Who Would Hire an Online Grad?

http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/departments/elearning/?article=whowouldhire

 

My boss.

 

You know,
When I first signed up at this form - which was in late 2003 - there was (and still is) a certain bias among employers and academic entities against DL schools.

What I have seen since then is that this bias is continuously fading away, and I reckon, it won't be very long when DL becomes more and more popular and widespread (this has already happened in many ways).

So indeed the autor is correct in her analysis that "familiarity breeds acceptance", provided the educational standard is good. My experience with DETC school has been positive, so I am a firm believer that this gap of acceptance is closing rapidly. I am sure the same can be said for RA schools, even more so because a majority of them already have the advantage of B&M campuses, and it does not say on the diploma that the degree was obtained via DL...

 

My employer....a large fortune 500.

My MBA doesn't say anything about it being DL or on-line. My employer just required proof of the accredited MBA...the transcripts and the diploma.

The FDA checks on things like that from time to time believe it or not. They want to ensure that people who have a hand in making pharmaceuticals are qualified to do whatever they are doing. No doubt it is what got me my job there. An MBA was one of the requirements they were seeking.

 

My three previous employers - Even a Fortune 500 that provided tuition reimbursement for Baker College.

 

I am a contract IT programmer, and so I get hired a couple of times a year by big companies. There was a time in IT where it made no difference if one had a degree or not, but those days are largely behind us. This last go around, simply having the fact that I am in my last year of studies at a regionally accredited university made enough of an impression that I got offers from 3 of 6 interviews. Here in the Pacific Northwest, which is the IT-glut capitol of the country, that speaks volumes. Rather than sing and dance about why I didn't have a degree, now I could show a certificate, and associates degree and an almost-complete B.S. on the resume. In almost every case I got asked about my educational experience and I got to explain that DL is quite a bit more challenging (to me) than the traditional listen-and-spew-back methods that the community college used. I discussed writing and APA formatted papers and research methods and the fact that I needed to be a self motivated person in order to succeed at this. When I told them I had done my first 86 semester hours in twelve months I got a lot of stares and people wanting to know just how I did it. That all contributed to my chances, because I haven't been this marketable since the dotcom bust. I actually got to choose which contract to take, and I chose a B2C e-commerce contract for a major airline. Now I get to look at pictures of Mexico everyday

Sean

 

spmoran,

I work in IT, too. The question on my distance education is a non-issue for me. It has NEVER come up in an interview or discussion with an employer. They just ask for proof of an RA degree and I give it to them.

Do you have some code in your resume that tells the empoyer you are a distance student?

These days, even in executive programs there is a lot of variety. I know of one guy who flies down to LA, USC, all the time to do some executive program in business. I think it is an MBA but could be a DBA or something. I know of more people who do an MBA at Prudue's Krannert through executive weekends. They tell me that a ton of people fly in from all over for that. It seems very accepted to me.

 

I would and have, as have others in the real estate/property management firm for which I am employed.


Pug

 

Bing, the only real code is the name of the school. It is not local. Here in Seattle, the four year colleges are all pretty well known, and Bellevue U isn't one of them. In fact, the town next to Redmond, WA (home of Microsoft) is Bellevue, and they know there isn't a four year school in Bellevue called Bellevue University.

 

As the state director of Vocational Rehabilitation, I regularly hire on lin grads. There are 16 Universities that offer accredited degrees in rehabilitation counseling. There is a national crisis because of a shortage of VR counselors and we are dependent on the on-line programs. In addition I pay for staff who pursue on-line degrees (RA or CORE accredited).

 

obecve, I used to work for a company that does case management systems (AWARE) for VR agencies, and I remember all of the horror stories I'd hear about how difficult it was to get and keep good people in that industry. I think it's pretty cool that you fund distance ed programs.

 

AWARE is actually located in my state. ALthough we do not use their system. I have done a lot of work with them over the years.

 

NB: Bellevue University is based out of Bellevue, Nebraska.