Thursday, April 26, 2012

How to Create a Culture of Coaching

http://clomedia.com/articles/view/5055/


How to Create a Culture of Coaching

 -  4/20/12
Coaching can be a powerful workforce development tool. Maximize its value by promoting an organizational culture where it’s embedded in every activity of leaders at all levels.
Organizational culture can be hard to define, but some might describe it as simply “how we do things around here.” Coaching, meanwhile, has grown into a popular and highly effective workforce development tool, one that many organizations have put into place either through informal or formal leadership development programs.
But while the practice of coaching — or one-on-one mentoring — can be highly effective in individuals’ professional development, its maximum value to an organization may not be truly realized unless culture and coaching are fully aligned.
To satisfy the growing demands of business and the skills required of senior leaders today, coaching and mentoring should become part of an organization’s culture, said Gregg Thompson, president of leadership development and coaching consultancy Bluepoint Leadership Development.
Coaching, Thompson said, must be not just an event but a common philosophical thread woven throughout the ranks of the entire organization. And it should be the responsibility of learning and development leaders to ensure that’s the case.
“People tend to have a pretty high degree of self interest,” said Thompson, whose clients have included Intel, Microsoft and Univision. But in a coaching culture, “people are committed to the success and performance of other people — not just the success and performance of themselves.”
Thompson said organizations that possess a strong culture of coaching have the following attributes:
• Talent, high performance and individual career advancement and acceleration are a fundamental component of the firm’s culture.
• People are focused on and excited about their personal and professional growth opportunities — as they are for others.
• Leaders are viewed as trustworthy, selfless and competent.
• People feel appreciated for their contributions.
• Feedback is a common practice in the organization. It flows on an ongoing basis; not just once a year.
• Promises are made and faithfully kept.
• Difficult conversations are routine.

Emotional Intelligence

Emotional intelligence is the ability to recognize the emotions of yourself and others around you, manage for potential affects of your emotions on others, and consider all of the emotions in relations and in decision making and problem solving. Emotional intelligence is a critical ingredient in self-leadership and in leadership of others and it requires one to be self-aware and have strong empathy for others.

What is Your Emotional Intelligence?

© Copyright Carter McNamara, MBA, PhD, Authenticity Consulting, LLC
  1. There are different definitions for emotional intelligence (EI), but it is probably fair to generalize that it is the ability to recognize our emotions and then manage our responses to those emotions in a manner that enhances our health and relationships with others. There are some basic guidelines that might be useful in enhancing your own EI. Consider the following basic guidelines:
  2. Notice how you are feeling and be able to name the emotion, for example, mad, glad, sad or bad. Be careful not to get confused between your thoughts and feelings. Notice the difference between and then use “I feel …” and “I think …” statements.
  3. Notice how you judge those emotions, for example, you might believe that “it is scary and bad to feel angry.”
  4. Notice what situations typically evoke those emotions in you.
  5. Notice the difference between your emotions and your outward responses to those emotions – what others would see you do and say. Ask yourself how you choose to feel about something and whether your behavior is aligned with that choice.
  6. Realize that it is OK to have strong emotional reactions. It is what you do with those emotions that can be a problem for you and others.
  7. Notice how long you retain those emotions. What changes them?
  8. Notice what makes you happy and plan for those situations on a regular basis.
  9. Notice how you make conclusions about other peoples’ feelings. What are they doing or saying?

The Value of Emotional Intelligence

 -  7/25/06
Defined as the ability to manage oneself, emotional intelligence means those possessing it have a strong awareness of their emotions and know how to manage them well. This means not letting negative emotions get in the way of personal effectiveness while

Defined as the ability to manage oneself, emotional intelligence means those possessing it have a strong awareness of their emotions and know how to manage them well. This means not letting negative emotions get in the way of personal effectiveness while simultaneously using positive feelings for motivation. Between continuously strenuous efforts to maintain a strategic place at the C-suite table, prove learning�s effectiveness throughout the enterprise and all of the scuffling for performance and technology leveraging that entails, there are obvious benefits to possessing emotional intelligence for the CLO and for the leaders the CLO is typically charged with developing.

Daniel Goleman, co-director of Consortium for Research on Emotional Intelligence in organizations at Rutgers University and author of Working with Emotional Intelligence, said there are 18 best practices to help teach emotional intelligence and five broad requirements to help people do it effectively. �The first is you need to care. You have to be motivated or you won�t learn this because it takes time and effort. The second step is that you need to get some objective feedback from people who work with you and know you well, whose opinions you trust about what you could do better. Third, you need to reflect on that and pick a learning target, one specific thing and do one skill at a time. Maybe you could be a better listener. People come into your office and you cut them off before they even get the question out. It�s like a common cold in management, listening poorly.�

Goleman said if you decide that you want to get better at listening, you need to think about how you could do it better. It helps to have a model or someone in mind who does that skill very well and see them as the embodiment of your target behavior. �Make a contract with yourself. Say, �OK, I�m going to do it like Tom. When someone comes into the office, I�m going to relax. I�m going to give them full attention. I�m going to drop what I�m doing and hear them out and make sure that I understand what they�re saying, what they want and what their issue is. Then I�m going to tell them what I think. Instead of just telling what I think before I really know what�s on their mind.�

The Value of Emotional Intelligence

�The fourth step is practicing at every naturally occurring opportunity,� Goleman said. �Make a contract with yourself so that whenever you are in a situation where you could be applying this, do it the better way. Intentionally keep yourself from doing it the old way. Finally, it helps to get some support. For top-level executives, it�s often a coach. But you can do it with a learning partner, a spouse, someone who will help you sustain the effort and particularly reflect on times when you blow it or go back to the old way of doing it, and prepare yourself to do it better the next time that it comes around.�

Emotional intelligence also includes something called social intelligence, which includes empathy and social skills, Goleman said, and workplace competencies based on emotional intelligence play a greater role in star-performance intellect or technical skill. �I�m not saying that IQ and technical skills don�t matter. They do, but they�re what are called threshold abilities. They determine what job you can hold. If you have enough expertise to be an engineer or a project manager or a chief executive or can you only be a file clerk? IQ matters a lot that way, but once you are in that position, once you�re in management, what makes you a star? How you manage yourself and your relationships, emotional and social intelligence are what distinguish the top 10 percent from the rest.�

If managers and leaders are not emotionally intelligent, that lack tends to impact not only their performance but also reasons they are terminated or become stagnant, unable to advance through the ranks of their chosen organization. �I have a friend who is with a company called Egon Zehnder International, one of the foremost recruiters of really top management. They did a study of the people they�d hired to compare the most successful to the ones who failed. People, particularly at the chief level, tend to get hired for business expertise and fired for a lack of emotional intelligence. Another thing is you won�t get promoted or people won�t like to work with you. You�ll be the kind of team member that people wish wasn�t on the team. In other words, it makes you less effective. People can perceive you as difficult, tuned out, not a team player. To put it in a positive respect, if you look at people who do have these abilities who are in top leadership positions, and there�ve been many, many studies of different kinds of companies, it�s been found to correlate with better business results.�

Useful Communications Skills — How to Paraphrase and Summarize

Two very useful skills in communicating with others, including when coaching and facilitating, are paraphrasing and summarizing the thoughts of others.

How to Paraphrase When Communicating and Coaching With Others

Paraphrasing is repeating in your words what you interpreted someone else to be saying.  Paraphrasing is powerful means to further the understanding of the other person and yourself, and can greatly increase the impact of another’s comments.  It can translate comments so that even more people can understand them.  When paraphrasing:
  • Put the focus of the paraphrase on what the other person implied, not on what you wanted him/her to imply, e.g., don’t say, “I believe what you meant to say was …”.  Instead, say “If I’m hearing you right, you conveyed that …?”
  • Phrase the paraphrase as a question, “So you’re saying that …?”, so that the other person has the responsibility and opportunity to refine his/her original comments in response to your question.
  • Put the focus of the paraphrase on the other person, e.g., if the person said, “I don’t get enough resources to do what I want,” then don’t paraphrase, “We probably all don’t get what we want, right?”
  • Put the ownership of the paraphrase on yourself, e.g., “If I’m hearing you right …?” or “If I understand you correctly …?”
  • Put the ownership of the other person’s words on him/her, e.g., say “If I understand you right, you’re saying that …?” or “… you believe that  …?” or “… you feel that …?”
  • In the paraphrase, use some of the words that the other person used.  For example, if the other person said, “I think we should do more planning around here.”  You might paraphrase, “If I’m hearing you right in this strategic planning workshop, you believe that more strategic planning should be done in our community?”
  • Don’t judge or evaluate the other person’s comments, e.g., don’t say, “I wonder if you really believe that?” or “Don’t you feel out-on-a-limb making that comment?”
  • You can use a paraphrase to validate your impression of the other’s comments, e.g., you could say, “So you were frustrated when …?”
  • The paraphrase should be shorter than the original comments made by the other person.
  • If the other person responds to your paraphrase that you still don’t understand him/her, then give the other person 1-2 chances to restate his position.  Then you might cease the paraphrasing; otherwise, you might embarrass or provoke the other person.

How to Effectively Summarize

A summary is a concise overview of the most important points from a communication, whether it’s from a conversation, presentation or document.  Summarizing is a very important skill for an effective communicator.
A good summary can verify that people are understanding each other, can make communications more efficient, and can ensure that the highlights of communications are captured and utilized.
When summarizing, consider the following guidelines:
  • When listening or reading, look for the main ideas being conveyed.
  • Look for any one major point that comes from the communication.  What is the person trying to accomplish in the communication?
  • Organize the main ideas, either just in your mind or written down.
  • Write a summary that lists and organizes the main ideas, along with the major point of the communicator.
  • The summary should always be shorter than the original communication.
  • Does not introduce any new main points into the summary – if you do, make it clear that you’re adding them.
  • If possible, have other readers or listeners also read your summary and tell you if it is understandable, accurate and complete.

Training Blogs – Using the Web to Train the World

Friday, April 13, 2012

A Geography Of Time: On Tempo, Culture, And The Pace Of Life [Paperback]

ISBN-10: 0465026427 978-0465026425
In this engaging and spirited book, eminent social psychologist Robert Levine asks us to explore a dimension of our experience that we take for granted—our perception of time. When we travel to a different country, or even a different city in the United States, we assume that a certain amount of cultural adjustment will be required, whether it’s getting used to new food or negotiating a foreign language, adapting to a different standard of living or another currency. In fact, what contributes most to our sense of disorientation is having to adapt to another culture’s sense of time.Levine, who has devoted his career to studying time and the pace of life, takes us on an enchanting tour of time through the ages and around the world. As he recounts his unique experiences with humor and deep insight, we travel with him to Brazil, where to be three hours late is perfectly acceptable, and to Japan, where he finds a sense of the long-term that is unheard of in the West. We visit communities in the United States and find that population size affects the pace of life—and even the pace of walking. We travel back in time to ancient Greece to examine early clocks and sundials, then move forward through the centuries to the beginnings of ”clock time” during the Industrial Revolution. We learn that there are places in the world today where people still live according to ”nature time,” the rhythm of the sun and the seasons, and ”event time,” the structuring of time around happenings(when you want to make a late appointment in Burundi, you say, ”I’ll see you when the cows come in”).Levine raises some fascinating questions. How do we use our time? Are we being ruled by the clock? What is this doing to our cities? To our relationships? To our own bodies and psyches? Are there decisions we have made without conscious choice? Alternative tempos we might prefer? Perhaps, Levine argues, our goal should be to try to live in a ”multitemporal” society, one in which we learn to move back and forth among nature time, event time, and clock time. In other words, each of us must chart our own geography of time. If we can do that, we will have achieved temporal prosperity.

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Monday, April 9, 2012

Overthinking your child like mind

World changing ideas and innovation


http://lifehacker.com/5900335/tell-your-boss-unlimited-vacation-actually-increases-productivity

http://www.fastcoexist.com/1679633/the-world-happiness-report-explains-what-makes-people-happy

The report, commissioned by the United Nations Conference on Happiness (yes, that exists), contains over a hundred pages of musings on world happiness. Here’s an ultra-abridged version of the findings.
  • Richer people are happier than poorer people on average, but wealth is only one factor in overall happiness. The same goes for countries, where factors like personal freedom, lack of corruption, and social support are more important.
  • Unemployment obviously reduces happiness, but not because of what you may think. It’s not the loss of income, but the loss of things like self-esteem and workplace social life that lead to a drop in happiness. High unemployment rates can trigger unhappiness even in the employed, who suddenly become fearful of losing their jobs. According to the study, even low-quality jobs yield more satisfaction than being unemployed.
  • In some countries, the self-employed report higher levels of job satisfaction than the employed. The study found a positive correlation between happiness and self-employment in both American and European data, but not in Latin America. The possible reason: Self-employment may be a necessity in developing countries where formal employment is not as readily available. When it’s not a choice, it doesn’t lead to happiness.
  • Higher living standards correspond with increased happiness in some countries, but not all. In the U.S., for example, happiness levels have remained stagnant while living standards have risen over the past 50 years or so.
  • Levels of trust (i.e. whether you think someone would return a cash-stuffed wallet) have fallen dramatically over time in certain countries--including the U.S. and U.K.--but risen in others, like Denmark and Italy. One explanation may be that overall life satisfaction has dropped in the former countries, but has risen in many continental European countries.
  • Lack of perceived equality can reduce happiness. The report explains: "The most positive results are in an interesting time-series study using both the U.S. General Social Survey and Eurobarometer. This finds that in both the U.S. and Europe increases in inequality have (other things equal) produced reductions in happiness. The effect has been stronger in Europe than in the U.S. This difference probably reflects ideological differences: Some 70% of Americans believe that the poor have a chance of escaping poverty, compared with only 40% of Europeans."
  • Mental health is the biggest contributing factor to happiness in all countries, but only a quarter of mentally ill people get sufficient treatment in the most developed nations.
  • Married people across the world (studies have been done in the U.S., EU countries, Switzerland, Latin America, Russia, Eastern Europe, and Asia) claim that they’re happier than single counterparts. A stable family life also contributes to happiness
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http://theblakeproject.typepad.com/Brand%20Education%20Topics.pdf

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By having mentally rehearsed success in many possible situations, an athlete is much more likely to stay calm, focused and confident no matter what happens on race day.


http://sportsmedicine.about.com/od/sportspsychology/tp/Common-Sports-Psychology-Mistakes.htm



2. Focusing on Mistakes

Many athletes unwittingly mentally rehearse mistakes by repeating them over and over in their minds in an attempt to learn what went wrong. While it's good to understand what mistake was made, by replaying it over and over in your mind you actually make it more likely to keep recurring. Dr. Dahlkoetter explains that the body will follow your mental instructions, unless you rewrite the mistake and visualize yourself doing it correctly. So it's important to visualize yourself 'getting it right' over and over until it feels natural.

3. Over or Under Arousal During Competition

The third big mistake many athletes make on event day is being either over or under aroused. Too much energy, nerves or race-day jitters can result in performance anxiety and interfere with mental focus. In the worst case scenario, too much nervous energy can result in "choking," a decrease in athletic performance due to feeling too much perceived stress.
On the other hand, too little arousal can lead to a mental withdrawal and an "I just don't care" attitude which is very mentally defeating. The right amount of mental arousal is necessary to perform well. Athletes need time, practice and experience to learn what is the appropriate amount of arousal required for them to do their best, but keeping track of arousal levels is helpful.

WORK AND WORKLIFE BALANCE (EAPs)

Massive Action

“Nothing happens until something moves”–Albert Einstein.

What Is Massive Action?

Massive action is the pursuit of  your goal with fervor and deliberate movements, and it puts you in a position to achieve massive results. In this article we’ll answer the question: What is massive action, and how can it change my life today? Read further to discover how to successfully apply massive action to your personal or business goals, five important tips for massive change, and one surefire secret weapon to boost you into massive action today.

How Can Massive Action Work for You Today?

Massive action is about applying concentrated, indomitable energy toward a specific purpose. Massive action requires thinking outside the box and approaching your goal in a way that no one has thought of. It requires bravely and swiftly moving toward your goal in large, deliberate steps. For instance, a freelance writer may send out two resumes each workday to publications they’d like to work for. However, a freelance writer using massive action may contact ten editors each workday including samples of their work and pitches for several stories that relate to the editors publication. Which writer do you think will see results more quickly?
In all honesty, there is nothing you can’t achieve. However, any success worth accomplishing includes obstacles to overcome. At times, the major challenge to surpass is a limiting state of mind. It may seem that a lack of resources or professional connections stand between you and your dream or goal. To one who uses massive action, “no” is not an acceptable answer, and there is a creative solution to any obstacle. Every obstacle is surmountable with determined action, an inspired vision, and refined planning.
While planning is important, the most influential aspect of massive action is, well, action. In 2008, self-made millionaire marketer Michael Masterson released his book Ready, Fire, Aim: Zero to $100 Million in No Time Flat. In his groundbreaking book, Masterson encourages readers to take action steps toward their dreams without waiting for their plan or circumstances to be perfect. The guise of continuously tweaking a plan can cover up a habit of procrastination that will keep you from ever taking real steps. By taking authentic, massive action steps now toward your goals and dreams, you overcome inertia that can keep you right where you are instead of catapulting you to where you want to be. Remember, a body in motion tends to stay in motion.

Five Powerful Tips for Massive Change

What is massive action? It’s something you can begin today, right now. The following five tips will help you apply this powerful principle.
1. Realize That Knowledge Is Power Only When It’s Coupled with Action
Knowledge is powerful, but many millionaires, entrepreneurs, and other successful people are not PhDs or highly educated. To be truly powerful, good information must be complemented with deliberate and massive action.
2. Have a Clear Vision of Your Destination
You can learn a lot by taking steps in various directions, but to truly make headway, you need to know where you are going and move in that direction. Formulate a clear vision of your goal, and it will be easier to determine what steps you need to take.
3. Evaluate and Fine Tune As You Go
One reason it’s important to take action is that it offers you an opportunity to observe the real world results of the steps you take. This information will allow you to evaluate your plan and refine it as you go.
4. Value and Manage Your Time
To take massive action toward the goal of your choice you must manage your valuable time. When you choose to do something worthwhile, there are many other things you choose not to do. Prioritize the things you spend your time on, and eliminate anything that is unworthy. This leaves more time for you to work on your goals.
5. Begin Today
Don’t wait for your circumstances, resources, talent, connections, etc. to be ideal. The ideal situation is like a unicorn— a lovely idea, but to this point there is no evidence to substantiate its existence. Without waiting for the perfect circumstances, start today to step courageously and intently toward your dreams and goals, and allow no obstacle to be so mountainous that it can’t be overcome.

Massive Action Boost: a Secret Weapon for Immediate Change

A body in motion tends to stay in motion; conversely, a body at rest tends to stay at rest. You may have become comfortable with your present way of doing things even if it doesn’t work for you or get you where you really want to go. This little exercise is a surefire way to free you from your comfort zone and boost you into massive action.
Choose one action step you will take toward your goal. This goal may be something as simple as organizing a junk drawer or something related to your business like cold calling potential clients. Schedule a concrete time to begin your task and allot a small window of time to work on it. For example, if I am employed as a restaurant host, but my passion is culinary arts, and I’d love to be a chef. I’ll plan to research culinary degree programs in my area at two o’clock today for ten minutes.
If I want to take it a step further, my next massive action boost will be to find a school that offers a program I’d like to take and schedule to visit the school for one hour tomorrow from noon to one o’clock. This simple tool will get you moving toward your dreams and goals in easy increments. Before you know it, you will take swift and regular steps in the direction of your most inspiring vision for your life.
The life you want is yours for the taking… and the making. What is massive action? It is your personalized vehicle to deliver you to the life you’ve always wanted, and you are in the driver’s seat.
“The path to success is to take massive, determined action.”–Anthony Robbins



Thursday, April 5, 2012

Jack Canfield's 90-Day Goal Challenge!

Jack Canfield explains: How To Accelerate Your End Result

The 10X Rule

Dr. Sheila Jocelyn Shaw, Ph.D/D.B.A, I am currently on an on call schedule. Professional services extended through the Orlando Millenia Blvd. office, 4700 Millenia Blvd, Suite 175, are scheduled in advance or assisted consultation and evaluation can be arranged. Call 407-900-1789

TESC.edu or Columbia University’s CALL(COMPUTER ASSISTED LIFELONG LEARNING) and CVN Columbia Video Network both are examples that
Academyone education portals that are multimedia communication; from MOM
TESC.edu 1888-442-8372
Columbia University 212-854-6447
MULTIMEDIA COMMUNICATION/HYBRID LEARNING PLATFORMS
VIDEO CONFERENCING
VIDEOCASSETTE
STREAMING INTERNET BROADCAST
TELEPHONE COURSES
PBS

Distance Learning: The Shift to Interactivity
net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/pub3017.pdf

Complete book of distance learning schools: everything you need to ...

books.google.com › EducationAdult & Continuing Education


geteducated: Articles - Telecommute to College

markalox.tripod.com/uv/tele.htm

TELECOMMUTE TO COLLEGE

by Vicky Phillips

Adult Education & Distance Learner's Resource Center  http://markalox.tripod.com/index.htm
Jan Gee, a single mother of two pre-schoolers, tried twice to finish her associate degree at a local college. Frustrated with long commutes, canceled classes, childcare costs, and the red tape required to register for classes, Jan opted last year to telecommute to college. She enrolled in an associate in computer science program offered through the Electronic University Network (EUN).
Two nights a week Jan "goes" to class in an electronic conference hall, where she hears a lecture and discusses issues with her classmates. After class, she downloads her new lessons and research materials from the online library. Next fall, Jan will graduate from Rogers State College, her associate degree in hand, her sanity intact.
Jan is not alone. Adults, ages 35-45, are the fastest growing group of college learners.
To advance or consolidate their careers, an estimated five million adults complete some form of distance learning each year. An estimated 30,000 adults, equipped with computers and modems, hitched rides on the Information Superhighway to accredited college campuses in 1993.
Electronic Universities
The Electronic University Network (EUN) <http://www.wcc-eun.com>, headquartered in California, was created in the early 1980's by Dr. Steve Eskow and Sarah Blackmun to help working adults conquer time and space. All courses are offered via the Internet.
Degrees include associates in arts, business, and computer science from Rogers State College. Brevard Community College, in Florida, offers a host of associate degrees in technical and liberal arts areas. A unique counseling service helps working adults locate the best distance colleges or training programs for their career needs.
Herriot-Watt University, a Royal Charter University in Scotland, offers a master's in business administration through the EUN. Specially developed software packages let students work on their lessons on laptops, then send assignments from the nearest phone jack or mail box. Herriot-Watt's unique selling point? Like many European programs, a bachelor's degree in business is not required to begin the program.
City University <http://www.cityu.edu> of Seattle started as a one-room experiment in adult education in the 1970s. Today it is one of the largest distance learning programs in the world. Learners connect to City University through mail, fax, and modem. Bachelor degrees run the gamut from the humanities and film studies to telecommunications management. City also offers several MBA's and graduate certificate programs in management.
JEC College Connection (formerly known as Mind Extension University) <http://www.jec.edu> is the brainchild of Glenn Jones, who had a vision of using cable TV to provide an accessible university system. He purchased his first cable system in the late 1960's by borrowing against his Volkswagen. JEC College Connection has grown by leaps since then.
America's first completely free-standing virtual university, the International University, a project of JEC, received candidacy status for regional accreditation in the spring of 1997. JEC students without cable access can rent videotapes of lectures. Some programs offer electronic mail and Internet conferencing options also.
Ten colleges offer degrees via JEC's network. Try Regis College for an undergraduate business degree. Social science undergraduate degrees come from Kansas State University or Washington State University. Animal Sciences and Management is offered through Kansas State University. A Master in Educational Technology and Leadership can be earned via George Washington University. A bachelor's in nursing is offered from California State University, Dominguez Hills. International University offers a unique master's in business communication.
Best Buys for Career Changers
Career changers should consider earning distance learning certificates. Certificates consist of about ten courses, all related to one's career field. If you've never been to college, earning a certificate can give your resume an entry-level edge. If you have a college degree, but your major was in music, and you now seek work in accounting, a certificate can quickly convey your respecialization.
The University of California Extension <http://www-cmil.unex.berkeley.edu > offers certificates in business by home-study, using mail, fax, video, and electronic mail options for computer science and programming courses. Awards can be earned in individualized business areas, or accounting (Certified Public Accountancy), real estate, database management, economics, systems analysis, and human resources management.
Got the Experience, Need the Degree?
The number of employees with a college degree has skyrocketed from 6% in the 1950's to 27% today. Competition is keen. If you have career expertise, consider documenting it for college credit. Over half of all colleges recognize that what an adult learner knows is more important than where she or he learned it. These colleges let adults document career experience for credit or take special challenge exams to "test out" of key subjects.
Donald Borowitz dropped out of college in the early 1980's and went to work as a computer operator. He rose in the ranks to become a senior management analyst. But his career climb stopped abruptly in the early 1990's. Times had changed. Legions of new college students with graduate degrees were lining up for Donald's job.
When Donald was laid off he wasn't surprised that many employers wouldn't talk to him without a college degree. He was surprised that he could earn the last year two-years of his bachelor degree through documentation of his work experience. Donald received credit for what he already knew through a career portfolio assessment program offered through Thomas Edison State College of New Jersey <http://www.tesc.edu >.
Thomas Edison State College places no limit on the number of credits students can earn through life credits or challenge exams. They offer 47 academic majors and limited online courses through a program called CALL (Computer Assisted Lifelong Learning).
Shop Around for Best Buys
Over 100 regionally accredited colleges offer low-residency or no-residency undergraduate distance degrees. Associate (two-year) or bachelor (four-year) degrees are available in most subjects.
While telecommuting programs are in the minority, many colleges use video and fax to enhance instruction. Graduate degrees and career credentials are available from over one hundred and thirty universities. Degrees can often be individualized to earn unusual majors like multi-cultural studies or museum management.
If you have career expertise, shop around for the best deal. Most undergraduate distance programs accept documented experience for college credit, but many, like City University, limit it to 30 credits or one year of academic study.
The cost of documenting life/work credits varies tremendously. Thomas Edison State is very reasonable at $25 per credit for non-New Jersey residents.
Tuition costs vary as widely as programs. Check with your employer about tuition assistance. Though many companies offer tuition reimbursement plans, only about 5% of employees take advantage of this benefit. Remember - if your employer or career requires a degree, your undergraduate educational expenses may be tax deductible.

Program Directory

City University
Electronic University Network
JEC College Connection
Thomas Edison State College
University of California Extension