Hello everyone. I would love to hear the input of the forum members on a couple of questions I have. First, do you believe it would be more beneficial to obtain a graduate degree from a local residential university that does not have great name recognition, or from a DL school that does have name recognition (be it positive, neutral or negative)? In other words, are there situations where you believe a DL program would be better than a local residential program? Are there any distinct advantages DL has over residential when it comes to using your degree for a job? Secondly, for those who have completed a graduate degree via DL, how did you compensate for the lack of certain advantages provided to residential grad students such as hands on experience, internships with local companies and job placement? What type of obstacles did you encounter when searching for a job with your DL grad degree in hand? I appreciate your responses. Harry Skandaliaris
Harry, There is a distinct benefit in obtaining a DL degree versus a campus based educational program. Primarily, due to the myriad number of responsibilities that adult learners encounter in their daily lives it would be inordinately difficult or impossible for them to attend a brick and mortar classroom program. This especially holds true after putting in a days work. The flexibility intrinsic to many DL degree program enables the adult learner the opportunity to pursue his/her education which may have otherwise been precluded but for the existence of such DL programs. Secondly, the issue of whether a traditional earned degree is more viable than one earned at a DL program fails to address the intervening factors that may effect the acceptability of the latter credential. This variable consists of personal characteristics and competence in self-marketing and persuasion, emotional intelligence and likeablity in addition to possessing and demonstrating the set of skills consonant with the position being offered! In other words, if an HR Officer is confronted with two competing candidates, each of whom possesses a different degree as noted above, it is most likely in the majority of instances, that he will select the individual who most fits in with the organizational climate and milieu rather than basing his decision on where the degree emanated. A traditional earned degree may serve as a vehicle for entry for an interview but it definitely does not guarantee a successful outcome in terms of career or professional success. Keep in mind the significance of presentation and the other interpersonal characteristics that are ultimately the determining factors in many areas of our professional and personal lives.
Re: Re: DL vs Residential There is the exception of a no name local school versus a recognizable dl school (ie Univ. of London, Harvard, Brigham Young University, etc.
Harry - My 2 cents. Thanks - Andy I'd go for local residential programs - unless one of two things is true: 1. There isn't a school in your area that offers the academic program you want. This is more likely in smaller communities. If you live in a major metro area (like Chicago or New York) and you're interested in an MBA, the argument here is pretty weak. 2. The nature of your work (travel, shifts, etc.) makes it impossible for you to attend traditional classes. Of course, a 3rd (but invalid!) reason is - "It will be easier to earn a degree via DL in my pajamas than having to go to class". I suspect that many students find out that DL programs can be a pretty lonely existance. In my experience - as a faculty member and students is that learning via DL (be it email/web based, video, etc.) lacks the richness of face to face interaction. Some may prefer DL, but I'd go on-ground any day. Further, the better DL programs can be a lot of work. The easiers one, however, can be a joke. As for reputation - I can't think of many distant programs with such strong reputations that I'd forgo the benefits of face to face interaction. There may be a few exceptions - Duke's distant MBA program may make sense compared to a run of the mill part-time on-ground program. But in the garden variety MBA world, for example, what's the difference between an on-line Baker MBA and a run of the mill part-time MBA from a smaller private or state school? Probably not much. I'd add to the advantages of on-ground - full-time faculty, personal interaction with peers and research library support. These are real concerns with DL. I compensated by spending time at a local university library and lots of email to peers. Still, on-ground education has the edge in my mind.
Perception That’s a good point and it raises a question: If we got all or part of our degree from distance learning, do we hide this fact to make us more employable or to make our degree look better e.g. look more traditional (as in residential)? Do we fear that a stigma might be placed upon us if it is learned that our degree (or parts of it) was a result of DL? And is this stigma justified? No, of course the stigma is not justified. However, if a stigma exist, then where did this perception come from and why are we toying with this idea? I find it ironic that some of the state universities are making a distinction between their traditional programs and their DL programs. Why are they doing this? I think that this is a very important question. If there is no perceived difference in the quality of a DL degree and a traditional degree, then why are some of the universities making subtle distinctions between the two? For example, the Florida State University has made a subtle distinction in the following two degrees: Criminology (this is their residential program) Criminal Justice (this is their DL program) Why this subtle distinction? Is it just so that their professors can know who graduated from what? Is this a conspiracy? Or is this all just a big misunderstanding? Why make a distinction between a traditional degree and a DL degree? Okay, I’m rambling, but you get my point… So, back to the original statement: Yes, I do believe that there can be advantages to getting a DL degree that appears to be a traditional degree.
