If an Alabama high school student wants to enroll in Mandarin Chinese or Latin, or choose from a veritable smorgasbord of Advanced Placement (AP) classes, they may now do so.

 Governor Bob Riley’s announcement last month – that every Alabama high school would offer distance-learning classes beginning this fall – offers a cutting-edge solution to the problem of students being limited to their particular school’s course offerings.

Beginning this fall, whether a student attends a rural high school with limited funds or a wealthy big-city school, he or she will be able to choose from a wider choice of courses. With e-learning classes now providing equal access to a high-quality education, the option to attend the best colleges and universities is available to all Alabama high schoolers.

The program, known as ACCESS, utilizes advanced distance-learning technology to provide an enhanced learning environment for each course. Teachers and students will be able to both view and communicate with one another in real-time.

Approximately 30,000 students are expected to be served through the ACCESS program.

Although AP classes are generally limited at individual schools, students will be able to enroll in courses offered at different high schools throughout Alabama. As a result, while some students physically attend a class, others will view the class via computers, web-cams and other video-conferencing technology.

This statewide investment in the lives of young people should elevate Alabama far ahead of the pack among public education systems. Although students benefit first, the state of Alabama will reap the future rewards of its innovative foresight and willingness to designate several million dollars to insure the program’s success.

Approximately 30,000 students are expected to be served through the ACCESS program during 2009-2010.

Students who are exposed to this high-tech distance-learning solution will transition easily to accredited online degrees as an option for the years after high school. They will be able to navigate the latest computer-related innovations to avoid sacrificing jobs, apprenticeships or resume-building opportunities in order to attend college. 

Alabama’s endorsement of distance-learning as a valuable tool for education has already been embraced — to a limited degree – by numerous elementary, junior high and high schools across the country. 

Still, Alabama is an innovator and a model for other states to follow. Way to go Alabama!

accredited online degrees, advanced placement, Alabama, Bob Riley, career, colleges and universities, distance learning, distance learning software, e-learning, education, high_schools, job, online degree, teachers, technology

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There is only one way to take the General Educational Development (GED) test — in person at an official GED testing center.

Yet the American Council on Education (ACE) is warning the public that fake GED testing services are increasingly popping up, generating complaints from a number of people who have paid hefty fees to take the bogus exams.

The GED test measures the test-takers’ knowledge of high school subjects — language arts, social studies, science and mathematics. A successful score on the test leads to a certificate which can be used in place of a high school diploma. In California and some other states, a GED certificate is sufficient for enrolling in an accredited online degree program or traditional college. It can also be used to meet the qualification for jobs with a minimum educational requirement of a high school diploma. 

In order to take the official GED test, the ACE has provided a testing center locator for potential test-takers to use to locate the nearest test center. The test is available in locations throughout the U.S. and in a number of places all over the world.

So again, watch out for those that are peddling the online and correspondence GED test; it is a scam.

GED, high school diploma, online degree

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According to a recent article in the Los Angeles Times, colleges are paying more attention to whether applicants for the new freshman class have been troublemakers in high school.

On the heels of the Virginia Tech tragedy, college admissions officers have been forced to acknowledge that a pattern of legal troubles or disciplinary action in a applicant’s high school past could signal trouble ahead.  However, a strong candidate generally does not have to worry about occasional problems.

The Common Application used by over 300 predominantly private colleges — including Harvard, Yale, Stanford and Princeton – expects honest answers to  questions about “academic or behavioral misconduct” and convictions for any crime. 

The student applicant’s instinct may be to omit such offenses from the application. But creative applicants have already begun to spin the unfortunate past events as “learning opportunities” in their college essays. These students are honest enough to admit that they did something wrong and that they learned life lessons that placed them on a better, more productive path.  

Such honesty must certainly impress college admissions officers.

Of course, those with a previous pattern of recklessness and destructiveness in high school should consider all of their college options, including local junior colleges and accredited online schools.  Distance learning institutions, by their nature, do not require the type of scrutiny that traditional colleges are forced to address.

But the best way to handle the problem of answering uncomfortable questions on the Common Application is to simply stay out of trouble. That means no drinking and driving, no reckless driving, no fights, no disrespecting of teachers and others in authority, no skipping school, no cheating, no intimidation of other students, no illegal drug use, no stealing, etc.

Colleges care about a high school student’s past; and that is one more reason for students to be on their best behavior.

online schools, distance learning, college admissions, high school seniors, colleges, common application

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