Is it better to attend a DL university closer to home?

I'm new to the forum but have been lurking for a while. I recently read a post where someone said it's better to attend a DL program closer to home. My question is, how close? The school I'm currently attending is a state university which is approx. 10 hours away from my house. Would this be considered "too far"?

 

Those who recommend a DL university close to home are thinking in terms of strategies to conceal the fact that their degree was earned via distance learning. To-wit, if one lives in one location and earns a distance learning degree from a school ten hours away, a future prospective employer is going to notice the difference in the geographical locations of your work and school and thereby (if he/she is actually smart) figure out that your degree was earned via distance learning. Conversely, so this line of thought goes, if one picks a distance learning program from a bricks & mortar school that is within a believable commuting distance of your home and work, then maybe the employer won't notice that your degree was by distance learning. Personally, I'm not sure it's all that important. If a prospective employer would discriminate against me for holding a dl degree, then he's basically a stupid jerk that I wouldn't want to work for anyway.

 

I think it makes good sense to attend a local school offering DL if the school has a good reputation. It's a known quantity in the local area and employers may favor applicants with local credentials. Don't underestimate the utility of local connections.

 

I don't think it matters as much anymore. With some really quality schools offering DL programs, I think more employers are accepting of DL. The DL only schools and 4th tier DL schools that don't have name recognition are the ones that are still viewed as a lower quality education by some people. If you lived in California and graduated from a DL program from Duke, Harvard, Penn State etc. I don't think anyone would question the quality.

I would have a reasonable explanation, however, in case they ask why you chose a DL program over a local one if it were available.

 

What about students that go to school out of state?

My girlfriend is from California and goes to school in Chicago, Illinois.

The school I'm going to has a great reputation in colorado, kansas and a few other surrounding states. I plan on living out that way someday anyhow.

My point is, how would they know you didn't actually live 10 hours away and attend school? Unless of course you list jobs during the same time you earned the degree.

But I have an ebay store so they'll never know...muahaha

The graduate school I'm attending is local, so I guess I'm good to go.

 

There really is not much difference between a tier 2,3 and 4 school.

 

I guess I'm thinking of a school like Oklahoma State University (tier 3) vs. Nova Southeastern (tier 4).

I think more people have heard of Oklahoma State University than have heard of Nova Southeastern.

I have a personal theory (non-scientific, more of a hunch) that schools with a football/basketball program that you might see on national TV are more regarded by employers than those that don't if the school isn't a top-name school. I've found that if someone doesn't really know anything about a school but saw them play in a bowl game or the NCAA tourney, they tend to think of them as a better school.

Some examples of Tier 3 schools are Oregon State, Ball State, Oklahoma State, Seton Hall, etc. I've heard of all these schools and didn't even realize they were only tier 3 schools.

 

Yeah I can see that point of view. A lot of name recognition has to do with demographics as well. I couldn't tell you where nova southeastern is even located, but I'm sure it's well known in it's demographic. Skidmore college doesn't have any sports teams, but it's a very well known liberal arts college in upstate NY. Yes, I can see there would be a difference between a tier 1 school like Harvard and a tier 4 school like Nova, but they all begin to look very similar in the 2, 3 and 4 tier groups. Usually the tier 4 schools are small schools located in the middle of nowhere. They are less selective because they will take whatever attendance they can get.

 

They would know because most of us that pursue degrees in the distance learning arena work full time. So on your resume if you have your full time employment as Anytown, USA, and at the same time you list your degree from Jonestown, USA all reflecting the same time frame it will obviously need explaining.

 

With my Excelsior degree my explanation is (nobody ever asked) that I took courses wherever my job took me then when I earned enough was awarded a degree by Excelsior.

 

I frequently give the advice that it is "nice" to attend a school in the area in which you currently live or an area where you wish to live, for the reason above.

This is not so that you could or would want to fool anyone into thinking that you got the degree on-campus when you did not. It's because if the school is local and well known then it's easier to explain to others -future employers, future schools, etc. For example, if you live in Nebraska and want an undergrad degree, you could go to Bellevue University online. That degree MIGHT have more utility than a degree from, for example, Nova Southeastern in Florida. You might be able to form study groups with fellow students. You could visit campus, etc. In the case of State universities, you might get an in-state resident tuition break. For example, if one lives in Wisconsin, the UWisc Whitewater MBA program might be better than an MBA from Chadron State.

There are many other factors involved in the decision so that would only be one factor. Other factors include price, term length, instruction method(s), available majors, graduation requirements, entrance requirements, accreditation, etc.

In my case, I went to Regis and always tell people that it was obtained at a distance. There were/are no other online MBA programs in Washington State that fit my criteria, so I chose Regis for other reasons. And I do get asked why I chose a school outside of the area that is relatively unknown.

 

Why would it matter if your degree is located in the same place you plan on living someday? People go out of state to go to school all the time.

 

If you are active-duty military now but plan on retiring in - say - Seattle or in Florida, then going to a school with name recognition in that future geographic area would be a plus. Or if you want to move somewhere to be near family, move for better opportunity etc. If the school has an active alumni association, being near other grads is good for networking. Again, not the overriding factor, just another factor.

 

I have one thought that I don't believe has been raised yet. One of the perenial shortcomings of (some) distance learning degree programs is that they don't provide very good access to the university library. In some situations this can be critical. If you "attend" a university that is nearby then you also open up the prospect of using their library.

 

I'm out of country Canadian taking undergrad through US institution (FHSU) and will be going for graduate degree upon completing it, also from a US institution. Canada's options as far as DL learning is concerned are very limited. Our main option is Athabasca and they are overpriced; other universities are creating more DL programs but the scope of programs available here is very limited (some day Canada will come out of the DL dark ages...)

 

This is a valid point but if you happen to live near a local school, they might be able to help. The University of Washington gives anyone a library card for borrowing if they donate $100 a year to the Friends of The Library fund. You don't need to be enrolled. I'd imagine some other schools might offer the same deal.

This doesn't work if you don't live near a academic library or course.

 

I've found the online libraries (at Regis, APU and my CC) are pretty good for paper research. However, I will use the UWash library when I start my doctorate. I believe that you also get library privileges with a UW alumni membership.

 

This topic reminds me of my degree from Troy University. I earned my Bachelor degree from Troy University, Troy, Alabama. And as the same time I was stationed at Camp Pendleton, California; which is over 2,000 miles away. I listed in my resume, and the employers never asked me about it. However, the Marine Corps Officer Candidate School Board questioned me about my degree and the time I was at Camp Pendleton. They required me to write a letter and explain it to them.

Yes, I would recommend attend a Distance learning school closer to where you live. However, it is not required. I used to live in Dallas, and attended SMU. Now I move to Northern Virginia, I still attend SMU.