Question of value with online degrees unanswered

Here is an interesting look at how "some" corporate recruiters view degrees earned by DL.... Click and read.

More than half of the respondents to a survey of corporate recruiters conducted in 2005 by The Wall Street Journal said they view online degree graduates either "somewhat differently" or "very differently" than on-campus graduates.


http://charlotte.bizjournals.com/triangle/stories/2006/05/29/story4.html

 

How many know how the degree was earned? hmmmm

Who would you prefer:

2006 MBA University of Florida

or

2006 MBA University of Florida

where one applicant completed in the seat and the other by DL. In most cases, the transcripts don't specify and both are correct to use the above.

 

I personally don't believe most would ask, but then again what do I know.

If someone was to get a DL degree from a B&M school as was asked, "how it was earned??" would you tell them?

In my mind, if they are asking, there is a reason for it..

A degree, is a degree, is a degree it is that simple.. My only requirement is that the program be RA...

 

This survey may understate the bias against online degrees, because it is PC now to be open to the possibility of online education. In the unmetered privacy of their offices, the attitude of some recruiters may be expressed in another Wall Street Journal "College Journal" article - www.collegejournal.com/jobhunting/searchstrategies/20011108-vogt.html?refresh=on:

This Journal article also discusses the risks of not disclosing that a degree is earned online.

 

Is it just me or does anyone else think that it's incredibly odd for an IT recruiter to have a problem with an online degree from Stanford or Duke ??

 

This article underscores the snobbish attitude of HR managers who earned their degree through a B&M school. I can't imagine a good reason for an employer turning up their nose at a potential employee with an RA, AACSB-accredited degree simply because of the mode of delivery. I've said it before and I'll say it again...these are companies I would not want to work for in the first place.

As DL degrees become more prevelant, I expect these attitudes to change, although slowly.

 

"If you're planning to become one of the more than two million Americans enrolled in online learning courses by .2002 , you'll have at least one major concern: "What will prospective employers think of my degree?"
Is it possible for two million Americans to be wrong? Are there there two million DL degree holders sitting on Sally Struthers GED degrees? Bologna!
This is dated material. Time moves on and it seeme to have moved some distance since this writer composed the article.

Bill

 

Stanford has a long history of on-line delivery of courses, and more recently full degrees. The "Silicon Valley" is flooded with engineers and IT people who either have their degree from Stanford or have taken professional distance development courses from Stanford.

Stanford goes out of its way to state that the entrance requirements, courses, and grading for - for example - the online Master's in Electrical Engineering - are identical in "distance" and campus format. But there is a strong perception among managers and recruiters that full-time MSEE students are stronger by self-selection. I think that perception is correct. However, it's all relative. An online degree from Stanford is far better received by employers than - say - a campus degree from Bridgeport University.

 

That perception, correct or not may exist in Silicon Valley. but come on, a recruiter in Eastern Canada is making that distinction? How many Stanford grads does this guy see up in Ottawa?

 

He may not be in Eastern Canada: "Alex Bacas, vice president of U.S. Operations for Segue Consulting, an Ottawa, Ontario-based information technology recruiting firm.

Also, the Ottawa (Kanata) area is the centre of Canada's High-Tech Electronics Industry - with many ties to California's Silicon Valley.

 

I would bet there are more people in their interview chairs with DL degrees than they know.

When colleges stopped making the dredded "DL" notation on former students transcripts that said it all. There is no difference.

What the nay sayers are saying is that DL students must cheat, or get away with something without being under the watchful eye of a professor or instructor.

We've all seen the recent CNN head lines, B&M students go high-tec to cheat. So it really happens in the hallowed halls too, no!

As for DL students, proctored exams are just that, proctored. These folks watching the test takers do this for a living and they WATCH the DL students closely. You cheat , your ejected from the test, simple.

One can have "someone else" do all the busy work for them all semester long, BUT if one can not pass the required tests, guess what, that person achieves failure, just like any other student.

Honestly, if one cheats there is really no way he or she would have the knowledge to pass a Midterm or final exam.

Integrity and knowledge are maintained through the proctored examination process.

 

There is a big difference between "online" and "external". Online degrees normally means that all the course work including exams are conducted with the help of the internet while external means that the students deliver the same work as on campus students but without attending classes.

I agree that if a student is a able to pass the same exams as on campus the degree should have the same value.

But online education is different, some of these degrees don't even use exams to evaluate students but only online discussions and assignments. Some use internet for online exams but the main idea is that all the work is delivered online.

I wonder if there is any study about the perception between online and distance learning. Distance learning is not the same as "online".

 

But that's not the argument against DL. Except for the lowest cartoon DETC courses, it accepted that material in a (RA) DL course is more or less the same as in a B&M course (maybe the presentation is different). The perception among many recruiters and managers about DL is that students have missed out on the classroom interaction and transformational aspects of education which occur (or are supposed to occur) in a B&M school.

 

I hate to say that I'm not surprised by the "survey" of HR people. The people I work with generally do not bat an eyelash with concern to RA vs. NA etc. but they do (and will tell you) regard the "online" degree differently than a "butt-in-seat" degree. I think it is because that's the way "they" did it, so that's the "best" way.

Though I've never seen an online candidate not chosen because the degree was online, again the degree is a small factor in the overall interview and candidacy process.

Where I work, accredited means accredited, RA, NA, doesn't matter.......but a KNOWN school gets preference I'm sure, whether admitted or not....i.e. Harvard, Stanford, etc.

 

RFValve,
What do you think about the quality of schools that require some residency versus those that don't? I think that schools that require their students to attend face-to-face seminars are generally harder and of better quality than those that allow you to complete a degree completely online. Unfortunately, I see a lot of people here who downplay the importance of doing residency because they find it inconvenient and a hassle.

 

external vs distance vs online vs correspondence

Is there somewhere formal definitions and distinctions among "external", "correspondence", "online", and "distance learning" ?

 

Re: external vs distance vs online vs correspondence

I don't know about formal definitions, but I would define them as follows:

Distance Learning - The all-inclusive name given to any type of learning outside of the classroom. This may include correspondence, satellite b&m locations, online, cable TV classrooms, etc.

External - Sometimes interchangable with Distance Learning, but usually refers to satellite b&m classrooms outside of the main campus.

Correspondence - Print based study, usually done my mail, but also may include some online abilities. May or may not include direct interaction with an instructor, but never includes group interaction with other students. (Sometimes a chat board may be established for students but it is NOT part of the course.) Correspondence study is typically self paced with a deadline.

Online - Usually refers to distance education through an online, virtual classroom. Assignments are typically given, submitted, and discussed online. In many cases, timed tests are also taken online. There is usually direct interaction with the teacher and other students through the virtual classroom environment. Online studies will typically follow a set schedule, either that of a typical, on-campus 16-week format, or an accellerated 12 or 8 week format.

Pug

 

one thing to consider here...


Here in North Carolina, there is alot of great B&M schools, and there is somewhat of a bias, but not really against DL as much as unknown schools or out of state schools...

I am considering ECUs Information Assurance MS program for this very reason. The attituted tends to be "there are great schools here, why didnt you got to one?"

just a thought...

 

Distance learning as defined by Wikipedia:
Quote:
"Distance education, or distance learning, is a field of education that focuses on the pedagogy/andragogy, technology, and instructional systems design that is effectively incorporated in delivering education to students who are not physically "on site" to receive their education. Instead, teachers and students may communicate asynchronously (at times of their own choosing) by exchanging printed or electronic media, or through technology that allows them to communicate in real time (synchronously). Distance education courses that require a physical on-site presence for any reason including the taking of examinations is considered to be a hybrid or blended course or program."

Bill