What is The Value of an Online Degree
March 15th, 2007 by get a first class degree
What is the value of an online degree?
Online degree’s are becoming more popular due to their accessibility for people unable to physically attend University courses. Traditional Universities are cautiously moving into this field offering ‘Flexible Learning’ (part time) as opposed to online courses. The reluctance of traditional Universities to offer ‘Distance’ or online degree’s stems from difficuties that arise in assessment, i.e. ensuring the person given the qualification actually does the work. In the UK at least moderators / external examinors do not like onlined degree courses and they are more difficult to get accreddited, and it is this issue that leads many to question the value of an online degree.
In theory, an online degree should be worth as much as an attended degree, providing it is properly accredited, however, many employers remain suspicious of online degree’s, and so they are often not “worth” as much as a degree taken at a bricks and mortar University.
However, that does not mean an online degree is not worth taking, some institutions offering online degrees are reputable.
Also remember that some ‘bricks and mortar’ Universities are themselves starting to offer
online degree’s, distance / flexible learning.
So, with reference to the question “What is the Value of an Online Degree” what does this mean?
- Some online degree’s are valuable (but probably not as valuable as an attended degree)
- Some online degree’s are worthless!
So, how do you know the difference?
1) The reputation of the online institution is the key consideration:
Increasingly it is possible to find ‘bricks and mortar’ Universities catering for online students, offering a mix of distance and flexible learning.
It is these institutions you should target, i.e. those that have been around for a long time and have an established reputation offering conventional, attended degree courses.
Universities that offer 100% online degree’s that are not ‘proper’ universities will be viewed with more suspicion by employers.
When I say they are not ‘proper’ Universities, I mean they do not engage in research or other activities associated with ‘proper’ universities. They simply want to make money selling online degree courses and are not widely known, understood or recognised.
Beware Companies offering Online Degree’s
Many online degree’s are offered by companies as opposed to Universities.
An online degree from a company will be worthless, they are will not be accredited.
Consider Companies Brokering Online degree’s
There are companies that ‘broker’ online courses, collecting commission from genuine Universities for referrals to online degree courses.
Assuming the Universities themselves are genuine, reputable, respected and accredited then there is no issue with using one of these (referring or brokering) companies to assist your search for a suitable online degree course.
If you do use such a company, be sure to research the University offering the course and ensure it is accredited and of good repute (preferably an existing ‘bricks and mortar’ institution, not a 100% online University).
Be Very Careful:
There are many fake Degrees and Fake Universities marketing themselves online.
Depending on the country in which you live, some “Universities” may not be genuine. In the UK for example there have been a number of bogus colleges (not Universities) set up specifically to take advantage of a loophole in immigration law that allows people to stay in the UK whilst studying (these have been shut down).
In other countries online degree’s are complete fakes and not worth the paper they are written on.
2) The second consideration is the qualification itself
Try and find out how much demand is there for this kind of qualification. Using job searches on recruitment sites is a good place to start.
Then try to find out whether employers in this field will accept an online qualification.
- If you have a specific career in mind, try phoning companies you would like to work for
- Ask to speak to someone in HR / personnel and ask whether they have a view on online qualifications
This will be difficult, companies will never directly advise on such matters.
The best you will get is general guidance as to whether:
- “In principle” a company would accept such a qualification.
To get any form of answer, you will need to keep the question generic and ask them to
- “Assume the online degree is from an accredited organisation”
Don’t be stupid and ask “is this course any good”, keep things general, informal and try to get a “feel” for what they think.
Even if you do this, you will be lucky to get a response, but it is worth a try.
So, What is the value of an online degree in the eyes of an employer:
- Less than an attended course from an established bricks and mortar University
- If you take an online course from a bricks and mortar university, it should have similar value, though employers may remain a little retisent if they realise you took your degree online
- More than no degree at all, some online degrees are recognised by employers and are worth having, and will be better than no degree at all
- Nothing if you sign up with a fake University or a company awarding degree’s directly then you are wasting your time and money
So, I am afraid there is no simple answer to this, other than be careful with your money and do some extensive research!
Disclaimer: advertising carried in this site may also lead to fake online degree’s.
Do not assume that because and advert appears on this site it is genuine.
I have little control over advertisements displayed on this site and do not directly endorse any of them, please be careful!
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