Speaking of urban planning, here's a guide to urban planning schools from some "new urbanists":
http://www.planetizen.com/topschools .
This should get bigger as the world gets closer to a peak oil situation. Communities will need to be planned and zoned in ways that encourage mixed use and don't force everyone to drive every time they need something from outside of their house.
A master's degree in city planning ("MCP" - degree names vary) seems to be one of these interesting degrees that one can pursue no matter what the undergrad major was, like an MBA or law degree.
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Career Switcher programs in community colleges
Some community colleges offer "career switcher" programs, another search engine mantra.
I had heard in the past that these offered accelerated paths for people with BA/BS degrees to gain credentials in things like nursing or urban planning.
Interesting concept for different pathways, since CC's are cheap, accessible, and sometimes offer online options.
So the only thing I've found so far under "career switcher" programs in CC's have been programs to become a teacher.
Great, if that's what you want. The world needs more good teachers. But teaching isn't for everyone.
I had heard in the past that these offered accelerated paths for people with BA/BS degrees to gain credentials in things like nursing or urban planning.
Interesting concept for different pathways, since CC's are cheap, accessible, and sometimes offer online options.
So the only thing I've found so far under "career switcher" programs in CC's have been programs to become a teacher.
Great, if that's what you want. The world needs more good teachers. But teaching isn't for everyone.
Terminology
Or jargon, or coachspeak if you prefer. Midlife career changes are now apparently called "encore careers." These are the magic words for your search engine.
One link of many:
http://www.encore.org/ .
One link of many:
http://www.encore.org/ .
Life Coaching
What's up with life coaching?
Who does it?
How much money do they make?
How can they help you?
What should you expect from a life coach?
What credentials do they usually have?
Is this a US-only phenomenon, or are there life coaches in other countries?
I'll be researching this in the next month or so. Several things observed right away:
1. In the US: Not regulated or licensed by states, at least not yet.
2. There are suppliers of specific life-coach training. It's expensive, like going to a good law school. For the money you usually get some kind of a non-degree "credential." More on "credentials" in a subsequent post.
One source of information, by no means the only one - picked at random from googling "life coach":
http://www.acoach4u.com/how_to_choose_a_life_coach.htm
Who does it?
How much money do they make?
How can they help you?
What should you expect from a life coach?
What credentials do they usually have?
Is this a US-only phenomenon, or are there life coaches in other countries?
I'll be researching this in the next month or so. Several things observed right away:
1. In the US: Not regulated or licensed by states, at least not yet.
2. There are suppliers of specific life-coach training. It's expensive, like going to a good law school. For the money you usually get some kind of a non-degree "credential." More on "credentials" in a subsequent post.
One source of information, by no means the only one - picked at random from googling "life coach":
http://www.acoach4u.com/how_to_choose_a_life_coach.htm
Another on-line graduate program
I will be collecting distance and on-line options here, particularly for career change pathways. Reinventing oneself has become increasingly popular. There seems to be a growing number of them.
Lots of master's degrees; that must be a low-risk option for a university. Maybe the logistics of setting one up are simple or it's easier to get them accredited or somesuch.
This is one in Museum Studies from the University of Oklahoma:
http://www.ou.edu/cls/mals/malsglmus.shtml .
Lots of master's degrees; that must be a low-risk option for a university. Maybe the logistics of setting one up are simple or it's easier to get them accredited or somesuch.
This is one in Museum Studies from the University of Oklahoma:
http://www.ou.edu/cls/mals/malsglmus.shtml .
Monday, May 19, 2008
Facing the new & "improved" computerized GRE
The online GRE, which ETS seems to have contracted out to a company called Prometrics, has so far been a real challenge to register for.
The ETS and Prometrics websites both drop me off into a website which leads nowhere - no links to test center locations, dates, etc. Used to be the test was given at colleges - now, more usually, it seems to be at a bunch of hard-to-find "test centers" in out of the way industrial parks and the like.
I tried calling Prometrics - their regular number 1-800-CALL-GRE puts you in perma-hold, but I finally got a response from their "reporting problems" number 1-800-853-6769. I could ask the human who answered about a specific date, and she could tell me if it was free or not, but it would have been a lot better to be able to look at an assortment of dates. All they had on the days I was free were evening dates, which aren't good.
So far, this hasn't been reassuring. It seems pretty messed up. I took the paper GRE a long time ago. I remember the process of registering being a lot smoother.
And it costs a lot more - $140.
This process cries out for competition from other test providers. I wonder if there are any alternative tests grad schools would take, like the Miller Analogies Test if that's still around.
The ETS and Prometrics websites both drop me off into a website which leads nowhere - no links to test center locations, dates, etc. Used to be the test was given at colleges - now, more usually, it seems to be at a bunch of hard-to-find "test centers" in out of the way industrial parks and the like.
I tried calling Prometrics - their regular number 1-800-CALL-GRE puts you in perma-hold, but I finally got a response from their "reporting problems" number 1-800-853-6769. I could ask the human who answered about a specific date, and she could tell me if it was free or not, but it would have been a lot better to be able to look at an assortment of dates. All they had on the days I was free were evening dates, which aren't good.
So far, this hasn't been reassuring. It seems pretty messed up. I took the paper GRE a long time ago. I remember the process of registering being a lot smoother.
And it costs a lot more - $140.
This process cries out for competition from other test providers. I wonder if there are any alternative tests grad schools would take, like the Miller Analogies Test if that's still around.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
University Policies on Part-Time Graduate School
This is a University of Washington memo on part time programs: http://www.grad.washington.edu/acad/gsmemos/gsmemo39.htm .
It's not recent but is also the most current version.
Makes for some interesting reading-between-the-lines about what they perceived and still perceive some pitfalls to be.
A question to consider: what are the rewards and penalties for a professor and a department, considering a particular institutional culture, for taking on part-time mid-career students?
University of Washington Site Index | News & Announcements | Contacts
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Home > Resources for Faculty & Staff > Academic Programs Main Page > Memoranda Index Page
Graduate School Memorandum No. 39 (Revised January, 1984)
Guidelines for Part-Time and/or Self-Sustaining Graduate Programs
Within its enrollment limit, the University's primary commitment is to full-time state-supported degree programs. Part-time degree programs, often funded on a self-sustaining basis, may be proposed to meet the special needs of certain groups of prospective students, for example those of mid-career professionals. Such programs should observe the following guidelines:
Self-sustaining degree programs tailored for a particular audience should be offered only in cases where there is a well-defined need for mid-career graduate education which the University is especially qualified to meet. Self-sustaining programs must be equivalent in quality to state-supported programs.
Faculty participating in a self-sustaining program should do so without long-term expansion of their regular instructional load. The average teaching load in a unit, including time spent on thesis advising, should not increase when a self-sustaining program is added.
Faculty in a unit should share teaching responsibilities for a part-time self-sustaining program as broadly as for full-time state-supported programs. Faculty should not be separated into groups teaching in the full-time and part-time programs, respectively.
Sufficient reserve funds should be set aside to fund any additional faculty positions required for the self-sustaining program should the demand for the program decline. New self-sustaining programs should be kept small relative to state-supported programs until a stable market has been demonstrated.
Both prospective students and sponsoring employers should be advised that criteria for acceptance to the part-time program will be equivalent to those for admission to the unit's full-time state-supported program. Ability rather than employer selection should always be the final criterion for admission.
Part-time programs using intensive instructional formats should offer students clear guidelines for using study time between contact sessions productively, in order to avoid prolonged periods with little attention to the subject.
The Graduate School Office of Academic Programs Telephone: 206-685-3519
The Graduate School G-1 Communications Building Box 353770
University of Washington Seattle WA 98195 Phone: 206-543-5900
Copyright 2007
It's not recent but is also the most current version.
Makes for some interesting reading-between-the-lines about what they perceived and still perceive some pitfalls to be.
A question to consider: what are the rewards and penalties for a professor and a department, considering a particular institutional culture, for taking on part-time mid-career students?
University of Washington Site Index | News & Announcements | Contacts
Search the Graduate School
Home
| Admissions | Resources for Students | Resources for Faculty & Staff | About the Graduate School |
Home > Resources for Faculty & Staff > Academic Programs Main Page > Memoranda Index Page
Graduate School Memorandum No. 39 (Revised January, 1984)
Guidelines for Part-Time and/or Self-Sustaining Graduate Programs
Within its enrollment limit, the University's primary commitment is to full-time state-supported degree programs. Part-time degree programs, often funded on a self-sustaining basis, may be proposed to meet the special needs of certain groups of prospective students, for example those of mid-career professionals. Such programs should observe the following guidelines:
Self-sustaining degree programs tailored for a particular audience should be offered only in cases where there is a well-defined need for mid-career graduate education which the University is especially qualified to meet. Self-sustaining programs must be equivalent in quality to state-supported programs.
Faculty participating in a self-sustaining program should do so without long-term expansion of their regular instructional load. The average teaching load in a unit, including time spent on thesis advising, should not increase when a self-sustaining program is added.
Faculty in a unit should share teaching responsibilities for a part-time self-sustaining program as broadly as for full-time state-supported programs. Faculty should not be separated into groups teaching in the full-time and part-time programs, respectively.
Sufficient reserve funds should be set aside to fund any additional faculty positions required for the self-sustaining program should the demand for the program decline. New self-sustaining programs should be kept small relative to state-supported programs until a stable market has been demonstrated.
Both prospective students and sponsoring employers should be advised that criteria for acceptance to the part-time program will be equivalent to those for admission to the unit's full-time state-supported program. Ability rather than employer selection should always be the final criterion for admission.
Part-time programs using intensive instructional formats should offer students clear guidelines for using study time between contact sessions productively, in order to avoid prolonged periods with little attention to the subject.
The Graduate School Office of Academic Programs Telephone: 206-685-3519
The Graduate School G-1 Communications Building Box 353770
University of Washington Seattle WA 98195 Phone: 206-543-5900
Copyright 2007
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