. Imagine a classroom where the professor asked a question, but no one ever responded or waited for 3 days to respond! Contrast that with a vibrant classroom discussion where students are engaging each other and the professor in dialogue on a particular topic.
Enthusiastic agreement and respectful disagreement with others in the class is expected. Disrespect (e.g., name-calling, “Bible thumping,” sermonizing, hostility, etc.) will not be acceptable communication on the discussion boards and severe final course grade reduction will be the consequence if it occurs. Learning to accurately communicate beliefs, attitudes, and emotions about important issues is a crucial part of personal and professional development, particularly when others don’t see them as you do.
Choosing The Right College
Posted by Nick Roy in MBA Advice Sunday, 11 January 2009 09:40 No Comments
Not only is making sure that your college is regionally accredited is important, you need to also look into whether the school is a for profit or a traditional non-profit. There are only 2 for profit schools that are highly respected for the distance learning programs: Argosy University and Walden University.
I personally got suckered into a for profit university in 1991 with then Fort Lauderdale College. They gave me the spiel that they were in the process of becoming a university, regionally accredited, and their athletic teams becoming part of the NCAA. Well, only 1 out of the three was realized. In 1994, they became Florida Metropolitan University. In 2007, they changed their name to Everest University.
I am actually starting now researching schools for doctoral programs in psychology. Argosy University and Walden University are two of the leading candidates. Argosy University is accredited with the American Psychological Association. While with Walden University, a few of my past professors have received their Ph.D’s from their.
Schools that I will ignore like the plague are University of Phoenix. While investigating schools I stopped by a campus and the admissions rep was so eager to get me to enroll right then and there. She even persisted by calling and emailing me to see if I made a decision. A normal, traditional university does not put on this type of high pressure sales technique on their prospective students. That actually turned me off, and got them taken out of consideration.
Take the time to investigate your school because it is an “investment” in your future.
Steps to Refining Your College Study Techniques
Posted by Anne Harvester in MBA Advice Saturday, 10 January 2009 10:12 No Comments
Far too many college students are struggling with their classes lately. The list of reasons why ranges from mean professors to far too much partying. The real reason, however, is students lack the necessary study skills to succeed at the college level. Every student has their own unique learning style which needs to be optimized in order for it to “stick”.
Compare two students trying to learn the metric table, as an example. One possesses the ability to quickly and naturally grasp the importance of good study skills and is able to comprehend metric conversion and the metric conversion calculator. While the other lags behind in their metric conversion table coursework, facing challenges and struggling because they don’t know were to start. Students need to get their minds focused on learning a new piece of information on the metric table every day in order to properly learn it.
A college student must realize that good metric calculator and metric conversion study skills begin with their level of attitude and enthusiasm for learning. The student with good study habits understands it takes time to memorize the metric conversion calculator. Studying the metric calculator for a few minutes here and there will not lead to success. Here are my seven ways to better your study skills:
- As you are read assigned text, write and keep notes on important points. Review these notes daily.
- Studies show that using 3 x 5 cards to review important terms improves your memory on studied material.
- Create study activities that you will perform every week. Take time for a weekly session where you write down important facts on a sheet of paper using only your memory.
- Start a study skills lesson plan for each subject. These lesson plans should include test taking ideas that you can use for each class.
- Never let test anxiety creep into your thoughts. Try to spend more time preparing for each test to relieve some of that anxiety.
- The most helpful study resource is your professor or tutor. Never be afraid to ask for help when you need it.
- Take notes on important facts and review them the morning of your test. If you studying a math or science course, write out all of the important formulas on one sheet of paper and review these formulas the morning of your next test.
Finally, the best way to pass that difficult math test and ace knowing the metric conversion table is to maintain a positive attitude. Never let your negative feelings get in your way. If you go into that big test expecting to do great, there is a good chance you will do great. Belief in failure only leads to failure. Developing new study skills each day and following through leads to a successful learning strategy and better grades.
About The Author
Anne Harvester is a homemaker extraordinaire residing in Denver, Colorado with a Master’s in Education and years of experience creating spectacular events and gifts.