Rating: 
Summary: It's not just more convenient...it's a superior approach.
Review: "Come gather 'round people, wherever you roam, and admit that the waters around you have grown, And accept that soon you'll be drenched to the bone. If your time to you is worth saving, Then you'd better start swimming or you'll sink like a stone For the times, they are a-changin'." -- Bob DylanOkay, I'll admit it, I'm biased: I love nontraditional education. I was homeschooled K-12, completed a B.A. through Regents College, and am now an M.A. candidate in the (external) HUX program of California State University, Dominguez Hills. Now, that being said... This book is, simply put, the most accessible introduction you will find to the most accessible means of obtaining a college degree. This book, along with Thorson's Guide (which I also wholeheartedly recommend), permitted me to excel as a nontraditional student rather than treading water as a traditional student. I was able to take on the Regents B.A. and graduate very young, then go right for a Master's without missing a beat. If you want a marketable degree but can't put in 4+ years at your local university, or if you have 150 hours of credit but can't figure out what to do with it, or if you're well-schooled and wish you could just plain challenge every course on the books, or if you've taken a number of vocational courses and wish you could turn them into college credit, or if you want a Ph.D. but don't happen to have $30,000 lying around, or if you'd like a degree from the University of London without having to get in an airplane... Buy this book. If you'd like to take African studies from an African university, British history from a British university, and Japanese literature from a Japanese university, all without even crossing state lines, buy this book. If you'd like to have a Duke M.B.A. without going to Duke, a Cornell M.S. in Labor and Industrial Relations without going to Cornell, or a Stanford M.S.E.E., but you can't actually spend much time on campus at Duke, Cornell, or Stanford, buy this book. If you'd like to get a regionally accredited Bachelor's degree in less than a year and for less than $3,500, and you're sure that you really can challenge your way out of the entire curriculum, buy this book. If you want to know how _everyone_ will be earning their college degrees fifty years from now, buy this book. But, hey, if you really *want* to spend four years on a college campus, it wouldn't hurt to request a copy by interlibrary loan and skim it over. It's entertaining -- has little captioned illustrations, bad puns, the whole nine yards. It's really a very warm and human book, as educational directories go.
Rating: 
Summary: BADLY NEEDED IN THIS ERA OF DUMBED-DOWN UNIVERSITIES
Review: .
John Bear's guide is valuable even though it isn't perfect. As they say, "It's the only real game in town." It is reasonably well written and is certainly comprehensive. It serves as a pretty good guide for those who can't stop work to attend full-time classes on a campus, or people who are financially strapped. His explanation of how schools are accredited is well worth reading and informative. If I remember correctly Harvard isn't regionally accredited because it was founded before there was such a thing as accreditation and, besides, they feel their name and reputation is enough and they don't need accreditation. Bear's guide is timely, not only because today there is a greater need for distance learning, but also because progressive education theories in the lower schools has produced less educated freshmen students and a resulting lower standard in requirements for a "conventional" degree. The quality of distance learning at the better remote schools has come up, while the quality of learning at traditional universities has gone down. Bottom line, distance learning at a good on-line or correspondence school can be just as good as or better than that at a traditional campus, especially those whose standards have been intentionally lowered. There is no magic in classroom hours. Hard study motivation by and of the student is what is important. The piece of paper that says "DEGREE" at the top is both useless and meaningless if it doesn't represent hard academic study under qualified supervision and guidance. Properly done this can be accomplished through distance learning. It doesn't matter if Bear has founded several schools and is pushing them if the academic requirements are high. I earned my advanced degrees from accredited traditional state universities so I have no ax to grind. I would value a degree from an academically tough distance learning school higher than a degree from a snobbish Ivy League campus school whose academic requirements have been lowered to accommodate a less qualified and less academically motivated student body. Universities have always been about money, regardless of the hoop-la made about lofty educational goals. Just look at the sports scholarship culture and the money ball games brings into the university if you doubt this. A drop in student body size means teacher lay-offs and reduced staff salaries unless tuition is raised, which can exacerbate matters. Bear's guide can be of great assistance in evaluating schools offering distance learning. I left off the fifth star because he wasn't completely open about his personal involvement in several schools he promotes.
Rating:
Summary: BADLY NEEDED IN THIS ERA OF DUMBED-DOWN UNIVERSITIES
Review: .
John Bear's guide is valuable even though it isn't perfect. As they say, "It's the only real game in town." It is reasonably well written and is certainly comprehensive. It serves as a pretty good guide for those who can't stop work to attend full-time classes on a campus, or people who are financially strapped. His explanation of how schools are accredited is well worth reading and informative. If I remember correctly Harvard isn't regionally accredited because it was founded before there was such a thing as accreditation and, besides, they feel their name and reputation is enough and they don't need accreditation. Bear's guide is timely, not only because today there is a greater need for distance learning, but also because progressive education theories in the lower schools has produced less educated freshmen students and a resulting lower standard in requirements for a "conventional" degree. The quality of distance learning at the better remote schools has come up, while the quality of learning at traditional universities has gone down. Bottom line, distance learning at a good on-line or correspondence school can be just as good as or better than that at a traditional campus, especially those whose standards have been intentionally lowered. There is no magic in classroom hours. Hard study motivation by and of the student is what is important. The piece of paper that says "DEGREE" at the top is both useless and meaningless if it doesn't represent hard academic study under qualified supervision and guidance. Properly done this can be accomplished through distance learning. It doesn't matter if Bear has founded several schools and is pushing them if the academic requirements are high. I earned my advanced degrees from accredited traditional state universities so I have no ax to grind. I would value a degree from an academically tough distance learning school higher than a degree from a snobbish Ivy League campus school whose academic requirements have been lowered to accommodate a less qualified and less academically motivated student body. Universities have always been about money, regardless of the hoop-la made about lofty educational goals. Just look at the sports scholarship culture and the money ball games brings into the university if you doubt this. A drop in student body size means teacher lay-offs and reduced staff salaries unless tuition is raised, which can exacerbate matters. Bear's guide can be of great assistance in evaluating schools offering distance learning. I left off the fifth star because he wasn't completely open about his personal involvement in several schools he promotes.
Rating:
Summary: BADLY NEEDED IN THIS ERA OF DUMBED-DOWN UNIVERSITIES
Review: .
John Bear's guide is valuable even though it isn't perfect. As they say, "It's the only real game in town." It is reasonably well written and is certainly comprehensive. It serves as a pretty good guide for those who can't stop work to attend full-time classes on a campus, or people who are financially strapped. His explanation of how schools are accredited is well worth reading and informative. If I remember correctly Harvard isn't regionally accredited because it was founded before there was such a thing as accreditation and, besides, they feel their name and reputation is enough and they don't need accreditation. Bear's guide is timely, not only because today there is a greater need for distance learning, but also because progressive education theories in the lower schools has produced less educated freshmen students and a resulting lower standard in requirements for a "conventional" degree. The quality of distance learning at the better remote schools has come up, while the quality of learning at traditional universities has gone down. Bottom line, distance learning at a good on-line or correspondence school can be just as good as or better than that at a traditional campus, especially those whose standards have been intentionally lowered. There is no magic in classroom hours. Hard study motivation by and of the student is what is important. The piece of paper that says "DEGREE" at the top is both useless and meaningless if it doesn't represent hard academic study under qualified supervision and guidance. Properly done this can be accomplished through distance learning. It doesn't matter if Bear has founded several schools and is pushing them if the academic requirements are high. I earned my advanced degrees from accredited traditional state universities so I have no ax to grind. I would value a degree from an academically tough distance learning school higher than a degree from a snobbish Ivy League campus school whose academic requirements have been lowered to accommodate a less qualified and less academically motivated student body. Universities have always been about money, regardless of the hoop-la made about lofty educational goals. Just look at the sports scholarship culture and the money ball games brings into the university if you doubt this. A drop in student body size means teacher lay-offs and reduced staff salaries unless tuition is raised, which can exacerbate matters. Bear's guide can be of great assistance in evaluating schools offering distance learning. I left off the fifth star because he wasn't completely open about his personal involvement in several schools he promotes.
Rating: 
Summary: Wasteful heart breaker
Review: Admittedly, my comments are based on a previous edition of this guide, but I do not doubt they are equally applicable. Before I purchased my copy of this book, I already had "traditional" bachelor's and master's degrees, but was not financially able to pursue a traditional doctorate. I knew from personal experience that one may attain a high level of proficiency in an area through personal study. I chose a university based on a glowing recommendation in Dr Bear's book. Today, I'd be ashamed to say I'd earned my doctorate at that university. My level of knowledge is no less than that of others with traditional doctorates, but I learnt quickly enough that schools offering only non-traditional programs are considered inferior at best. The university Dr Bear thought tops in its category has been denounced in the press recently as a diploma mill. Don't use the conclusions and recommendations in this book as any indication of whether a degree you earn at institutions recommended will be considered to your advantage - even though you may find it a valuable learning experience.
Rating:
Summary: Not as good as I has expected.
Review: After a lot of ...hype, this latest guide from John Bear (anddaughter Mariah) falls well short of the mark. In my view it is a jokewhen compared to previous guides. in the main it is just old-guidespackaged up in a new cover but a more diturbing fact also revealsitself. A lot is missing that was expected to be included...
Rating:
Summary: I am looking forward to reading this
Review: Although I have not yet read this, it came strongly recommended. I decided to write a review to point out that the absent-minded professor probably is not a professor at all. If so, he or she certainly is not in the field of grammar. The word "it's" with the "'s" means "it is." The possessive of the pronoun "it" is "its" with no apostrophe. Perhaps, the nutty or absent-minded professor can used this as his or her first distance learning experience.
Rating:
Summary: Extremely Helpful
Review: Anyone considering taking online courses would benefit from this book. The information is straightforward and clear helping to narrow down your choices more efficiently. Phone numbers, web addresses, email, fax, etc. are included and very handy. A perfect addition to this book would've been a fully searchable CD-ROM version. An idea for future versions?
Rating: 
Summary: A great starting point...but that's the extent.
Review: Buy a used copy of Bear's Guide, as this edition is really justa re-hashing of earlier versions. Nevertheless, Bear's Guide isprobably the only comprehensive source of distance education info onthe market. It is a great starting point for anyone really interestedin pursuing a distance education career. I would point to three areasof concern, however. First, distance education is much cheaper thanthe traditional format: You get what you pay for...no matter themedium. Bear's Guide touches on this only slightly. Second, Mr. Bear(a pseudonym), has quite a large following of rabid, unquestioninggroupies who tend to "circle the wagons" any time Mr. Bearis publically challenged. Most reviews of this book, at this site,are written by these groupies...Finally, with Mr. Bear's growingpopularity and entourage, I would say the quality of Bear's Guide hasbeen slipping. This current edition is merely a re-hashing of hislast.
Rating:
Summary: The best book on the subject of distance learning
Review: Distant learning degrees are on the rise. With Duke, Syracuse and other big names offering non-resident degrees, the distant learning arena is gaining recognition nationwide. While many traditional educators try to fight and insult the DL community they can no longer keep it from growing. John Bear is the father of the distant learning and his books have helped many get accredited degrees without having to travel to campus. He also warns us about diploma mills and presents the non-accredited yet legal degrees in a clear light. There is no better book on the subject and no better time for anyone who cannot go to campus to get a college degree.
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