Online Student Speaks Out

Posted on August 14, 2007 by Jennifer Brady

The Boston Herald recently published a story warning students and parents against online college diploma mills. It's a useful, if not all too common, advisory you see in newspapers all across the country these days. Unfortunately, these dreadfully exploitive degree factories do exist. However, so do world-class, reputable institutions who offer a rich, quality learning experience.

As the news item notes, …has taken online classes through the University of Massachusetts at Boston’s online degree program. Here, direct from the Herald's news story, in the writer's own words, are her impressions of the UMass Boston online program:

Giannino, who is enrolled in a five-year master’s program in applied sociology with a concentration in forensic services, said she felt confident taking classes online because they complement classes she takes in the traditional setting. She adds that the workload for her online classes is sometimes more than for traditional classes. “The classes are more demanding because you have the entire week for the assignment,” Giannino said. Plus, she said the course is “very particular” so she wasn’t concerned that she wasting money on a fake degree. “I knew it was legitimate because a lot of people I have talked to have (graduated from the) online program,” she added.