I have some general questions on my choice from experienced members of this forum. You always enlighten me! I will be joining Troy State University for my BSCS. I was wondering if I can get Canadian perspective from forum members on getting a DL U.S degree (there are not many Canadian degree choices) while working in Canada and how this degree would be perceived and looked upon by Canadian Schools/Employers once I get it. I plan to work and further my studies in Canada so any thoughts/anticipated problems/concerns that I may encounter down the road ? Thanks.
hmmm.. no reply from any member! Guess I asked a vague question. My questions are basically similar to what bo79 asked regarding his MBA. how a US BS degree in CS be taken in canada for employment or further studies or should one go for a Canadian degree (say from Athabasca, which a lot of people dont know about in Canada as well) ?
I find that employers and schools are both rather biased toward any form of distance ed. This is getting better as DL is becoming more prevalent. More Canadian schools are even beginning to offer DL. That being said, the level of receptiveness really depends upon which employer you present your creds to. Some will be far more open than others and this attitude will frequently depend upon the personal attitudes of HR and the hiring manager. I find that, in general, government and government related employers are far more accepting of both DL and American qualifications. Do not expect everyone to welcome you with open arms if you have an American degree that you obtained via DL. A lot of Canadian employers disregard American degrees unless they are from well-recognized schools. Also, you should check out Waterloo's DL programs. Some good choices, plus--not only would your cred be Canadian--it would be from a well-respected school.
I should probably add: Using an American degree obtained via DL shouldn't hamper your desires to pursue further education in Canada. The target school will likely require you to obtain an assessment from an appropriate agency (such as IQAS - International Qualification Assessment Service run by Alberta Learning) and might ask for extra documentation (such as course syllabi) than if you presented a Canadian degree as a pre-req. Really, though, not such a big deal as once you have all the paperwork together the first time you don't need to worry about that aspect any more. I've investigated (actually talking to program coordinators as well as profs) many post-grad programs with my degree as a pre-req and have not had any difficulties. Overall, you might experience a bit of hassle with having an American DL degree in both industry and academia, but so much that you should be detered from pursuing such.
Thanks Casing for your reply. I am not sure how Athabasca University degree would be taken. That is the only Canadian University I am familiar with for DL study. U of Waterloo does not seem to have Computer Science/Computing degree or anything similar via DL. Nor do they have any business related degrees via DL, as far as I know. I checked U of Toronto for Masters level study and they require four year degree from Canadian or American college.
I believe that Athabasca University creds are well-received in Canada. Especially as a pre-req for post-grad work. Athabasca is a fully accredited University and you should not be discriminated against for post-grad admissions. I have taken courses from AU and the support (tutorial, etc) was as effective as I made it (ie: if you don't take advantage of the resources available, don't complain about it later). For distance ed programs in Canada, take a look at this index on the Canadian Virtual University site. This index only includes programs associated with CVU. There are more available in Canada that are not associated with CVU.
