Degrees that say online or not?

This was something I asked in another thread but I felt it needed an actual thread dedicated to it. Maybe it could even be a sticky if enough people post in it. I was just wondering what Universities distinguish between their degrees by placing "online" or something related to that on them. If the answer is a specific University doesn't then do they mark it on the transcript? I'm curious to know which one's do it.

 

Some do, some don't, and there really aren't any standards. My M.A. was earned entirely off-campus and I only stepped foot on the UMass-Lowell campus twice; once because they needed to see my original DD-214, the other to pickup my diploma, and they would have mailed that if I asked them. There is no indication anywhere on the diploma or transcript to indicate anything non-traditional about it.

 

My diploma from Regis is identical to the ones earned on-campus. That was one thing that I checked before I enrolled (in addition to the accreditation). The program is/was identical in terms of classes and requirements.

 

My wife and I got a Master in Professional Computing from USQ. Neither the diploma nor the transcript show any hints on the distance education nature.

We have been to Toowoomba twice, for pleasure and for the graduation.

 

None of my diplomas make any reference to online, traditional, or otherwise. That's Excelsior College, Coastal Carolina University, and Webster University.

The diplomas also imply that I studied at their home locations when that's only true with the Coastal Carolina. That is; Albany NY, Myrtle Beach SC, and St. Louis Mo.

The transcripts are pretty nondescript in this regard. The Webster diploma shows my classroom work as the campus location I did it in (ie: 'Myrt' for Myrtle Beach) but implies that I went to Webster Groves (St Louis) campus to take the online classes.

The Excelsior transcript is very clear about where each course was taken or which was by exam. It doesn't say whether it was "online" or "classroom" though, just where it came from and that school's course ID.

The entries on the Coastal Carolina transcript for online classes look exactly like the entries for classroom classes. There's no indication at all.

Some transcripts are pretty clear if you know what you're looking at. UC Berkeley has a special course prefix for extension courses and Harvard courses are from Harvard Extension so it is obvious to those who know.

I'm thinking that some school's diplomas will imply "online" whether it was or not. Places like AMU, UoP, AIU, etc... are going to be assumed by many to be "online" even if it was done in the classroom.

 

My certificate for UF says "Online". The other do not.

 

Neither my Baker transcript or my Diploma give any reference to online education. That said, while going through the program its name was CSO or Computer Science - Online. This seems to have been dropped from the final transcript.

 

Have any of you guys found discrimination from an employer (subtle or outward) in regards to those degrees that show online independent study, etc.? At this point I plan to use my bachelors as a stepping stone to law school (local B&M) but I may decide to try and get a federal law enforcement job. I know this has probably been hashed over many times but I worry about the stigma that still surrounds online/independent study. I joined these boards in 2004 and I remember these issues being discussed. I had hoped that the discrimination towards online degrees would have gone away by now. What are your thoughts?

 

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There might be some discrimination - so what? The truth remains that according to the US Department of Education, 98% of public colleges and universities offered distance learning options last year. Times-a-changin'.

7 years ago when my husband and I obtained a mortgage through an internet bank, the seller's lawyer told us we needed to obtain back up lending before they would accept our offer....he didn't think the internet was a safe, reliable, secure, or legitimate way to obtain funds. 7 years ago...that seems like yesterday but it is a lifetime in technology.

So just know that discrimination pockets will soon be diluted with many of the millions who have completed some or all of their learning online. We are not going backwards. Internet education is not only here, but young and expanding. I wonder if 50 years from now, butt in seat will be called "old school" college for those who lack techno savy.

 

I have never found that the question comes up during the interview process, but both my BA and MS degrees are from institutions that would not give rise to the question. Generally, if transcripts are ordered (which some employers do and some don't), it's not done until after a job offer is made. So, the issue of discrimination probably won't even come up unless your degree is from an institution known to the people interviewing you as a school that issues online degrees (for example, perhaps, University of Phoenix).

That's just my experience. My BA is not an online degree, but it was one of the first "alternative" degree programs offered by a regionally accredited college. At the time, it was called an "external" degree because I attended classes off campus, and I was able to earn credit for prior learning through the portfolio (i.e., essay) process. My BA degree was never questioned, and I should mention that I worked in some fairly snooty places in Palo Alto and Silicon Valley that were highly populated with MBAs and PhDs from Stanford, Berkeley, and (for some reason) Princeton.

Tricia Schodowski
M.S. in Education, California State University, East Bay
B.A. Saint Mary's College of California

 

I'm almost finished a masters from Walden University. Although I'm not sure what the transcript says, Walden is pretty much known as an online school. I don't really think the school division I work for cares. I don't think public school divisions as a whole really care that they offer online education. If you open up any education related magazine, there are ads galore for online schools, and recommendations to boot! Furthermore, when big name educational researchers like Robert Marzano and contributing to the programs of study, I don't see how anyone in education could deny that the programs have quality. So no, I don't think there's discrimination against distance learning, at least not in education.

I do have a college however, who earned his Ed.D. the old fashioned way through the University of Virginia. He made a comment to me one day that when I applied to graduate school, I had to make sure it was a real school, and not some junk like "Nova Southeastern." I really don't know anything about that school, but his comment stuck out to me. He never explained why he felt that way, but I suppose he's not alone in believing that some schools aren't quality, regardless of whether they are DL schools or not.

-Matt

 

Matt, I'm sure you know this, and although Dr. Borchers will probably chime in with his wisdom, I'll say that Nova Southeastern University is more closely associated with a high-quality, traditional institution as far as locals in South Florida are concerned.

NSU hosts on-the-ground, accredited colleges of optometry, pharmacy, osteopathic medicine, dentistry, and an ABA-accredited law school, among many others. I've read somewhere that the NSU oceanographic center in Dania Beach ranks among the top-50 such university institutes in the world.

My little brother in Orlando, a current UCF student, made a similar comment about NSU last year. After actually researching the institution, I could only say one word: "Wow!" I later called him back to correct his remarks.

 

I'm sure it is a great school. However, I just wonder why some people have such a huge problem with certain schools when they have no personal experience with them. I'll readily admit I don't like UoP, but that's because I had a horrible experience with them: horrible faculty with horrible teams full of horrible students. I wouldn't touch them again with a ten foot pole. I have a colleague, however, who is doing their program in educational administration and he loves it, but after having discussions with him, their format was totally different than the teacher ed format.