Recognition of DL Degrees in the Business World

I have read the posts on this board of those saying that HR reps from many businesses do not respect DL degrees. I just recently read a post of someone who dropped out of an almost completed program because he decided that, even though the degree was RA, it would be useless to him.

I have not found that to be the case. I am a long-time businessman and everyone I have talked to about DL degrees has not been aware that there was any difference between DL and B&M. Academia is a different story, of course, but in the business environment in which I operate, nobody really cares; an accredited degree is an accredited degree. I am, however, far removed from the competitive, entry-level world. Is it different there?

What's your input?

 

Here is a survey conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management. Its a PowerPoint:

http://www.shrm.org/Research/SurveyFindings/Articles/Pages/CredibilityofOnlineDegrees.aspx


It states that online degrees are viewed more favorably now than they were five years ago.

However, One of the questions in the survey was:

"Job applicants with traditional university degrees are preferred by my organization to applicants with online university degrees, presuming work experiences are similar"

51% Agree, 12% Strongly Agree, 6% Strongly disagree, and 31% Disagree. So you have 63% of the HR professionals stating that all things being equal, they would choose the person with the traditional degree over someone with a DL degree. While only 37% say they would not. Not a good sign.

That to me shows that, even though the acceptance of DL is rising, it is not where people with DL degrees would like it to be, i.e. a level playing field.

 

I wonder how much of this phenomenon is generational. Think about the ways humans interact using technologies utterly unavailable just a few years ago. Text messaging, Twitter, Facebook, etc. I wonder if the generations growing up with these things--channeling large aspects of their lives over the internet--will have less resistance to DL. Until then, we have a lot of evidence of the efficacy of alternative methods in education:

http://www.nosignificantdifference.org/

 

This is a very good point, Rich, that I have previously never though of.

 

What about DETC and Nationally accredited degree. Are they worth anything ? I am having hard time finding universities accepting undergraduate from a Nationally Accredited university to RA Masters program. If universities don't honor NA degrees, then what about HR. I think they will also prefer those from a RA college. So, the order of preference will be something like this:
RA from B & M
RA online degree
NA online degree

This is not good news especially because NA universities cost the same.

 

Do DL MBA holders actually expect a level playing field? I'd say, they should mostly just be happy to have a spot in the field. One of the great things about distance learning is that it takes people who are dedicated and competent, but with unjust barriers, and gives them an alternate entrance to the game. It's like the wildcard spot of professional sports play-offs. Sure, you don't get home field advantage, and might be put in as an unfavorable seed, but the other choice was to not even be in the playoffs at all. I think its a positive sign, not a negative one, that DL MBAs have a good amount of real-world utility. A utility that is, encouragingly, rising. To further the analogy, notice how many wildcard teams have won championships. This absolutely proves the value of a wildcard team, as well as a wildcard spot. When we start to see more and more and (oh, yes!) MORE success stories from graduates of online MBAs, it will absolutely prove the legitimacy of both the degree holders and the degree.

BTW, as a non-buisness man, I don't differentiate between an online MBA and a B&M MBA in terms of respectability. Much of the younger generation feels the same. This is likely to one day take effect in the buisness world as well as in public (eg, my) opinion, as the younger generation will one day become the older generation, and likely completely change the rules of the game.

 

Maniac, this is a great post and a great analogy. I think you are correct.

 

You are correct in that most people in the business world don't really care one way or another. 25 years ago distant learning was unconventional. Today, however, it is the norm and even B&M schools have adopted it. As DL schools continue to flourish, they will in turn level the B&M playing field.

 

I think with time this is becoming less of an issue and will continue to be. The reason for my assumptions is like Rich, I suspect that the old guard is slowly but surely going to be replaced by people like me, in their early to mid-thirties who just don't have the hang ups with online education the current Baby Boomer generation has. I think as Gen. X and Gen. Y move into management and senior executive positions globally the distinction between online and on campus will fade.

Part of the reason for this is that even traditional on campus students are now often taking at least some classes online as prereqs, to speed a program or to balance a full courseload. I've been in class with these students time and again at Southwestern College, again at Western New Mexico and I suspect at Bellevue too. So the online stigma will probably fade as more people are exposed to it as a legitimate alternative to getting an education.

Third I think more and more corporate learning will go online. It's effective, it's certainly cheaper and with outsourcing trends it just makes good business sense.

Fourth we are becoming more and more connected, we bank, seek medical advice, manage investments and now (at least where I work) manage our benefits at work online. Why should education be so radically detached from the rest of the world?

Lastly (actually I could go on) more and more traditional state schools will have to serve up online offerings to remain competetive in the education market (yes it is a market) especially as governments are cutting back funds. I attended a dinner with the Chairman of the Board for Southwestern College who was bragging that Southwestern was the only school in Kansas that was actively hiring new professors and expanding their facilities during this recession and the reason they were able to do so was because of the popularity of their online offerings, now that's saying something. Maybe if academia figures out that online offerings can actually secure their positions rather than replace them as so many of them fear, the attitudes in traditional academia will shift.

 

Strangely enough, the only way someone will know for sure that your MBA was "DL" is if you attend one of teh institutions frequently advertised on tv. For example, you come into my office with an MBA from U of Phoenix, I know it was most likely DL. You come into my office with an MBA from Indiana Kelly School of Business or Thunderbird, two extremely highly-regarded programs who offer DL MBA's, there's no way for me to know.

 

Actually, this is not necessarily the case.

If I live and work in New England and then earn a degree from a school in Chicago, how can I explain that other than distance learning? There may be no "DL" on the diploma but even a rookie job interviewer will note that your degree was earned at a distance. Be prepared to explain, answer questions, etc.

 

No, you don't. About half of UoP's students are in class, with the other half studying online.

 

I think people who discriminate against online degrees tend to be more accepting of degrees attained from traditional universities through distance learning. My cousin attended 3 years on campus at UMass Amherst many years ago but didn't finish. Due to her promotion, she was pressed to attain her degree so she ended up graduating through UMassOnline. As far as I know nobody questions her degree professionally or socially.

 

This is woefully outdated. The bottom line is who has more experience and comes across better in an interview. Except for entry level Wall Street, no one is really being hired based on where they went to school anymore. It's a ticket to the dance. You gotta have the moves to win the prize (experience, skill set, interview).

 

Good to know

 

This is true (unless I commuted to Bloomington it's obvious it was remote) but when asked, it's never been germane to the discussion. If it does come up, I usually summarize by saying:

- my MBA is from a Top 20 school
- same faculty
- combined distance with on campus residencies

Any comments I've received are usually of the positive nature, like "wow, you did this while working full time?" rather than "why didn't you take 2 years off and do it on campus?". I suspect that the reputation of the school and the degree helps offset any potential stigma.

Finally, I agree with mongoose65 in that the degree is a checkpoint to get to the interview, where it really matters, at least for a mid-career person.

 

Because nobody has ever temporarily relocated for school? My dad did it when he was in his late 30's, well before there was such a thing as online learning.

Besides, as a former headhunter who has literally interviewed thousands of people, I've never once asked about whether a degree was DL or not, nor have I ever been asked.

 

Key word being "most likely".

Sorry about multiple posts.

 

One good thing about working in the technology sector is that any employer who would have a problem with DL is probably not someone I'd want to work with anyway. If they cannot see emerging trends, business cases for technology, etc. I suspect they are mismanaged and probably wouldn't be around (in any effective way) for long. As for more traditional business functions I think it's still more about experience and skill than where you went to school.