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The U.S. Army has announced that it will provide a new financial aid option for those interested in attending graduate school after they have obtained a bachelors degree in a healthcare-focused field, such as psychology.

The U.S. Army Medical Department will begin offering the F. Edward Hebert Armed Health Professions Scholarship Program (HPSP) for students pursuing higher education in medicine, dentistry, veterinary science, psychiatric nursing, optometry or psychology.

Online masters programs in psychology may provide ample preparation for a demanding career with the army, which is required of program graduates after they complete their degree programs.

Recipients of the scholarship will have their tuition costs – including books, equipment and most academic fees – covered. HPSP participants will also be eligible for a $20,000 sign-on bonus.

Throughout the students’ two-, three- or four-year course of study, the army will provide winners with a monthly stipend of $1,992 to ensure they are focused on being full-time students rather than taking part-time jobs to cover living costs.

In return, scholarship recipients will be obligated to army service, which will commence during school breaks. Students will be paid an officer’s salary during vacation times, when they will train to be part of the army’s health care team.

After graduation, HPSP awardees will be required to perform active duty service and enter the army at the rank of captain. Students commit to serve for a minimum of one year for every year they received the scholarship.

The new captains will be provided with a monthly allowance for food and lodging and have the opportunity to earn promotions and consequent salary increases. They may also strive for residency and fellowship programs, which require an extended service obligation.

HPSP participants will also receive the full benefits of active duty officers, including continuing education, inexpensive or free medical and dental care, housing or a housing allowance, travel opportunities, retirement benefits and savings plans, low-cost life insurance as well as vacation time.

Colonel Rafael Montagno, commander of the army’s Medical Recruiting Brigade, said the program is intended to “[help] finance the education and training for…medical professionals” and preventing the “significant debt” that comes with a masters program, such as an online psychology degree.

Such opportunities may also address shortages of health care professionals nationwide, such as the potential nursing shortage in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Hampshire that could leave hospitals with fewer nurses than they need within ten years, the Boston Herald reported.

Applicants must be U.S. citizens with a baccalaureate degree, be accepted into an accredited university or online masters degree program in a specialty such as psychology, maintain full-time status throughout the program and qualify to be a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army Reserve.

With every New Year, we’re given a clean slate upon which to draw a brand new future. Along with New Year’s resolutions to exercise your body, perhaps it’s time to consider exercising your mind as well.

Now is the perfect time to continue your education. Of course the big question is, how do you fit one more thing into your already insanely busy schedule?

If you’ve ever hesitated to pursue further education because you couldn’t handle the rigors of a traditional campus program, it may be time to consider the relatively new, but rapidly growing area of online education.

Whether you’re a housewife ready to take on a new career, a mid-level boomer ready for another challenge, or just a person who loves to learn, online education can give you the boost you need.

Online education, also known as distance learning, is rapidly gaining popularity as a convenient, efficient and often lower-cost way to improve your mind, your life and your career opportunities.

According to “Making the Grade: Online Education in the United States in 2006″, a report that has been tracking the annual changes in the online educational system in the United States for several years, more than 800,000 students signed up for some form of online education in 2006.

In addition to the new 800,000 students, “Making the Grade” reports that more than 3.2 million people are turning to online education as a way to fill in their educational gaps, improve their lives, and enhance their employment and career choices. It is easier than ever to locate an appropriate, accredited school with online degrees and certificates.

In addition, getting federal financial aid for online education has recently changed, making it easier for schools and students to obtain funding.

There are opportunities available for almost everyone. Whether seeking a college degree, a career change, or a new trade, there are a multitude of choices being offered by numerous schools. Some are well-known brick and mortar institutions offering off-site, distance learning or “limited residence requirements” programs to meet every student’s need. Additionally there are numerous accredited online education programs that meet the criteria for financial aid.

Searching for the right online education program for you, your child, or your company can be a lengthy, time-consuming process. There are many things to consider, such as area of study, finances, and of course, which school to attend. It’s important to make sure that your chosen distance education program is accredited by the appropriate agencies. This will insure a better chance at financial aid, as well as better opportunities after graduation.

Make this a year to remember with new attitudes and new goals. Online education can help you improve your self-worth, net-worth and your bottom line.

Accredited online masters degree or post graduate degree is necessary in many disciplines to enable you to gain higher salary and mount the corporate ladder in the industry you work. However, some employers of labor want at least an undergraduate degree. You may gain employment with your bachelor’s degree and be receiving attractive salary but with master’s degrees as an added advantage, it shows the level of commitment and competence to be productive in your work place. It also enhances higher pay.

Online degree programs, with increasing popularity have become major competitors to conventional colleges and universities. The University of Phoenix, University of California and ITT Technical Institute courses are increasing year on year. You can do your online masters program while at work or at home with little or no changes to your personal schedule and family responsibilities. That means taking weekend classes or night classes that added to the pressure on your already busy personal schedule is eliminated. Some colleges have strict lecture time table for their graduate students, forcing students to either attending class or forget about their continued education.

Many online masters degree programs do not have strict curriculum. Online graduate degree schools understand that majority of their students are full-time professionals, fully committed to various issues, busy with life and family responsibilities; so they decide to do online post graduate degree courses on their own free time. Online programs provide that type of flexibility to working class or busy professional. You can earn credits according to your own availability.

There are some online diploma mills colleges or universities that award higher degrees to students ready to pay money to acquire fake certificates. These types of institutions have degraded their reputation and the reputation of some legitimate online universities. University of Phoenix, University of California, Drexel University, ITT Technical Institute and Harvard University have restored the reputation of online degree awarding institutions.

Finally, before you enroll with any institution to do your online masters degree, make sure you research on the accreditation status of the college you want to enroll to avoid doing a program that is run by an unaccredited university.

Online education is becoming a more popular way to get one’s degree today because it is more convenient to earn one’s degree from the comfort of his/her own home and at one’s own pace. The fast-paced lifestyle of today makes it more difficult for working adults, especially those with families, to take time out of their busy schedules and go to traditional classrooms on university campuses in order to obtain or upgrade their degrees.

However, online education is not the same as offline education in terms of how the classes are structured and how the material is taught.

There are many reasons why people fail online education:

1. The person is not used to working in an online classroom setting.

An online classroom is considerably different from a traditional classroom. There are rarely textbooks; most course material is presented online on web-pages, in downloadable reports, and in video and audio lectures.

In addition, you don’t sit in a traditional classroom with other people sitting next to you, behind you, or in front of you. Instead, they are on their computers at home or elsewhere, looking at the same course material you are, so you have no direct contact with them. You usually can “talk” to them via message boards or forums, making posts that anyone in the class can respond to, and vice versa.

In some rare instances, you might talk to them or your professor via the phone, but direct contact is not usually possible, and some students who are trying online education for the first time cannot overcome the lack of interaction and direct dialogue to complete the coursework and pass the course.

2. The person is not used to the rigorous expectations from a professor teaching an online course.

Online education is a new experience for professors as well, as this is a whole new medium for them to teach what they know. Some professors are more willing to embrace this new way of learning than others.

Some professors feel that they have to “make up” for the lack of interaction and direct dialogue that you would get in a traditional classroom setting, so they give you more assignments to complete than they would their traditional students, just to make sure that you are getting the education you should be getting because these professors are not confident or convinced that online education give you the same level of knowledge as traditional education does.

Some students cannot handle the extra workload and demands expected from some online professors, which is another reason why some students can’t complete online coursework.

3. The person is not able to deal with the extra distractions associated with online learning.

When you take an online course, you do so on your computer. Often, this is at home, where other distractions can affect some online students. This includes children and/or pets who are unruly and/or need constant care. Other worries regarding home life can also distract the online student from doing his/her very best, since he/she is still in the same environment even when he/she is “attending class.”

This can prove to be too much for some online students, resulting in them not completing online courses.

4. The person doesn’t have the computer skills necessary to complete the online courses.

For those who are trying to start a brand new career, especially one that is technically challenging, sometimes, the whole experience of working with computer software and programs that you have never used before can prevent students from doing well in their courses.

Not only do they have to try to learn the course material, but they also have to learn how to access the course material, how to ask for help when they need it via the message boards/forums, how to access the tests when they are ready to take them, etc.

For some online students, the experience is so overwhelming that they don’t succeed in completing their courses.

5. The person does not utilize good time management skills in order to keep up with the online coursework.

In order to be successful in the online classroom, you have to have good time management skills. After all, you’re the only one who decides when you “attend class,” when you take the tests (within reason; there is a time limit to complete the course, but you decide what days you take the tests, unlike the traditional classroom,) how much time you spend on the message board or in the forum, etc.

Some online students can’t designate their time between all the tasks required to complete online courses, as well as balance the rest of their lives.

It is suggested that online students stay current on their coursework as much as possible because once you fall behind, it’s very difficult to catch up, especially if you are not comfortable in an online classroom setting in the first place. Most experts suggest logging in at least once a day at least six days a week to give you the best chance of staying current on your coursework and giving you the best chance of completing your online courses.

By being aware of the reasons above, you can better prepare yourself to handle these challenges and give you a better chance of completing those online courses and your degree.

While most people can find a solid career with just an associates or bachelors degree under their belt, but some careers oblige employees to get further training and education.

The Significance of a Master’s Degree

Some careers, including executive and teaching positions require master’s degreesbefore a person can be hired for the job. Though some people may have the time to commit to a traditional on-campus,some may not have the luxury of time to do so because of the demands of other important concerns. There option is to take an accelerated masters degree.

Getting Quickly a Master’s Degree

The same subjects in the usual advance lessons are discusses in accelerated masters degree, but the difference lies in the speed that is taken in completing the course. The following makes it possible:

Shorter semesters (instead of a traditional semester, classes are typically 8 weeks long); Admissions anytime (enrollees do no have to wait for the usual semestral enrolment schedules to be admitted); Acceptance of alternative credit (such as work experience, military training, etc.)

Once they are finished with their studies in accelerated masters degree, graduates will find more doors open to them than ever before. A Master’s Degree is a ticket to managerial positions in an institution, which can promise a much higher salary too.

An additional advantage of accelerated masters degree programs is the program is worth just as much as a traditional masters program, but the big difference is that it can be done in much shorter time. This leaves more time for the student to launch a new career, seek promotion, search for another company with better job offers, or just take a longer vacation that he deserves.

If you know that you need to earn a Master’s Degree to get where you want to be in life, choosing an accelerated masters degree should do well for you. Although the pace will be faster, you will be glad you put forth the extra effort to finish the degree at an accelerated pace.

To receive the information you need about getting a college degree at a swifter rate, try out one of these resources to get more facts.

Accelerated Masters Degree
College Training