David Ingram
Meet David Ingram
Name: David Ingram
Age: 44
Marital Status: Married
Children: One stepson
Current Occupation: Dockworker & Yardman
School: Villa Julie College
Target: M.S. in Forensic Studies, 2008
After trying a few online programs, David, 44, who is married with one stepson, chose Villa Julie College to complete his master's degree online.
Many people rely on a master's degree to help them navigate and break into a new career—David Ingram is one of them. He's hoping that his graduate degree will enable him to switch from his job in the trucking industry into a career in investigations.
Already there have been positive results, and he's not yet done with the program.
"I have been interviewing with the IRS and a third-party claims provider. The fact that I am working on a master's degree has really helped my chances to land both positions," says David.
He currently works as a dockworker and yardman. "I have been in the trucking industry for 25 years and the uncertainties—within the industry as well as the failures of organized labor—have shown me the writing is on the wall for job security within the industry."
The Difficulties of Degrees
This isn't the first online education program for David. The Ohio resident earned his Bachelor's degree in Information Technology from AIU Online in 2005. But that didn't come easy.
"I have attended four different online universities and have had some rough experiences at all of them," David says. He earned his A.S. in Business Administration and his A.A.S. in Accounting from Sinclair Community College.
He also attended classes and participated in programs at Utica College online and Ellis College of the NYIT online. He recalls taking a finance class at Utica, where the 17-person class had dropped to five students within four weeks of the eight-week course. When he inquired about the course and questioned the administrator, David was told that the class had run successfully in the past.
While attending AIU Online, he submitted a program written in Visual Basic for his programming class.
"The program was working fine on my computer, but I had trouble submitting the project. I even noted this in the 'Comments' section when I turned it into the professor through the course drop box," he says.
When David approached the instructor about his grade, a "D", the professor said the program wasn't working when he opened it, and said a project could only be turned in once. Even though David appealed, the dean sided with the instructor.
He did get an "A" in the class, but was appalled when the school contacted him about pursuing another degree. "I reminded them of this incident and told them I would find a school that wants to help students learn, and is not so worried about a stupid rule," recalls David.
"They called me back and wanted to know the name of the instructor and told me they would 'look into the situation.' I told them not to waste their time, I wouldn't be returning."
Another thing that bothered David about AIU Online was the amount of classmates who were told, when they were close to getting their degrees, that they needed to take more courses.
"They were not told of this at enrollment and many of them said they wouldn't have enrolled had they known the school was going to do this."
An Educational Answer
Thank goodness for Villa Julie College, which turned out to be a right fit for David. He began classes towards his Master of Science degree in Forensic Studies there at the age of 41, and has been pleased with his graduate education ever since.
"Villa Julie has stood out like a sore thumb compared to AIU Online, Utica College and Ellis College at NYIT," he says, as he contemplates the differences between his current school to the others he has tried. "Students are really treated well by this university."
During David's first quarter at Villa Julie in 2006, he had considered leaving the program after wondering if the master's degree was really going to propel his blue-collar career forward.
He said his teacher and program director took the time to talk to him about his career prospects. He's glad they did, because Villa Julie has proved to be the right place for him. He expects to stay there until graduating in 2008.
"Furthermore, the program director at Villa Julie called me and suggested a firm that I should apply with to get my foot in the door as a background investigator," says David. "I had my second interview today and expect to be offered the job in the next two weeks."
David had a lot to say about the pros and cons of distance learning.
What is the hardest thing about distance learning?
This hasn't been a problem at Villa Julie but it's hard when you are struggling with an assignment and the instructor does not answer your e-mails or phone calls in a timely manner.
When a person has assignments due each week and the instructor takes 48 hours to reply, it really puts a student in a tight spot.
What is the hardest thing about distance learning? (Continued from previous page)
Another aspect is group projects. It is inevitable that when a group project is assigned, everyone in the group will say, "Let's get this thing done early—tell me what my part is and I'll get it done."
Never happens. This is a downfall of online learning, however, it applies to brick and mortar institutions as well. Another student may have a say in the outcome of your final grade. Personally, I cannot stand that, because many students just want to do what it takes to "get by."
And what would you say is the easiest thing?
The easiest thing about online learning is the availability and ease of getting assignments and not having to attend class, at a regular time, every day. You can study at 6:00 in the morning or 11:00 at night. As long as the work gets done, no one cares what time a student logs in.
I love that aspect of online learning. I can study at any time and do not have to worry about attending classes and fighting traffic every day.
What has been your favorite course and why?
A course called Technology Law and Enforcement Activities (FSIS 640 at Villa Julie). I dreaded this course because it dealt with subjects like patent law, trademarks and copyrights. I thought it would be very boring. However, I was pleasantly surprised.
We had legal abstracts due every week and I could not wait to find new cases (relating to technology law) and present them in this short format. I really learned a lot in this course.
Do you plan to pursue other online degrees after this?
If I am fortunate enough to land a job with the IRS, I may pursue another Master's degree in Forensic Accounting.
Approximately how much is the total degree costing you, and how are you paying (savings, loans)?
The master's degree will cost me between $16,000 to $17,000 (including books) at Villa Julie. My online bachelor's degree cost me right around $30,000 at AIU Online. This is what you get when you don't do your homework with respect to online schools! I am paying for both out of pocket.
What advice do you have for people considering online education?
It is a great way to pursue a degree in my opinion. If it wasn't for online education, I would not have been able to complete a bachelor's degree or pursue my master's. Also, be prepared to allocate your time wisely. If you get behind in online courses, it is really hard to get caught up.
