Campus Meeting

Well, I had an eventful and educational Saturday. On the 29th, about 25 of us "distance-learning" types met at Ole Miss for an in-person informational session. We started with coffee and pastries around 8 and by 8:15 we were rolling. We were introduced to Bethany Cooper, a chipper young lady who directs the whole program, our IT expert Randy Uncapher, Dr Vorhies who is "Mr. Marketing" on campus, and I think the Dean, Ken Cyree.

After those pleasantries, we burst headlong into class. My two classes for the day were Managerial Accounting and Corporate Finance though the finance professor made it very clear the entire class was really a VALUATION class (of projects, firms, etc) and all the little pieces that go into that valuation. That professor, Dr Fuller, is a fireball! Very engaging fast talker with a comedic pace to her patter. Other professor reminded me of an 8th grade English teacher I had - just 2 sweet.

Looks like a lot of casework this semester as we already had cases assigned in the accounting class then after a vote on Saturday we "magically acquired" cases for the finance class. Buckel your seatbelts, things might get a little rocky for a bit.

Summer's Over

Well my first semester as an MBA STUDENT has ended and the results are in: 2 B's and 1 A - not the stellar performance I was going for but upon reflection I think this is pretty darn good considering a full time job and full time family. Taking two classes this Fall: Managerial Accounting and Corporate Finance - wife is going back to school as well so this will be a very interesting and challenging two years. We'll have our first in-person training session this weekend so I'll actually see professors in person as well as meet the dean. Should be fun.

NEW BAG!

I've seen some pretty nifty laptop bags in the last few days. I don't really need one, really can't afford to buy one but there's this impulse thing at play. So let's vote; here's a few popular styles. Msg back and let me know which way you would go. In all likelihood, I'll stick with my Dell shoulder bag regardless but I thought this would be a neat exercise. If your favorite isn't listed, include a link or picture in your post.

Online education debate

OK so I'm a huge proponent of continuing education. It was as a "nontraditional" student that I was able to complete my Bachelor's at Mississippi State University. That said, not all online programs are built the same, and not all online programs yield the same results. I just listened to a sad story today about yet another student "burnt" by unscrupulous online schools. This young man was attempting to transfer to a major university and was summarily told he could not be admitted until completion of two classes he could have sworn were on his transcript. When he searched his transcript, indeed he had taken the two classes via an online program. Long story short, the "school" he took the classes through was locally accredited only and held no national accreditation which means he really took those classes for nothing. He spent his money, put in the time, but was not able to use those classes to his benefit whatsoever. That's sad.

My humble advice to anyone consideing completing college credit through an online program: take those classes through a traditional campus-based university that you have heard of and potential future schools and employers will have heard of as well. Too often, "online only" schools are little more than quick profit centers that teach little while taking much. Stick with a school you already know. Public as well as private schools around the country are opening their doors via the access point of the web and they bring a level of familiarity and reputation that will help immensely. Worked for me.

Gotta fly now

OK so all work and no play makes Brainy a dull smurf. Soooo I packed up the wife and flew off to New York for our third anniversary. I needed that, NYC is hot, I loved it top to bottom. Well, everything except the drivers. Those cats are crazy.