OnlineDegree cosmetic update

[rachel83az]

I haven't been to OnlineDegree for a while, but I just logged in and the layout is quite a bit different than it was last time I was there! The courses seem to be exactly the same, but I like the new way that you progress through the lessons. It feels slightly more intuitive than it was before.

[bjcheung77]

Even though OnlineDegree is amazingly cheap for exams and has a free tuition model, I think they're making some cash as they're "funneling" students toward their partners for Certificates and Degrees, so they're similar to those "external enrollment advisors"... I see they have a whole bunch of these certificates that are 4 months or so in length and degree partners...

[rachel83az]

Ha! I didn't even notice the certifications link at the top of the page. I was too busy trying to find the login link. It doesn't actually give you any info on these programs, though. It only directs you to the sign-up process for OnlineDegree itself. Or to your course list if you're already signed in.

[studyingfortests]

Even though OnlineDegree is amazingly cheap for exams and has a free tuition model, I think they're making some cash as they're "funneling" students toward their partners for Certificates and Degrees, so they're similar to those "external enrollment advisors"... I see they have a whole bunch of these certificates that are 4 months or so in length and degree partners...

I suspect (or maybe I read) that their business model is, indeed, getting payments from schools that they partner with for each referred student.

Wbat's absolutely shocking to me is that they have not (at least, last I looked) bothered to transcribe the course content into readable transcripts.  If they did that, then for those who are reasonably fast readers, one could knock out their courses as quickly as a Sophia or Coopersmith course. But as it is, you're stuck sitting and listening to lectures that seem to be literally just a stationary camera stuck in the back of a classroom. Not very engaging, and not particularly conducive to retaining information. 

I always got the sense that this was an idea they tried that didn't perform anywhere near as well (financially) as they had expected, and it was basically a zombie site... no real revenues coming in, and thus, no effort toward additional courses, that is operating for as long as their course approvals remain active.   I could be 100% wrong, that's just the sort of sense I got.

[rachel83az]

I haven't checked the other courses, but their history course is currently more than just a camera at the back of a classroom. It is made up of the usual "optional" YT videos, but the main lesson videos have been created especially for OD. They're still exceptionally long and the audio is entirely too quiet, but they're okay.