I've only taken classes via Central Michigan's online program so I can only speak to my personal experiences here.

At the end of the each course, we receive an email with a link to the End of Course or EOC survey. Generally it is an email with a brief note saying that a survey for the current course is available until a specified date. Do you complete them?

The last two sentences in the email are very important. They are:

Your comments are valuable to us. Your instructor will not see the results of this survey until after grades have been issued.

What it should say, in my opinion, is: "This is an excellent chance to give your personal feedback on your experience with your instructor so we can provide the best learning experience to you in the future."

The fact that the instructor doesn't see the results until after grades are submitted should alleviate any fear of retribution toward a student with a negative opinion of the learning experience. This is such an important part of the online experience. Everyone has teachers that they like and ones that they don't. Evaluating a teacher's performance isn't an easy thing. If the organization that is employing an instructor doesn't have any feedback on an instructor, they can't change anything to foster excellent instructors and help less successful ones.

I know it is kind of a pain because it is long and unruly to fill out. However it is a very important thing to do. It takes less than 15 or 20 minutes and will definitely affect change. Think of it like voting for your nation's leaders.

Please, fill out the EOC surveys and help Central Michigan become a better educational institution!

Wednesday, November 04, 2009 8:19:23 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)  
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Anyone in a Master's of Science in Administration graduate program here has undoubtedly noticed that some classes require a Statistics and Accounting Competency or course equivalent. I sure noticed it...and then promptly forgot about it until it was almost too late.


Problem #1: I couldn't register for any more classes because I didn't have the required Accounting course completed.

After some phone calls and emails, I discovered that I could take the test (free of charge) at my local branch of CMU. I remembered that I purchased the study guide from the bookstore some time ago so I had to dig it out.

Problem #2: I am 4 days from the last day to register and two of those days are weekend days. Now I am in a pickle. I need to take the test Monday or Tuesday, pass it, and register for my next class.

It's been a number of years since I've had an accounting class so I really had to cram in some studying, reading, and practice tests. I would estimate that I studied approximately 25 hours for the test.

The sample exam on CMU's website is extremely indicative of the tests I took. The study guide does an excellent job of refreshing your knowledge.

I learned a hard lesson in this case. If I had advice to give, please don't wait too long to take your competency tests if you are required to do so. They are definitely doable. I would highly recommend the study guides available at the CMU bookstore.

Tuesday, October 20, 2009 6:21:25 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)  
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It's been a while since I posted and I wanted to get back and add another entry here to try and stay up to date.

One thing that I've come to count on in online education is communication. Taking any class online really does require a good amount of self discipline and work. In addition, instructors for online courses also need to have some discipline in making sure that their students have all the information they need.

With short terms, prompt and accurate communication is required. For example, typical online classes at CMU are 8 weeks whereas in-class courses general last 16. If you have a question for a professor how long would you wait for an answer in a 16 week course? A week? A day? Now, imagine you have 16 weeks of work crammed into 8 and you have a question for the teacher? There are only a couple of ways to ask your question. Typically, you can contact the instructor privately via email or you can use the course's blackboard discussion capabilities.

This is the part where the self discipline comes in. Many times in my experience, I've had a question for the professor and they didn't get back with me quick enough. More often than not, this was not due to a fault on the instructor's part, it was the simple fact that I waited too long in the week to start the work and then didn't have time to get a response back from the instructor in time. This time component is something I have been working on.

Due dates often meant "24 hours after I start something". Instead the due date should tell you when the item is due to the instructor and from that date how long you should plan ahead to ensure you have time to complete the work and ask any questions that might come up.

If I had one piece of advice for people starting a new online program it would be to make sure you plan well in advance for all assignments. Life happens fast and being prepared will never be a detriment to your program.

Next blog post....Groups....

Friday, September 25, 2009 1:35:11 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)  
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Another course added to my transcript. It definitely feels good. The downside? I have taken all the classes I was excited to take. Now I have to start taking classes I am less excited about. Between course prerequisites and CMU program plans, I need to buckle down and get some of the less desirable classes taken care of. The next several classes will definitely be much more difficult and will require quite a bit more time and motivation to complete.

I've set very high goals for my Master's program personally and I intend to keep them. I know I CAN do it, it is all a matter of making sure the effort is put in to successfully reach my goals.

I've been fortunate to have family members with experience in some of my previous coursework that I could use as references to help me through sticky points. The next few classes, I am on my own. It looks like my textbooks and I will become very close over the next 16 weeks.

Best of luck to everyone starting new courses!

Tuesday, July 28, 2009 9:04:41 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)  
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Well, I am in the home stretch of classes. One of my favorite aspects of CMU is the short sessions. The 8 week online classes are really a good length. Although sometimes I do feel I don't have enough time to finish some of the work.

8 weeks is enough time to get through an entire textbook and really learn something. I firmly believe that you can only get out of the class what you put into it. You can certainly skate through many of the courses here, but what is the point? Do you just want a piece of paper saying you have a Master's Degree? Or do you want to let everyone know that when they see your degree hanging on your wall, that you are an expert in your field?

I want people to come to me for information and help because I've put the effort forth to really learn material and begin to use it in my career. I have a real passion for my coursework right now, because I am interested in the subject matter.

I wish everyone the best as they finish this term!!

Tuesday, July 14, 2009 8:16:18 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)  
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It is half way through this term and things are starting to get busy. The class that I am taking now, doesn't require a super long written work, but does require a lot of reading and scholarly thought.

I was working on some discussion group assignments the other day and my son walked in to tell me he was going to bed. It was at that time, that I was extremely thankful I was taking my classes online.

Sometimes life makes you so busy that the little things get skipped. Taking classes online is the best "middleground" between wanting to learn and further my career while still being able to "stop and smell the roses" with my family, if you will.

With that being said, my time management as of late has left something to be desired. I procrastinated on a paper and had to rush in the last several days to get the bulk of the work complete to have it turned in on time. Those things happen.

The one thing about online classes that I struggle with is the time management aspect. Taking classes and having a busy work and family life is possible. It does take work though. Self discipline is something I've been working on since I started online coursework.

So far, it is has worked out OK. I know that there are some tough classes on the horizon and I hope I am able to smell the roses in between APA Citations and References.

Wednesday, June 24, 2009 7:01:18 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)  
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Hi there, I'm Matt. I know some of you may be wondering why I have an overly intelligent, mischievous monkey and a graduate theory class in the same sentence.

One of my favorite aspects of the distance learning programs at Central Michigan is the fact that I can sit next to my two and a half year old son who thoroughly enjoys watching this monkey on TV and respond to scholarly discussion board topics on the organizational methods and theories of successful companies.

Online learning is something I've really grown to love. When I completed my undergraduate degree, I was absolutely positive that I did not want to continue on a formal learning path. I had a tough time getting through my bachelor's degree and felt that it wasn't worth all the time and effort.

Fast forward a handful of years and I got the "Master's Degree Itch". (Well, that is what I call it anyway). I was in a good position at work and just felt that I needed more knowledge to go along with my experiences. I thought about it and looked into schools and degree programs and decided it still wasn't for me. Another couple of years went by and I decided to look into it again. This time, my research brought me to Central Michigan. I have always lived in Ohio and the word "Michigan" is almost a bad word around here so it was quite the decision to look into CMU. :)

After talking with an advisor online and finding out more about the MSA program, I was absolutely positive I wanted to move forward and start the Master's Degree process. My advisor, Marnie, was almost certainly the single biggest factor in my decision to attend CMU. She was extremely quick at getting me information and followed up with me to make sure I had all the resources I needed to pick a program and apply.

Once accepted, it was all very straight forward. I took classes 100% online and decided that only one class at a time was plenty for me at my current stage in life. So far, I've had plenty of time for family vacations, work, overtime when needed, staying out late with friends, and yes even for Curious George!

Friday, June 05, 2009 6:51:03 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)  
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