There are literally thousands of online certificate programs that you can enroll in to advance your career or help you get started in a new one. You can get a certificate in accounting, business management, computer skills, travel and tourism, just to name a few of the possibilities. Just as there are many certificate programs you can take online, there are many different colleges and universities that offer these programs.
The idea of studying online allows you flexibility in your lifestyle because you can study at your own pace. All the course work is done online and when you enroll and pay the appropriate fee for each course, you receive a user name and password that lets you login. Each course has its own web page where you can communicate with others taking the course through a discussion forum. The instructor is never out of reach because you can email him/her at any time for clarification or with any questions you may have. The assignments and due dates for each one are posted on the site and as you complete each one you simply submit it when you are finished. You receive and complete your exams online as well. You can do all your work whenever you get the time, day or night and there is no class schedule to follow or oral assignments.
You will not be able to take any certificate courses online that would require any lab work or fieldwork that has to be supervised. All of the courses involve academic study, so if you are looking for courses that give you some sort of on the job experience, you will be disappointed in your search.
You don’t need to have any advanced computer skills in order to take advantage of the learning experience through online certificate programs. If you have a computer and an Internet connection, that is all the equipment you need. The main skills you need are to be able to use email, know how to access the Internet site and use a word processing program. You don’t have to install or download any software programs on your hard drive in order to further your education.
The type of courses and the duration of the certificate programs vary according to each college or university. These also affect the cost of the program. When you check for the program you want, you will see a list of courses required for the program. Each course has a fee associated with it and you can easily calculate the fees to determine the exact cost for the full program. Some colleges have links to areas where you can obtain financial assistance and many of them have installment plans so that you can pay the course fees over the semester rather than having to pay it all at once.
You don’t have to contact each school on your own. Many of the Internet sites have multiple colleges listed and all you have to do is click on each one to receive free information about the particular certificate program that interests you. You can do all this from home on your computer.
Before you sign up with a particular program you do need to make sure that the college or university you choose is accredited. This means that employers accept certificates from this particular educational institution. Completing a full program and then finding out it is not of any use to you will result in a waste of your hard earned money.
One of the many benefits of taking online courses is that you don’t have to spend money of travel or accommodations in another town or city because you do all your work from home.