On-line or Distance Learning Masters in School Counseling?

On-Line or Distance Learning Masters in School Counseling?

Question by Jacket Coach: On-line or Distance Learning Masters in School Counseling?
Has anyone gotten their M.Ed. in School Counseling on-line or through a distance learning program? What are the best and most affordable one out there?

I have a B.S. in Physical Education and looking to get the M.Ed. in School Counseling. With teaching and coaching, it is virtually impossible to go to class and so I’m looking for an on-line/distance program.

Best answer:

Answer by Gregg DesElms
An M.Ed that’s via distance learning isn’t so hard to find…

…but one with a specialization in counseling might be at least a LITTLE more difficult.

They’re out there, though… in fact, there’s one right at the top of the search results from this Google search…

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&rls=com.microsoft%3Aen-us&num=30&newwindow=1&q=%2B%22master+of+arts%22+OR+%22master+of+science%22+OR+%22M.Ed%22+OR+%22Master+of+Education%22+%2Bcounseling+%2B%22distance+learning%22+OR+%22distance+educaiton%22+site%3A.edu&aq=f&oq=&aqi=

…which should be better than most because of its use of both proper terms and operators.

Another thing to remember, though, is that your state’s board of education (or whatever is the teacher or allied professional licensing authority in your state) may have a list of schools from which it will accept M.Ed degrees, and no other. It would be unusual, but individual states can be wacky.

By all means, go to the web site of the state authority which regulates teachers and allied professionals and make sure that whatever M.Ed program you had in mind would be acceptable.

Also, remember that M.Ed degrees from other countries can sometimes be cheapter. Even some UK degrees — at least if they’re from the University of London’s External program — are cheaper, even after the conversion rate, than some US degrees of similar designation…

…but I just looked and U-of-L’s External (distance learning) program offers no M.Ed. So much for that idea. But at least I made the point about some other country’s programs being less expensive sometimes.

But if money is an issue (and for whom isn’t it), then your best bargain is going to be South Africa.

And, relax… a non-US degree, as long as it’s from a country with a culture of educational accountability, which has government-sanctioned accreditation, will nearly ALWAYS be acceptable in the US…

…the only thing you have to do is spend a hundred bucks or so (maybe a little more) to have what’s called a “US foreign credential evaluator” examine the degree and make sure it’s approximately the same as a similarly-named/designated degree from a US regionally accredited school.

The foreign credential evaluators that prett much every one uses are…

AACRAO: http://www.aacrao.org/international/foreignEdCred.cfm

Any NACES member agency: http://www.naces.org

Once you have one of their evaluations stapled to your Non-US M.Ed degree, any school system would accept it. So would any US regionally accredited college/university as requisite to an Ed.D or PhD if you were ever of a mind to pursue one. All US government agencies also accept non-US degrees as long as a proper foreign credential evaluation is stapled to it.

So, here’s why that’s valuable for you: The South African Rand is so weak against the US dollar that an M.Ed (or, really, most any masters degree) can typically be had from one of the big, accredited, South African universities for aound $ 3,000… give or take. That number may or may not be “plus books and other misc fees” but even if it is, that’s still WELL UNDER $ 5,000 for a fully-accredited M.Ed.

THINK about that! Compare that with US M.Ed degrees.

And we’re talking, in the case of the M.Ed from South Africa, 100% distance learning. And fully-accredited.

The University of South Africa (UNISA) is what the world of education calls a “SUPER” university. It’s freakin’ HUGE!

And if offers degrees in pretty much everything…

…including, drumroll please: an M.Ed in “Guidance and Counseling”

Excited yet?

SEE: http://brochure.unisa.ac.za/brochure/showprev.aspx?d=l_2_7&f=p_07420

I haven’t looked-up the price, but the last Masters I looked at from there was… let me think… I think it was a Master of Theology (MTh) and that was less than a year ago… and I think that degree was under $ 3,000(US) at the time… plus books and whatever other minor fees.

And there are others…. as I recall… let me think…

…um… I think it was in Australia that I found a few interesting-looking M.Ed programs via 100% distance learning… though I don’t know if any of them are specifically in counseling. It has been a whle since I’ve looked-up any; though, now that I think about it, by changing just one thing in my previously-suggested Google search, you migh easily find one…

…and, now that I think about it, changing just one thing in that same search would tune it to the UK…

And, much beyond that, I cannot tell you at this moment. I’m tired.

Hope all that helps, in any case!

P.S. I forgot to add…

…don’t let anyone here shoot down distance learning. Most of what others here say which is bad just demonostrates their ignorance; and their mixing-up “online” and “diploma mill.” They have nothing to do with one another; and any online program, as long as its ACCREDITED by an agency approved by the US Dept of Education (USDE) and/or the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) is fine. Even Harvard and Yale now have distance learning programs. I have a gut feeling that you already know this… but I’m just putting it out there in case someone comes in later and tries to tell you not to get it via distance learning.

What do you think? Answer below!

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