Choosing a College - Researching the Faculty

When choosing an online degree program, along with ensuring that the program is fully accredited and licensed in your state, why not research the faculty? See if they are experts in their chosen fields. Find out if they have ever worked in their field or have remained within the walls of academia. Make sure that if they cover subjects that are constantly changing and evolving that they are keeping up.

For example, online educator Dr. Henry Christen has recently co-authored the book "Homeland Security - Principles and Practice of Terrorism Response." Christen is on the faculty of Cappella University in the School of Public Service Leadership. Before coming to Cappella, Christen was a battalion chief in the Atlanta fire Department. He also has experience directing emergency management operations.

This is the second book that Christen has co-authored on the subject. The first, "National Incident Management System - Principles and Practice" outlines the core components of the National Incident Management System (NIMS). NIMS is a federal mandate which includes information on incident management, information management, intelligence/investigations, multiagency coordination systems and resource management. Christen co-authored the book with seven nationally recognized experts in emergency management, EMS, fire service and law enforcement fields.

Students who attend Cappella University's School of Public Service Leadership know that in Dr. Christen they will be getting an instructor who can honestly say that he's "been there, done that, wrote the book." Isn't that the sort of educator you want sharing his wisdom with you?

On the other side of the spectrum, you have the educator who went from being a student in a classroom to leading his own classroom. He may or may not be recognized in his field as an "expert" and he might have even published a few esoteric and academic papers on the subject. He's the professor who has years of book-learning on his resume but little to no practical experience. I can tell you first hand, I learned much more from my professors who had actually worked in their chosen fields and far less from the pure academics. If only someone had given me the advice I'm now giving you.

Do your homework before you choose your college. Find out who the instructors are and their backgrounds in their chosen fields. Choosing a college should be about the reputation of the institution as well as the individual reputations of the faculty. Choose wrong and you might find yourself earning a degree that holds little value. Choose well and you can confidently say that you were educated by the best people in their field.