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Has anyone heard of Goddard College in Vermont? I was going through a
book I got at the library which lists accredited colleges in the U.S. and
Canada that have off-campus/long distance learning with degrees available.
Goddard was one of them so I did a search on the Internet and was really
surprised to read about them. They sound like a perfect unschooler's
college. The learning is very self-directed and the on-campus classes are
small discussion groups with teachers acting instead as "facilitators." I am
really excited about this school.

Lucy in Calif.

sara woodall

Yes, Lucy. Another good school along the same lines is Vermont College
of Norwich University (where I am currently working on a masters in
educational alternatives.

Sara

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Sara,
I saw some information on Norwich and noticed that they are near Goddard.
Are you working on your Master's long distance or on campus? I am thinking
of finishing my B.A. through Goddard's off campus program and then maybe even
going for a Master's. Their approach seems so much more sane and progressive
and exciting.
I told my oldest about it and he thought it sounded interesting. He's one
who is planning to go to college because the things he's interested in tend
to require a degree but he and I are having a negative experience right now
in a community college class we're taking together and it has made me
question the whole approach. I know most classes aren't as bad as this one
but I would hate for him or me to ever be in a class like this again. It is
everything I hate about institutional learning (learning for the grade and
the transcripts rather than the information, dealing with a power crazy
authoritarian teacher, etc.). It has really put a damper on the subject for
us both (Geology) because we associate it with that class and that teacher.
Before this, I had had good experiences in college classes and found them to
be totally different than high school. This was the last general ed. class I
needed for transfer or an A.A.
I also love the flexibility of the off-campus learning because it is
difficult for me to arrange for being on campus every week right now. And
Goddard's description of their degrees' processes speaks of choosing the ways
to learn each subject and working with a long-distance tutor to come up with
a plan.
How do you like the Norwich program? Is it similar? Are you glad you
chose it? It sounds really interesting.

Lucy

sara woodall

> Are you working on your Master's long distance or on campus?
>
I am doing the online format (new last fall) following a 5-day
colloquium at Vermont College in October. The format sounds identical
to Goddard. I have a core faculty advisor at VC and a field faculty
advisor closer to where I live.

It's a program I have wanted to do for a dozen years, and the online
format finally made it possible. I'm in the early stages, and, yes, I'm
glad to be doing it.

Sara

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Sara,
You wrote about Norwich University and so I followed up and got some info
from them, also. Their program looks very similar to Goddard. So now I am
deciding which one to go with. I am really excited about the approach of
those two schools. It is different than any other college I've known about.

Lucy