Pitt Community College (PCC) - University Review and Online Degrees/ Distance learning Reviews
A Brief Look at the University - Pitt Community College (PCC)
A bit of history here: Pitt Community College, commonly known as PCC was chartered and designated by the North Carolina State Board of Education as an industrial education centre in March, 1961. The college began its operation as Pitt Industrial Education Centre during the same year. The programs developed and expanded, and in 1964, the school was designated a technical institute by the State Board of Education. The name was changed in July, 1964, to Pitt Technical Institute, and it opened in its new facility, the Vernon E. White Building, in September, 1964, with nine curricula and 96 students. PCC first received school accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools in 1969. In 1979, the North Carolina General Assembly enacted a bill that changed Pitt Technical Institute to Pitt Community College. The change brought about the addition of the two-year University Transfer programs. This information came from the university prospectus and also from Wikipedia sources.
PCC is a two-year accredited institution of higher education and technical training school, and is located approximately five miles south of Greenville, North Carolina, the county seat of Pitt County. The school is part of the North Carolina Community College System. The school has an enrolment of over 6,500 students and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award Associate's Degrees. The College offers 200 online degree classes via the Internet, telecourses and community-based classes. As of 2003, 5,848 curriculum students and 4,234 continuing education students were enrolled. All the information is correct as at 2009.
Which university courses are offered here at Pitt Community College?
Associate degrees are offered, as has been already mentioned. But that is not all: apart from associate degree programs, there are also certificate programs, 22 diploma programs, and 18 University Transfer programs leading to bachelors' degrees at four-year institutions.
Academic programs are divided into five categories:
Arts and Sciences, Business, Construction and Industrial Technology, Health Sciences, and Legal Science and Public Services.
The specific degree programmes offered here at PCC are:
Arts & Sciences Division
Associate in General Education (AGE)
Biotechnology
Developmental Studies
English & Humanities
Math & Physics
Science
Social Sciences
University Transfer & Foreign Languages
Business Division
Administrative and Medical Office Technology
Business Administration
Information Systems Technology
Construction and Industrial Technology Division
Advertising & Graphic Design
Air Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Technology
Architectural Technology
Automotive Systems Technology
Building Construction Technology
Electrical/Electronics Technology
Electronics Engineering Technology
Industrial Management Technology
Industrial Systems Technology
Machining Technology
Mechanical Engineering Technology
Masonry - Diploma
Welding Technology
Health Sciences Division
Associate Degree Nursing
Computerized Tomography & Magnetic Resonance Imaging Technology
Echocardiography Diploma
Health Information Technology
Health Unit Coordinator
Medical Assisting
Medical Dosimetry
Medical Sonography
Nuclear Medicine Technology
Occupational Therapy Assistant
Polysomnography
Positron Emission Tomography Diploma
Radiation Therapy Diploma
Radiography
Respiratory Therapy
Therapeutic Massage
Legal Science and Public Service Division
Basic Law Enforcement Training (BLET)
Cosmetology
Criminal Justice
Early Childhood
Greenhouse
Human Services Technology
Paralegal
Mainly PCC deals with distance learning, and more information can be obtained from their main website. The concept here is online learning via the Internet, which is also considered as Online Degrees, so there is no fundamental difference between PCC and other universities offering online degrees. There are many things to study here and this may be a major advantage for your own consideration and personal choice.
Finance and other important matters here at Pitt Community College
For once, I let the university do the talking for me: here's the form that I found online:
SAMPLE INFORMATION (just for reference, information obtained from university), amended by me
NOTE: Prior to applying for financial aid, make sure you have applied for admissions to PCC.
Apply for a PIN. The PIN will serve as your electronic signature when completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). A signature page can be printed and mailed in lieu of the PIN, but the FAFSA will process quicker with a PIN.
Gather all paperwork needed to complete the FAFSA:
Driver’s license
Income tax returns & W2’s (parents also if dependent)
Benefit statement from previous year if receiving SSI, disability, child support, workman’s compensation, etc.
Investment records
Complete the FAFSA. List PCC (School Code = 004062) as the school you’d like to receive your results in Section 5 of the FAFSA.
Receive an email/letter from the U.S. Department of Education confirming that your FAFSA has been processed.
Receive a letter from the PCC Financial Aid Office requesting additional paperwork approximately one to two weeks after submitting your FAFSA. Paperwork requested varies by individual. It’s important to make sure we have your correct mailing address on file. Check with the Registrar’s Office if you’re unsure.
Submit all paperwork/copies requested of you to the PCC Financial Aid Office as soon as possible. You must also make sure you submit all official high school transcripts and official transcripts from any colleges/universities you’ve attended to the Registrar’s Office. Your award cannot be processed until ALL requested documentation including all transcripts has been received.
Allow approximately two weeks for your FA counselor to process your award once you’ve submitted all requested documentation.
Check the Status of your Aid – An award letter will be mailed to you, but you can also check the status of your aid by one of the following options:
Option 1 – Campus Cruiser Account -> PCC Services Tab -> FA Status by Term
Option 2 – Meet with your FA counselor during on-call hours
Questions? Contact the Financial Aid Office at (252) 493-7339 or by visiting their office located in the Vernon White Building, Room 11.
I mean, as a researcher, I like it when they make my writing job on online degree offerings and financial aid offerings so simple. This is good information and I must also state that their site is very informative - and they know their stuff well.
Why you should study there and my own personal recommendations
The range of courses and offerings is one major draw and that might be very useful, and there are many possibilities. Another is that this university is quite famous and well known and hence will be very recognised in its areas. The resources are fairly OK and may be good for learning; there are no known controversies as at 2009. PCC is efficient, friendly and the people generally know their stuff well. Thus it can be seen that there are many factors in its favour that may make you consider this over some other university. Also, the usual arguments in favour of online degrees also hold here. I think that it is worth a consideration and may be very important for your future degree.
However, my usual disclaimer: more research is needed, and perhaps you might need to cross compare the subjects and the qualifications needed. All the best and thanks for reading.
Special thanks to other writers, Wikipedia and other university guides
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Pitt Community College (PCC) - University Review and Online Degrees/ Distance learning Reviews
Canadian Virtual University
Canadian Virtual University online degrees review -
A Brief Look at the Canadian Virtual University
Canadian Virtual University is not a single institution but many institutions collectively forming a partnership of many universities to provide distance learning and online education. Established in 2000, Canadian Virtual University's mission is to promote online education that is accredited and proper from Canadian universities, and hence can be seen as something as a liaison body. Participating universities offer collectively 2500 degrees and more and one quarter of the Canadian Virtual University's degrees are in French, as after all this is a Canadian partnership and a Canadian universities commission.
The partners of the Canadian Virtual University are, according to Wikipedia and also correct as at 2008,
Acadia University, Athabasca University, Cape Breton, Laurentian, Memorial University of Newfoundland, Nipissing, Royal Military College of Canada, Tele - universite, Thompson Rivers, University of Manitoba, and University of New Brunswick.
Collectively they form the Canadian Virtual University, which can be thought of as an online portal for online education that these universities offer. I would say that even if the universities within this consortium or union change, there should be no problem because of the economies of scale associated with the Canadian Virtual University. There are many universities combining their efforts and their collaborative efforts have resulted in many degrees and programmes being offered collectively that each university would have been hard pressed to provide entirely. That is to say, there is real economies of scale here and Canadian Virtual University is a very viable choice in terms of range and scale of degrees offered by the member universities and Canadian Virtual University as a whole.
There are no known controversies because Canadian Virtual University is new and also because it is not a university strictly speaking by itself. There are also no known controversies surrounding the member universities that make up Canadian Virtual University. There are both French and English courses at the Canadian Virtual University, so for non-English speakers this might be a useful choice for a university.
Which courses are offered at the Canadian Virtual University
The whole range of degrees is offered at the Canadian Virtual University:
nondegree credit degrees, bachelors degrees, masters, doctorate, certificate and diplomas.
The Canadian Virtual University allows sorting by language (French or English), by participating university, by subject and by subject/ course level. There are so many possibilities here at the Canadian Virtual University and I feel that this is a very useful and comprehensive portal.
For instance, Acadia University offers:
Certificate in Computer Science and Masters of Education.
While at the same time, Athabasca University offers the following, correct as at 2008 from the Canadian Virtual University website:
Bachelors of administration, Public Administration
Bachelors of arts in the following:
Canadian studies, English, French, General Studies, History, Humanities, IT, Labour Studies, Political Economy, Psychology, Sociology, Women's Studies
Bachelors of commerce in the following:
Accounting, financial services, e-commerce,
and other degrees and certificate programmes in the following fields, too many to mention in a simple single review on the university itself:
science, human science, distance education, management, MBA, project management, health studies, arts, marketing, counselling, career development, French and English, and much much more.
To put it succinctly, the Canadian Virtual University offers the whole gamut of services, degrees, programmes and subjects in both French and English, and hence there should be no problem finding both the level of the course and the subject programme of your choice here at the Canadian Virtual University because of the scope and range. Simply - the range is good and there are many subjects at various levels to choose from.
Finance and other matters at Canadian Virtual University
Unlike US universities and education in the UK and the USA, there seems to be no established loans and scholarship programme for Canadian Virtual University as at 2008. That is not to say that funding is not available, but it is probably available only via the individual universities themselves. I would hazard a guess and say that the usual loans, grants and working aid should be available in addition to scholarships, but there is no mention of any such aid, loans and scholarships on the Canadian Virtual University website as at 2008.
I would say that perhaps you need to find out the grants and aid system available in Canada and for international students studying for a Canadian degree. Data is scarce for this topic, though, so be warned! In summary, while data is hard to find, financial aid should be available for Canadian Virtual University just as US loans and aid are available for students reading an American degree online.
Why you should study there and my personal recommendations
Canadian Virtual University has a few things going for it: there are many participating universities so there is reputation, accreditation, and a range of degrees at all levels. Some universities here on my site have only one or two offerings but this Canadian Virtual University has all the degrees and has many subjects to offer. There is probably everything that you ever wanted to study and at various prices and various costs, and various levels, so there should be no problem at all. There are no known controversies and the website is user friendly and really promotes good online education, distance learning and IT knowledge as well. There are both French and English courses at the Canadian Virtual University, so for non-English speakers this might be a useful choice for a university. There are many good reasons for recommending this university for online education and distance learning!
I would recommend this university because of its range of choices and not because of its particular subjects. So do make your choice and have a good look at the many courses before making your decision! Canadian Virtual University offers many choices and many opportunities in varied fields. More research is needed into the individual universities that you may pick from here. Cheers and thanks, all the best with your education.
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Bellevue University
Bellevue University online degrees review
Brief look at the university - Bellevue University
Bellevue University is located in Bellevue in the USA, and is a non profit private university established in 1966. Bellevue University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission HLC of the NCA, and the business degrees are recognised and also accredited by independent organisations and boards. Bellevue University is one of the better known liberal arts colleges according to Wikipedia in 2008, and offers many interesting and useful college degrees to students worldwide online, as well as many interesting and useful college degrees to American students based in Bellevue.
There are no known controversies surrounding Bellevue University and its online learning and online degree programmes are well recognised and affordable.
Which courses are offered at Bellevue University
Bellevue University offers many courses, and in particular for online degrees, for bachelors degrees and for masters degrees the following are offered:
Bachelor of arts in leadership, and
bachelors of science in advertising management, behavioural science, business, information systems, corporate communications, criminal justice administration, healthcare management, human and social services administration, investigations, logistics management, long term care administration, management, professional communication, security management,
eMBA and normal MBA,
masters of arts and masters of sciences in the following:
leadership, management, healthcare adminstration, public administration, acquisition management, computer information systems, human capital, security management.
There are no known doctorates or PhD degrees offered at Bellevue University's online degree website. The main focus seems to be on undergraduate education and in particular bachelors degrees and masters degrees only. Therefore, if you are considering an associate degree, certification or a doctorate, then perhaps you might want to consider another university and have a look around this site. If you wish to get a bachelors or a masters, however, Bellevue University might be the university for you and you might want to choose it as a viable choice.
In addition, Bellevue University is well known for its business department, and hence the business degrees and MBAs might be of some use to you, and you might wish to consider Bellevue University seriously. There is an eMBA in addition to an MBA. This might be of interest and of use to you.
Finance and other matters at Bellevue University
Bellevue University is already also considered one of the more affordable universities. The tuition is affordable and there is quality for the money that you pay, and in addition, Bellevue University has also the normal financial aid programmes that you might need if you wish to have financing for university studies. Loans, study loans, US government grants and scholarships are available here at Bellevue University and there should be no difficulty at all in obtaining funding for your studies.
Why you should study there and my personal recommendations
Bellevue University offers the usual perks - accelerated learning and a whole host of useful, career related degrees that you need. In addition, Bellevue University is affordable and rather inexpensive and gives quality degrees at a lower costs than most other universities. I would recommend it strongly for its business and IT programmes, as these are the two most popular fields. In addition, Bellevue University has no known controversies as at 2008 and is one of the better, affordable, established universities with accelerated learning - so why not? Bellevue University might be the choice for you if you are looking for an MBA or a bachelors or a masters. There are no associate degrees, no doctorates and no professional certification degrees here however, so do note. More research may be needed, but Bellevue University is one of the best choices, so I would strongly recommend it as a useful and viable choice.
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Northcentral University
Northcentral University online degree review
Brief look at the university - Northcentral University
Northcentral University is an accredited purely online university based in Arizona in the USA. Northcentral University was founded and meant to be an entirely online university offering online degrees, although it has a suburban and urban campus, not meant for permanent and full time students. (Not that I know of, actually.) Northcentral University offered business administration and psychology courses initially, and then expanded to offer more interesting and diverse interests and courses and programmes, all online degrees.
Northcentral University is accredited, but according to Wikipedia in 2008 Northcentral University is not ranked according to the US NEWS report and is not included or mentioned among the top undergraduate online universities, as compiled by the Online Education Database (Wikipedia). Northcentral University is nevertheless mainly an online university and even though it may not be considered a major player giving online degrees, it is still worth time and effort considering it in competition with other universities anyways.
Which courses are offered at Northcentral University
First it should be noted that there are many positive and good reviews about Northcentral University's Business Administration and MBA programmes. Overall the courses are perceived to be interesting, engaging, relevant and useful, although there are occasional course problems and support problems for various subjects. More research should be done into this area if you are interested in Northcentral University for Business Adminstration and MBAs.
Secondly, as Northcentral University is an accredited online university, it offers bachelors degrees, masters degrees, MBAs, and doctorates (PhDs), all online degrees. That means that it caters to all students and all needs and wishes of Northcentral University students.
The subjects and programmes offered at Northcentral University are: applied computer science, business quantitative methods, computer and information security, criminal justice, e commerce, financial management, health care adminstration, homeland security, HR management, psychology, international business, management, management information systems, management of engineering and technology, marketing, organisational leadership, public administration, and sports management leadership.
Finance and other matters at Northcentral University
There is an important 10% immediate discount if you pay your tuition in full the moment you enrol with Northcentral University. This option is not as easy as it seems and there are many qualifications and other things you need to consider before going for this good deal. Apart from paying the tuition for Northcentral University's online degree programmes in full, you can also pay by term and pay monthly at Northcentral University for all the online degrees. These loan options at Northcentral University are very interesting and innovative and are better than other online universities who offer standard loans, scholarships and government grants.
There are also qualifying lenders for Northcentral University's tuition, and those are: SallieMae's Signature Student Loan, Wells Fargo's Education Connection Loan, and the Pentagon Federal Credit Union education loans. In addition there are various payment options and systems for both undergraduate level and post grad levels.
Why you should study there and my personal recommendations
According to the Northcentral University website: "We create a unique 100% online academic program just for you. Pursue your professional interests, receive personalized guidance from Faculty Mentors, and schedule learning at your own pace. Many online schools mandate weekly attendance, campus residency, and rigid, inflexible program requirements and term schedules. Not NCU!" These are their reasons for studying with Northcentral University and I must say these are good reasons for you to consider, after you have done research on the other universities. Well, payment is rather convenient and systematic, there are many good loan opportunities and work and earn opportunities, and this Northcentral University has no known controversies and problems. It might be worth your serious thought and consideration for online degrees, especially masters and PhDs. Cheers and all the best!
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National University, San Diego
National University, San Diego online degrees review
Brief look at the university - National University, San Diego
First, it should be noted that there are many National Universities around the world. This post is therefore labelled not National University, but National University, San Diego, for the sake of people searching for this particular university. My own institution, the National University of Singapore, is also called National University, but better known as NUS rather than National University, as many around the world have the same name. In any case, National University, San Diego is a very good university and has a good reputation with no known controversies. The university prides itself on the quality of its degrees, the relevance to work life and employment of the degrees, the accelerated learning programmes and fast tracks, the affordability of the degrees and the community of California. (According to the National University, San Diego website, the university offers many masters degrees, the most than any other college or uni in California.)
Founded in 1971, National University is the second largest private but nonprofit institution of higher learning in California, in the United States of America. It has a commitment to both education and diversity, which it upholds honestly and clearly. National University, San Diego is located in California, but forms part of a system or networking system comprising several other institutions, but these institutions are not relevant to the university and online degrees review here. National University, San Diego is accredited, well established and has a good working system. Now we go on to take a look at the National University's online website and online degree programme offers.
Which courses are offered at National University, San Diego, Online
Many levels of courses and programmes are offered here at National University, San Diego. The online degree levels offered are: bachelors, associates, masters of arts and science, and certificates and credential programmes. The range of online degree subjects here at National University, San Diego is one of the most impressive in the online business. I am really impressed and from what I can see it can certainly rival Kaplan and Phoenix in terms of choice and range, so National University, San Diego has kept its promise of diversity and choice.Both arts and science subjects are offered at all levels, for instance, at the undergraduate level, these subjects and degree offerings have been offered: Psychology, English, History, Management, Marketing, Sociology, Political Science, IT, information systems, business administration, public adminstration, and nursing.
At the graduate level, the degree offerings are even more varied and greater: English, teaching, management, educational adminstration, knowledge management, system engineering, MBA, executive MBA, public administration, crosscultural teaching, forensic science and more! Needless to say, the degree programmes and the certificates offered are very wide and diverse, catering to a very large range of interests and abilties. I would say that whatever your interests, skills and inclinations, there might be a course or programme for you here because of the extensive range here at National University's online degree programmes.
Finance and other matters at National University, San Diego
The tuition and fees are very affordable and since National University, San Diego is apparently nonprofit, it should be the most competively priced among all universities offering online education. In addition, yes, the usual plethora of loans, grants, subsidies, scholarships and army/ military personnel benefits also apply. You will have to conduct your own research into your eligibilties and the options available to you. Tuition fees being affordable is also part of National University's promises and mottos, so that might be an important aspect for you.
Why you should study there and my personal recommendations
According to the National University, San Diego's website, there are many good and compelling reasons to study at their university: affordability, convenience, ongoing technical support and assistance for their online education, global educational arrangements and networking, a variety of online degrees and variety of online learning programmes, from bachelors to masters, as well as extended learning for certificate programmes and certification. These are very good and reasonable ideas why you should indeed pick National University, San Diego. I would say, however, the single most important factor for me would be the range of courses. Maybe you need a general degree and some of the more specialised universities do not suit you that well - then National University, San Diego might be the choice for you simply because it has the range of choices and offerings that others lack. On the other hand it should be noted that if you know what you want to do, then National University, San Diego is quite ordinary and like any other university, and it would therefore then make more sense to pick a specialised university or one that has a concentration in some subject or areas that you want. It depends on what you want and what your heart and your research tell you. Cheers!
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University of Phoenix online degrees
University of Phoenix online
Founded in 1976, the University of Phoenix is the largest private university in North America offering hundreds of learning centres, lots of online degree programmes in both classroom and online formats, with an online, campus and FlexNet programme, which is really unique for online education.
This Flexnet programme of the University of Phoenix allows basically an interaction between the class and online studies, which is a rather novel idea. Partly done in the class and partly online degrees allow for both interaction in the class as well as online learning, and might be a better option for those people who have motivation problems or a procrastination habit. The campuses for online degree programmes and Flexnet are available throughout the USA, so I have decided to include the list here for your convenience:
The University of Phoenix campuses in the USA
Arkansas Little Rock
Arizona Phoenix and Tucson
California Bakersfield, Diamond Bar, Sacramento, San Diego, San Jose
Colorado, Colorado Springs, Lone Tree
Florida, Jacksonville, Maitland, Plantation, Temple Terrace
Georgia, Atlanta, Colombus, Savannah
Hawaii, Honolulu
Iowa, West Des Moines
Idaho, Meridian
Illinois, Schaumburg
Indiana, Indianapolis
Kansas, McPherson
Kentucky, Louisville
Louisiana, Metairie
Massachusetts, Braintree, Norfolk
Maryland, Colombia
Michigan, Grand Rapids, Troy
Minnesota, St Louis Park
Missouri, Kansas City, Springfield, St Louis
North Carolina, Charlotte, Raleigh
Nebraska, Omaha (where Warren Buffett resides, if I am not wrong?)
New Jersey, Jersey City
New Mexico, Albuquerque
Nevada, Las Vegas, Reno
Ohio, Cincinnati, Columbus, Independence
Oklahoma, Oklahoma City, Tulsa,
Oregon, Tigard
Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh, Wayne
Puerto Rico, Guaynabo
Tennessee, Cordova, Nashville
Texas, Austin, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio
Utah, Salt Lake City
Virginia, Reston, Richmond
Washington, Seattle, Spokane
Wisconsin, Brookfield
Wyoming, Cheyenne
The University of Phoenix campuses in Canada:
Alberta, Canada Calgary
British Columbia, Canada Burnaby
The University of Phoenix offers the whole range of degree and certificate programmes: from associate degrees to doctoral degrees, and of course all of them have varying and different requirements. Accounting, business, MBA of course, Public Administration and Technology are among the varied online degree programmes offered.
(From my next post onwards I think I shall adopt a new system of writing that is more structured:
I will deal with a brief look at the university, what courses are offered, financial and other matters, then "why you should study there" or my personal recommendations. That might make my online degree programmes and university evaluation articles easier to read and to absorb.)
The University of Phoenix is a good choice to consider for its range of programmes and is somewhat similar to Kaplan, only that it has a Flexnet programme that might serve a different clientele. Many people warn me that the University of Phoenix courses are very expensive, but I feel that it seems to have high quality and that's more important than pure costs considerations. In addition, I have also said earlier that deciding whether to get a degree and budgeting are two things to do before setting out on the degree journey, to begin with. In any case, there is price differentiation and financial aid is available to some students.
I would consider this as a viable opportunity for online degree programmes and an online education, but after I have looked at its closest rival, Kaplan first. Cheers!
You can find Kaplan Online, why I should get a degree and how articles here on my blog. Cheers! Do read up and research, and look around.
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