Guide to Online Education > Online Education In-Depth > Meet Real Online Students > Henry, B.S. in Business Administration
What factors did you consider before choosing distance education?
Name: Henry White
Age: 58
Career Interests: Business
Current Location: Florida
Advice to Online Students: "If you don't have the motivation and self-discipline to take on this enormous responsibility, forget about distance learning entirely!"
School: Western Governors University
Target: B.S. in Business Administration, 2008
Study after study has consistently indicated that there is no difference in the end between traditional seat-time and distance learning. I think for all of us enrolled in a distance learning program, the main factor is convenience - being able to fit coursework into our schedule, and not the other way around.
At the same time, this is also the main reason distance learning is NOT for everybody. Unless you have the motivation and self-discipline, you can quickly lapse into chronic procrastination, last-minute marathon sessions, and inevitably not following through on your obligations, skipping readings, rationalizing that you are somehow justified into cutting too many corners and racing through assignments to meet a deadline rather than gradually, routinely, and systematically building a solid foundation for future studies.
Indeed, this is a classic instance where you get out of it in direct proportion to what you put into it.
Western Governors University is a very unique school because it does not award degrees based on credits, but rather competency assessments. Have you found this kind of academic model works for you? Do you think these assessments are accurate?
The assessments are defined and developed in conjunction with the Business Program Council and Assessment Council, so there is constant review and revision to what industry says it's wants/needs and what experts and specialists within academia recommend as the most effective and efficient way to get there.
Some of the assessments are traditional multiple-choice exams, others are essays; these will be proctored and generally have a 3-hour time limit. The bulk of the assessments are performance based tasks and projects. There is a capstone project appropriate to your major and you have to prepare a portfolio in your final term.
I would say that this is significantly more accurate and predictive of what you actual know and can do than the usual traditional grading system. One of the chronic complaints I've heard for decades is that graduates simply cannot do what their degree indicates they should be able to handle with relative ease. That cannot happen with the competency-based system at WGU.
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