How to find a quality online degree program Published March 26, 2007 By Glenn Smith Misawa education services officer MISAWA AIR BASE, Japan -- Distance education opportunities and usage has grown at a tremendous pace. Most colleges and universities offer some form of distance learning programs. In the past, only 20 percent of overall tuition assistance was paid to distance learning schools -- this figure is now more than 50 percent. Today, our expeditionary military often forces our servicemembers to find alternatives to traditional degree programs. Juggling the demands of a full-time job, deployments, family matters, and community involvement makes attending in-classroom education programs difficult. Increasing numbers of personnel are turning to distance education to pursue voluntary off-duty education programs -- the challenge for most is finding a school that offers the desired program of study at an affordable cost. Where do you start? For enlisted Air Force members, completing the Community College of the Air Force degree is a good start. The CCAF degree will usually qualify Airmen to apply for accelerated baccalaureate degree programs. At Misawa, the education and training flight has programs at Central Texas College and University of Maryland University which offers all the necessary general education requirements to complete a CCAF degree. The education and training flight staff will review individual degree plans and suggest courses at these universities to complete a CCAF degree. For individuals who already hold a baccalaureate degree and want to pursue a graduate degree, they must choose a major field of study. At the master's degree level, members will specialize. It is difficult to adequately search for a graduate degree program until you determine a major. Personnel can also visit the University of Phoenix or Troy University representatives for additional assistance in determining the right major. Once a specific major ahs been decided, personnel can use the following tools to assist in their college search. The same Web sites also work for undergraduate programs. http://dir.yahoo.com/Education/Distance_Learning/ http://www.worldwidelearn.com/index.html www.collegesource.org www.degrees.com http://www.newsweekdistancelearning.com/ http://distancelearn.about.com/ http://www.gradschools.com/ http://www.dantescatalogs.com/DEDC/DEDCNav.asp http://www.petersons.com/distancelearning/code/search.asp?sponsor= The Department of Defense also recognizes distance learning programs. To find out more go to: http://www.dantes.doded.mil/dantes_web/distancelearning/index.htm?Flag=True To find out if a school accepts tuition assistance and is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education, check the following Web site. http://www.ope.ed.gov/accreditation/search.asp The goal at the base education and training flight is to provide helpful online tools to assist people in finding an accredited program to meet their educational objectives. For more information, call 226-4201 and ask for a counselor.