Kaplan University

The increased use of online universities in this country have given millions of Americans the opportunity to get their degree later in life while possibly trying to juggle a career and family at the same time. These are five such universities.

The first is Kaplan University.  Its website is www.kaplan.edu and the university offers master’s, bachelor’s and associate degrees as well as certificates that can provide the student with skills to compete in the fields of health care, design, criminal justice and education to name a few.  The university was founded in 1937 and the current tuition costs are ranging from $305- $475 per credit hour. This is depending upon the type of degree that the individual has chosen. The university is helpful to its alumni in the fact that accepts resumes and posts jobs on their website for employers.

Its mission statement is: Kaplan University is an institution of higher learning dedicated to providing innovative undergraduate, graduate, and continuing professional education. Our programs foster student learning with opportunities to launch, enhance, or change careers in a diverse global society. The University is committed to general education, a student-centered service and support approach, and applied scholarship in a practical environment.”

To contact Kaplan University by email, info@kykaplan.edu is the email address. “Since 1937, we’ve built a long and distinguished tradition as both an academic pioneer and career-maker. We’re part of Kaplan Higher Education, a premier education provider, with more than 75 campus-based schools nationwide. Unique to our education family are some of the highest ranked programs in the world. Kaplan is the world leader in test preparation and has helped more than 3 million students prepare to take the tests necessary to achieve their education and career goals. The Kaplan Professional companies provide certification training developed for adult learners who are juggling the demands of home, family, and busy careers.” (getinfo.kaplan.edu)

University of Phoenix  www.phoenix.edu) is the largest online university in the country with more than 20,000 faculty and more than 220,000 undergraduates. The university was founded in 1976 and its central location is in Phoenix, Arizona. The University of Phoenix, has grown considerably and it was recognized as the first university in the country to offer course work online. The email of the university is fts@amail.uoph.edu and its tuition is $475 per credit hour.

Its mission statement is: The Statement of Mission and Purposes focuses clearly on student learning and identifies that focus as the vehicle through which broader institutional goals will be pursued. It also emphasizes innovation, convenience, continuous improvement, and service quality as essential to mission fulfillment.

The University of Phoenix has extensive resources in the area of job postings.  There are literally thousands of jobs postings in the website which is frequented by University of Phoenix undergraduates and alum on a daily basis. “Beginning in the early 1970s University of Phoenix reinvented the way in which working adults could achieve a higher education and made academic innovation, quality and accountability its hallmark. It pioneered an educational and service model specifically geared toward the way adults learn best and made its programs widely available to working students using common-sense scheduling and fresh new approaches to academic delivery.” ( www.phoenix.edu)

DeVry University is one of the most widely known and respected universities in the country.  And now they can add their online university to that list. DeVry University: (www.devryonlinedegrees.com)  is a for profit institution for full or part time individuals seeking training in some of the more technical jobs in the country and which are already in the work force.

Devry was founded in 1931 and its tuition costs per semester is $4975. Devry offers an online search engine in the way of job postings and offers a wide and diverse range of jobs to chose from; many of which place a great deal of merit on an alum from Devry University. Its email for students is: sfo@fre.devry.edu and its main programs are computer engineering, electronic engineering network and communication

Its mission statement is: The mission of DeVry University is to foster learning through high-quality, career-oriented undergraduate and graduate programs in technology, business, and management.  The university delivers its programs at campuses, centers and online to meet the needs of a diverse and geographically dispersed student population.

Strayer University: www.strayer.edu. Is located in Washington D.C. and it a private institution.  Strayer has more than 31,000 students within its 45 campuses and serves its students online as well as in the classroom and it is unique in that fashion.

The tuition is $1730 per course and its job postings and postings of resumes on behalf of its undergraduates is very helpful to the students and the website has received positive feedback for these services. The university was founded in 1892 but was made a university as recently as 1998. Its email for applicants is admissions_online@strayer.edu.

Its mission statement is: To establish opportunities for Strayer University alumni to stay connected to the University and remain on the cutting edge of business and technology. Over 112 years, the school has expanded to 45 campuses and in 11 states. “Strayer University offers an alumni directory as well as daily postings of job fairs as well as a newsletter for its alumni and undergraduates. Our undergraduate and graduate programs are available at 46 campuses in Alabama, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and Washington, D.C., as well as online. Many students take advantage of both on-campus and online courses.” ( www.strayer.edu.com)

Thompson Rivers University is another online school that has earned the respect of its students.  Its campus is located in British Columbia, Canada and was established as recently as 2005 as an online university.  The school was established in 1978 and it is a public institution.  Its website is www.tru.ca/ and its email for interested applicants is stuemploy@tru.ca/  The university offers free job postings and well as resumes to be posted on their website.  The services that the university offers in this are not as extensive as other, more established universities but it promises to increase its listings in the coming months.

Its mission statement is: To support planning at a variety of levels across the university by providing accurate, timely, impartial and reliable information and analysis for decision-making, policy development, and internal and external constituent needs. The tuition fees are very reasonable at $111 per semester hour which is much lower than the above mentioned universities and one of the more affordable tuitions that I have ever come across.  And with that total being in Canadian dollars, the tuition is even less than that at just over $100 per semester hour. Here are a few fast facts about the college: Almost 50 undergraduate degree options at the TRU Kamloops Campus

“Nearly 20 professional career Diploma programs, all with ‘ladders’ to a degree at the Kamloops campus
Six- to ten-month Job-entry certificates, Trade-entry and Apprenticeship training at the Kamloops campus
Distance education courses, and complete distance programs in selected fields.
Flexible distance and degree, diploma and certificate access through the BC Centre Open Learning, currently based at our Burnaby campus.” ( www.tru.ca)

Here is a summary on just a few of the online universities that are available.  And with more becoming accredited, it is becoming easier for professional adults to go back and get their degree and open up the door of opportunity when they thought that it has been closed forever.