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Know What to Look for in Online Colleges

AccreditedClasses.com — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 12:35:04 +0000

It is now very popular to earn a college degree online, thanks to the widespread use of computers and the accessibility of the internet. Taking classes online involves threaded discussions, audio and video clips and email. It is very convenient to take college courses online and it is one of the cheapest ways to earn a degree.

You are able to work on your school work in the evenings and weekends and you learn at your own pace when you take classes on the internet. You can earn a certification, an associates, bachelor or masters degree online and even a doctorate. There is a good deal of one-on-one dealings between student and teacher with online learning and you can ‘attend’ your classes from anywhere in the world as long as you have access to the internet. Today, some of the most respected colleges and universities in the world are offering degree programs online, making the popularity of distance learning rise each and every year.

Be sure that the school you are interested in earning an online degree from is fully accredited and be sure that it offers you the type of program you wish to take. You have many choices so do a bit of shopping around before deciding on what school to enroll in.

Social Studies Standards

AccreditedClasses.com — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 02:35:06 +0000

The Texas State Board of Education has adopted a new social studies standard recently after a lot of talk went on marked by both politics and race. These new standards will change what is covered in social studies, economy and history classes.

The board in Texas is quite conservative and they took lessons learned from the Civil Rights movement and hundreds of other sources to come up with the plan of action. The final vote was 11-4 in favor of the changes after several days of heated and often emotional discussions.

Christian references regarding the ‘laws of nature and nature’s God’ was added to a portion of the US history curriculum that will require students to explain political ideology. They also decided to delete the word ‘democratic’ when referring the US government and decided to replace it with ‘constitutional republic’. The more conservative members of the board battled the attempts to include hip-hop music as an example of cultural movements. In spite of numerous attempts, important Hispanics will not be mentioned in history which prompted one board member to accuse her colleagues of ‘whitewashing’ the standards.

Online Degree Has Many Benefits

AccreditedClasses.com — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 12:35:07 +0000

Earning a college degree online comes with plenty of benefits. You will save both time and money and will be learning new skills designed to help you find a great career upon your completion of a degree program.

You can study nearly any topic under the sun online and earn a college degree in such fields as computer technology, education, accounting, English, business management as well as in sales and marketing.

You will not need to spend money driving your car back and forth to a college campus when you study online and you will also save money on such things as lunches out and textbooks.

Once you have signed up for college classes online, you will be given login information. This his how you will connect with the school, your teachers as well as your assignments.

If you would like to take college classes online, be sure the school you are interested in is fully accredited. You can do this by finding accreditation websites that list every accredited school in the US. This is very important because unfortunately, there are many scammers on the net who are setting up websites to look like online colleges and then stealing so-called tuition money from unsuspecting enrollees.

Online learning is ideal for stay-at-home moms and for adults who are working full time. You can do all of your coursework on your own schedule, making this the most flexible way to earn a college degree.

3 Ratings for Schools

AccreditedClasses.com — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 01:37:09 +0000

Obama’s administration will ask Congress for get rid of the pass/fail school rating system that is currently In place of the No Child Left Behind program and replace it with one that labels schools in one of three manners: high performing, needs improvement or low performing.

US Education Secretary Arne Duncan will lead the efforts in convincing Congress to make the switch. Obama announced this proposed change in his weekly radio address to the nation recently and said that all students should graduate from high school well-prepared for college-regardless of where the students come from.

It will take time to achieve this goal and it will require the dedication of parents, schools, teachers as well as students. Obama said that this change is very important to the future of America’s children and for the country as a whole.

The country’s lowest performing schools will be required to improve, even if this means firing the principals and much of the staff at those schools. This is exactly what happened recently at a Rhode Island high school.

The College Completion Shortfall

AccreditedClasses.com — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 16:09:01 +0000

More than 70% of America’s youth start some kind of advanced training or education within two years of obtaining their high school diploma. Yet for far too many, the journey ends long before graduation day as they drop out of college.

Over half of all students who begin a four year bachelor’s degree program finish and less than three of ten students who begin at community colleges full time graduate with an associate’s degree in three years time. As a result, the United States is falling behind global competitors. Today, the US rants 10th in the percentage of young people with a college degree. For the first time in US history, the current generation will be less educated than their parent’s generation, unless things change rapidly.

During this recession, unemployment rates are twice as high as those with a high school education than for those people with a college degree. The reason that America is falling short is due to the fact that most college students work at least 20 hours per week and many are juggling family responsibilities as well. Another reason is due to the fact that the old American ideal of college represents just a quarter of today’s students.

Education Tax Breaks

AccreditedClasses.com — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 15:04:00 +0000

Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act or ARRA, more students and parents will qualify for a tax credit in order to help them pay for college.

The American Opportunity Credit modifies the existing Hope Credit for tax years 2009 and 2010, making the Hope Credit available to more taxpayers, including many with larger incomes and for those who own zero taxes. It also says that required course material must be added to the list of expenses and allows the credit to be taken for post secondary education that lasts four years and not just two. Most of the eligible people will be qualified for a credit of $2,500.

More and more students who wish to attend college are struggling with trying to pay the rising tuition costs. It is advised that if you are planning on enrolling in college that you take a look at the IRS website to see how to qualify for the tax credit.

The IRS website is full of information explaining the education tax breaks and there is a sub-section on the website that contains the most frequently asked questions which may help you.

President Obama and his administration is urging young Americans to attend college and is developing programs that will assist students in funding their college degree programs.

529 Plans Assist Families

AccreditedClasses.com — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 14:03:58 +0000

A 529 plan is an investment vehicle that is designed to help families pay for college classes or post secondary training. Although contributions to a 529 plan are not tax deductible, these plans offer other tax advantages and are a part of the Section 529 of the IRS Code. All fifty states in the US and the District of Columbia sponsor at least one type of 529 plan.

The ARRA has added computer technology to the list of college expenses that can be paid for with a 529 plan. This means that students who are studying online can participate in the program beginning this year.

There are many advantages to using the 529 plans as the earnings are not subjected to federal tax when used to pay for eligible college expenses. These earnings are normally not subjected to state tax and some states offer other incentives to in-state participants. There are no income restrictions on the 529 plans and contributions are only limited by the education expenses.

There are two types of 529 plans-prepaid tuition and savings plans. The prepaid tuition plans allows families to pay for future tuition in current dollars and prices. The savings plans allows a family to accumulate funds in a tax advantageous way for future tuition costs.

The Lifetime Learning Credit

AccreditedClasses.com — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 23:14:32 +0000

The US government’s Lifetime Learning Credit can be claimed for the qualified tuition and related expenses of the students in a taxpayer’s family who are enrolled in higher education. Any individual paying tuition and related expenses at a college may claim the credit as long as the school is eligible. Students are not required to be enrolled at least half time. Nonresident aliens generally are no eligible to claim the credit.

A college student may claim a Lifetime Learning Credit for more than one family member as it is calculated on a per family basis rather than a per student basis.

Either the parent or the child may claim the credit, but not both. The parent may make the claim on his or her federal tax return even if the child files his or her own taxes. When a child is claimed as a dependent on the parent’s return, any tuition paid by the child during the year is treated as if the parent had paid them and are thus included in calculating the parent’s Lifetime Learning Credit. To find out more, visit the US government IRS website.

Patterns in Student Debt Highlighted

AccreditedClasses.com — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 12:00:14 +0000

The amount of debt accumulated by graduates of public and private colleges grew recently and it was recently revealed that 41% of all college grads do not have any debt at all. This means that 59% of all college graduates have a substantial amount of money to pay back once they have earned their college degree.

The average amount of debt that a bachelor’s degree earner carries is $17,700. Most college students are forced to borrow money for their education at some point in their college years.

Although borrowing moderately is a responsible way to pay for college, students should consider carefully how much they can expect to earn once they graduate and whether or not they will be able to pay it back once they graduate. This data is provided by the US Dept of Education’s National Postsecondary Student Aid Study or NPSAS.

It was found that bachelor degree earners are the most likely group to borrow money for college. In 2008, 66 percent of bachelor’s degree recipients graduated with debt which includes 62 percent with federal loans and 33 percent who borrowed from non-federal sources. A larger group of graduates of for-profit schools relied on private loans.

High School Grads Showing Promise

AccreditedClasses.com — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 12:19:12 +0000

It was found that the 2009 graduating class has the most college-bound students taking the SAT in history and this class also has the most diverse participation in the history of the SAT.

Over 1.5 million US students in the class of 2009 took the SAT and of those, 40% were minority students. This is an increase from 39% in 2008 and 29.2 percent in 1999-showing clearing the steady growth in SAT minority participation rates.

Student’s math scores have experienced an upward swing and are now four points higher than what they were just ten years ago. On the contrary, critical reading scores have dipped slightly and are 4 points below what they were a decade ago.

Hispanic students represent the largest and fastest growing minority group taking the SAT and this group now represents 13.5 percent of all SAT takers compared to just 7.8% a decade ago. Females make up 53% of the 2009 test taking group while males made up 46%.

The SAT’s best performers had three things in common: They had finished a core curriculum, had taken the toughest classes in high school and had reviewed the SAT before taking it.