# Online AAS or BS degree?



## wantdegree (Jun 28, 2010)

I have my NREMT-P; I want to find an online course that allows me to finish out my AAS in Emergency Management or a similar EMS field. Or I would even be interested in a BS degree. Does anyone know or have any experience with an online degree in these fields?  I'm particularly looking for names of online schools.  I've found a couple but I'm hoping to get some new ideas here.  Thanks.


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## ExpatMedic0 (Jun 28, 2010)

http://www.camdencc.edu/departments/paramedic/distancelearning.htm

For AAS I like this one.


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## jjesusfreak01 (Jun 28, 2010)

schulz said:


> http://www.camdencc.edu/departments/paramedic/distancelearning.htm
> 
> For AAS I like this one.



That would be annoying if I was a paramedic going for an AAS, since I already have credit for every single one of those GE courses and they make you take them anyways. I wonder if they would let someone take extra EMS courses instead of GE?


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## jgmedic (Jun 28, 2010)

schulz said:


> http://www.camdencc.edu/departments/paramedic/distancelearning.htm
> 
> For AAS I like this one.



how are the fees for this? I know, I know call and ask, but I figured maybe you know off the top of your head.


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## usafmedic45 (Jun 28, 2010)

> I want to find an online course that allows me to finish out my AAS in Emergency Management or a similar EMS field



Why not diversify a little in case (or rather, for when) you burn out or get fed up with the low pay and the crappy hours?  Just make sure you're going with a real university and not something like University of Phoenix, ITT Tech, etc.


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## ExpatMedic0 (Jun 29, 2010)

usafmedic45 said:


> Why not diversify a little in case (or rather, for when) you burn out or get fed up with the low pay and the crappy hours?





usafmedic45 said:


> Training: Flight RT


Someone needs to turn there Paramedic frown upside down


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## usafmedic45 (Jun 29, 2010)

> Someone needs to turn there Paramedic frown upside down



Hmmm?  Not sure that I follow.

I am actually finishing up a bachelors in something not related to medicine and then going on to graduate school for epidemiology.  I am looking forward to getting out of healthcare as a day to day job, but I will always have a soft spot in my heart for EMS and will probably always volunteer or work part time in some capacity.


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## wantdegree (Jun 29, 2010)

*Camden*

Thanks for the info on Camden.  I looked at the website and it looked promising until I got to this part:

RESIDENCY REQUIREMENT
Camden County College has a residency requirement stating that a minimum of 30 credits applied to any degree must be taken at Camden County College. This is non-negotiable.

Does this meant that the course isn't totally online?  30 credits is a lot when I live in another state!  Am I reading this wrong?


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## wantdegree (Jun 29, 2010)

*Baker College*

Has anyone ever heard of Baker College?  They have an online AAS degree in Emergency Medical Services Management.  The weird thing is, instead of the normal 60 or so hours, their course is 99 hours.  45 transfers from your EMT-P credentials, but that still leaves 51 hours.  It seemed like alot for an AAS.  Anyone heard of this place or about this program?


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## ExpatMedic0 (Jun 29, 2010)

wantdegree said:


> Thanks for the info on Camden.  I looked at the website and it looked promising until I got to this part:
> 
> RESIDENCY REQUIREMENT
> Camden County College has a residency requirement stating that a minimum of 30 credits applied to any degree must be taken at Camden County College. This is non-negotiable.
> ...



Nope, 

All that means is that 30 of the credits have to be taken at Camden. "Residency does not refer to your geographical location, but rather the credits your required to take at there school to be eligible for a degree at there school. At least thats how I have understood it. Talk to Matt the program director there. Hes been very responsive. I am finishing my AAS that way in the middle east soon.


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## DaniGrrl (Jun 29, 2010)

If you already have an A.A.S. there are B.S. programs available:
http://www.wcu.edu/4637.asp
http://extended.nau.edu/Degrees/119/BS+Health+Sciences+-+Paramedic+Care.html


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## medic417 (Jun 29, 2010)

Go to www.percomonline.com and they can help you get a degree online from a real college/university.


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## thegreypilgrim (Jun 29, 2010)

Why do you want to do an online degree? Do you have some reason to not be in a classroom (like being in Kabul or something)?


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## medic417 (Jun 29, 2010)

thegreypilgrim said:


> Why do you want to do an online degree? Do you have some reason to not be in a classroom (like being in Kabul or something)?



There is nothing wrong with online education.  I can get credits from just about every major university online now.  Online allows people to get education they could never even consider in the past.  Now just like regular classes there are diploma mills so stick with reputable universities.


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## thegreypilgrim (Jun 29, 2010)

medic417 said:


> There is nothing wrong with online education.  I can get credits from just about every major university online now.  Online allows people to get education they could never even consider in the past.  Now just like regular classes there are diploma mills so stick with reputable universities.


I'm not knocking it or anything (I've taken plenty of online courses myself), I suppose it all just depends on how you learn. You don't really have the same sort of access and immediacy to the sort of learning support resources doing an online program as you do if you were actually there. Also if there are science courses the lab components can get kind of tricky with an online course.


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## wantdegree (Jun 29, 2010)

I would be fine with a traditional classroom setting but I live in a rural area of VA and the closest such program is almost 3 hrs. away. There's a school an hour away the offers an AAS with completion of your EMT-P and general studies but I want a more specific track- ems management, eetc.


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## thegreypilgrim (Jun 29, 2010)

wantdegree said:


> I would be fine with a traditional classroom setting but I live in a rural area of VA and the closest such program is almost 3 hrs. away. There's a school an hour away the offers an AAS with completion of your EMT-P and general studies but I want a more specific track- ems management, eetc.


I understand that, but that raises the question of the possibility of relocation. Would that be at all possible?

Also, I don't know what part of VA you're in, but you may want to check out these programs:

University of Maryland Baltimore County

Eastern Kentucky University

Western Carolina University

George Washington University

You say you want an EMS management degree, what specifically do you want to do career-wise?


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## usafmedic45 (Jun 29, 2010)

Stay away from Baker.  It's a diploma mill.  I would round file any application with a "degree" from Baker.   

There is nothing wrong with a distance education degree, so long as it comes from a reputable school.  That generally means one that is either a state school or a long established (one not established solely for the purposes of distance education) private school.


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## medic417 (Jun 29, 2010)

thegreypilgrim said:


> I'm not knocking it or anything (I've taken plenty of online courses myself), I suppose it all just depends on how you learn. You don't really have the same sort of access and immediacy to the sort of learning support resources doing an online program as you do if you were actually there. Also if there are science courses the lab components can get kind of tricky with an online course.



I agree not everyone has the same learning style and as such some should not try online education.

I actually found I had as much true interaction in fact more one on one with online courses than traditional large university courses.  I could send an email, make a phone call and actually discuss with no distractions anything I needed clarification on. 

As to labs, etc you just attend those parts of the course but do the book/lecture part online.


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## usafmedic45 (Jun 29, 2010)

usafmedic45 said:


> Stay away from Baker.  It's a diploma mill.  I would round file any application with a "degree" from Baker.
> 
> There is nothing wrong with a distance education degree, so long as it comes from a reputable school.  That generally means one that is either a state school or a long established (one not established solely for the purposes of distance education) private school.



By the way, for the sake of clarification, I should point out that I am taking a lot of online classes for my bachelors degree although the degree is coming from a university I am attending here locally.  It's just cheaper and quicker to do it this way.


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## MMiz (Jun 29, 2010)

It would be my suggestion to get a BS/BA degree in a field unrelated to EMS so you have another option should you so desire.  I would think that a degree in Biology, the sciences, or really any subject would be more useful than a specialized degree in EMS.

I found that most of my colleagues that worked in EMS management had degrees in business, biology, sociology, and I didn't know a single person that had an Associate's degree in EMS or a related discipline.

There are hundreds and hundreds of colleges, not including the University of Phoenix and related schools, that offer quality BA/BS degrees online.  If I were in your shoes I'd find one that was semi-local and go that route.


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## bryncvp (Jun 29, 2010)

usafmedic45 said:


> Just make sure you're going with a real university and not something like University of Phoenix, ITT Tech, etc.



I am a faculty memeber with the University of Phonenix (in my downtime). It is a real school with real standards and accreditation. It also has a main campus in Phoneix along with others all over the country. It isnt a mill but it also isnt Harvard. I wouldnt discount it just because it just because it doesnt have name recognition.


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## MMiz (Jun 29, 2010)

bryncvp said:


> I am a faculty memeber with the University of Phonenix (in my downtime). It is a real school with real standards and accreditation. It also has a main campus in Phoneix along with others all over the country. It isnt a mill but it also isnt Harvard. I wouldnt discount it just because it just because it doesnt have name recognition.


There is no question that the University of Phoenix has improved it's image over the past decade.  Having said that, the school isn't even ranked, and is in the lower 50% of online universities.

Another issue at the University of Phoenix is the quality of instruction.  There is no question that there are some great instructors, but the University of Phoenix is not a research institution, and 90%+ of their instructors are just part-time faculty.  They don't offer a tenure track, with provides little incentive to teach for them.

Another factor to consider is the University of Phoenix's graduation rate.  Their graduation rate is 16%, compared to that national average of over 50%.  That's crazy.

The University of Phoenix also costs a lot more when compared to other similar programs.

Again, the University of Phoenix has come a long way in the past years, but there absolutely is a stigma when someone sees that on your application.  There are hundreds of programs at major universities that are cheaper and most likely will offer a better education.


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## usafmedic45 (Jun 29, 2010)

Actually it's probably better recognized than a lot of older and more reputable schools.  While it has accreditation there is more to being a reputable school than simply having accreditation.  The problem is that it had for quite some time portrayed itself as the "easier" way to get a degree which backfired and made it sound like a diploma mill, which it may or may not be.  



> Another factor to consider is the University of Phoenix's graduation rate. Their graduation rate is 16%, compared to that national average of over 50%. That's crazy.


Granted I would trust a degree that the came out of University of Phoenix before I would one from IVYTECH (the local community college) because you have to be suspect of any school that has a 3% graduation rate.  It does not even crack 10% if you include people who transfer out to a real university.


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## bryncvp (Jun 29, 2010)

MMiz said:


> but the University of Phoenix is not a research institution, and 90%+ of their instructors are just part-time faculty.  They don't offer a tenure track, with provides little incentive to teach for them.
> QUOTE]
> 
> 
> ...


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## usafmedic45 (Jun 29, 2010)

> I wouldnt say easier way to get a degree...more like..more likely to be done around your schedule.



Right, but that's the impression a lot of people took from it, that it was a way to do an end run around the standards.


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## ExpatMedic0 (Jun 30, 2010)

Does anyone else have any other EMS degree's that can be completed online (or mostly online) from legit 2 and 4 year colleges?
Camden looks like what I am doing for myself, but it would be cool to compare.


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## usafmedic45 (Jun 30, 2010)

schulz said:


> Does anyone else have any other EMS degree's that can be completed online (or mostly online) from legit 2 and 4 year colleges?
> Camden looks like what I am doing for myself, but it would be cool to compare.


Not off the top of my head, but just remember that you don't have to do a degree in EMS and overspecializing is going to hurt you should you find yourself either unable to work in EMS (*cough* back injury *cough*) or not wanting to.


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## ExpatMedic0 (Jun 30, 2010)

usafmedic45 said:


> Not off the top of my head, but just remember that you don't have to do a degree in EMS and overspecializing is going to hurt you should you find yourself either unable to work in EMS (*cough* back injury *cough*) or not wanting to.



True, but I have looked into Camdens AAS and it appears to transfer easily to many 4 year degree's should I decide to continue on or change things.


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## usafmedic45 (Jun 30, 2010)

I thought Oregon required their medics to have associate degrees?  If you really want to go on to something, why screw around with the associate degree at all?  Why not go straight for the bachelors which is what I am doing.


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## ExpatMedic0 (Jun 30, 2010)

I am starting an international job. I am just going to wrap up my AAS while abroad and then really look into a B.S. Oregon State has a great %100 complete distant learn B.S. and your degree + transcripts are the exact same as a %100 on campus student. So thats something I am going to look at and compare for a possible option in the future.

Yes Oregon Requires an AAS, I am working while on a probational cert your granted for your 2 years while completing your AAS with your medical directors approval and permission.  After 2 years if you do not have your AAS the state yanks your licence.

EDIT: the only bad thing is an AAS transfer has residency credit requirements that I take X amount of credits from there college. So some of my biology and English classes will just go to waste unless I transfer them to a 4 year school at some point.


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## Theo (Jul 1, 2010)

Western Carolina has a very good program that also has an online option for paramedics with an AAS or a degree in another field. They were one of the first universities in the nation to offer a BS in EMS if I'm not mistaken. 

WCU has two separate concentrations for their BS in Emergency Medical Care... Science and Management. The science concentration is Pre-med, so if you plan on leaving EMS at some point, then you already have all of the pre-reqs to get into another field of study. The management concentration has a few more business/leadership courses involved and a little less science. 

I've talked with their staff and program director before and they are very helpful and open to questions.


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