Review of Distance Learning at Yorkville University

Distance Learning Programs at the Yorkville University

The group you find yourself in online will be a good one. In general, you’ll have to write a paper every week, and you are expected to participate in discussions at Yorkville University. The benefit of this is that you can contribute in your own time – within reason. The virtual community in which you find yourself is actually very warm and welcoming. Learning online is a participative experience and richer in many ways than more conventional learning experiences. More about that below.

Part of the beauty of the some of the university courses that are delivered here is that Yorkville actually specializes in online education and that's why I decided to write this Yorkville University review. So if you’re living in a rural area, and your access to educational establishments is difficult, or for instance if your mobility is impaired, you can check out some of the distance learning programs at Yorkville University. It’s a great method of studying if you have a family or other time intensive pursuits. But take note: You will be expected to put in hours that are commensurate with pursuing other degrees or courses that are found in the more traditional educational establishments. Realistically, you WILL need a lot of time to complete coursework and to participate in the ways that are expected of you. My advice is don’t look at any course at Yorkville University as an easy route to an education or a qualification. It is easy in some ways – but you will be expected to put in the work if you are to succeed at Yorkville University.

For those who are interested in the mental health or even the more general healthcare field, Yorkville University is among the best of those available in Canada – whether you are doing online learning, or if you are attending a university in the more conventional manner. I know of some people who were working as educators and decided to do the Masters in Counselling Psychology because they have to work through their degree courses and felt this was a better option than night college. Teachers wanted to “upskill” because of the learning difficulties of some of their students. For instance, in my class there were some students from overseas (still living overseas), teaching in classroom environments that have actually been changed because teaching or instruction assistants in the classroom – who would have been present in the classroom – have been forced out of the education sector due to government cuts. These educators have completed the Masters in Counselling Psychology in order to aid in their teaching of autistic children. This is something that is very important in my Yorkville University review. The qualification allows them to pursue other career options too, once things pick up and their government’s budgets become less harsh. But they also have the qualification in the event that they lose their jobs, which is a reality they’re facing.

A few years back, I read about how the philosophy behind distance learning courses is that you get “just enough” education, “just in time” for whatever issues are raised at your place of employment. For instance, you may need to be trained up in order to comply with recent changes in legislation. Although the online degrees available at Yorkville University aren’t really relevant to this approach, you have ready access to numerous resources and a number of professors whose response times are very impressive. Another aspect of the courses provided by Yorkville University is that they can expand or develop in ways that more conventional curricula might not. I don’t doubt that the course details evolve in line with current academic culture, research, and thinking.

Granted, the time that is taken up with the online courses is probably as high as you would find in more conventional university programs. But you don’t have to commute to lectures or classes, and you don’t have to devote time stuck in rush hour traffic. You can study at the local library or at home – and access to a lot of the college content is just a web-enabled device away (preferably a computer for the richest experience). In fact that's where I wrote this Yorkville University review.

The technology at the backend of the online courses from Yorkville University is impressive. All you need is the latest version of a basic browser like Mozilla Firefox (that’s my personal preference). You have a password protected login into the Campus system. You don’t need any other software installed on your system – the server side technologies at the university do all the work. You are given your week by week reading schedule and the course requirements, and what is expected of you for upcoming study so that you can plan ahead. Once you understand what’s expected for the upcoming week, you can work around whatever other commitments you have, and devote the time that’s required of you from the studies.

The beauty of online study means that you are provided with tutoring and a forum (literally) in which to discuss the issues raised during class instruction. One of the points I want to make in this Yorkville University review is that you might forget to ask a question in a conventional lecture environment, or think of something after class that you could have or should have raised during the tutorial, class or lecture. However, with the online functionality, you can post queries for your instructors or discuss class content with your online classmates any time you like on the university’s community.

The old cliché about trying to come up with a witty line at a dinner party, and drawing a complete blank at the time, but coming up with half a dozen great lines in the car on the drive home – it doesn’t hold true on the Campus system at Yorkville University. You contribute whenever you can, and you have a more reasonable timeframe in which to think things through and articulate responses and / or raise any queries that you have.

When it comes to actually “showing up”, you’re obliged to find a placement in the Masters in Counselling Psychology in order to gain some practical experience. However, this can be found locally at the Yorkville University. You’ll have to compile clinical activity sheets for this practical aspect of the course. Once you’ve submitted work, the feedback is just as immediate as during term time that isn’t taken completing the work experience elements.

But the fact is, if you’re introverted and shy, then online courses such as the ones found at Yorkville University are among the best options and this review should help you realize that.