Name Recognition vs. Less Known Schools

I've posted in a couple of threads and a lot of the topic comes back to one question. How heavy is the name of a school associated with the weight of acceptance or appeal to a potential employer? For example, if you have two schools that have very similar programs but one is at a relatively unknown school (still fully accredited) and you have a person who goest to a well known school with maybe a less intensive program but still the same degree title, assuming all other aspects of the applicants are the same, would the person that went to the well known school have an edge to a potential employer? In your opinion, how much of an edge would it be?

In my opinion, a well known school may help you get an interview where a lesser school probably would not. Here's my example, if I'm an HR rep. and I have 3 applicants: NYU, Columbia, and Tennessee Tech. The NYU and Columbia applicant would definitely be on the list for interviews where the Tenn. Tech may or may not be. Ultimately, it will come down to the interview as to who will receive the job (assuming no biases exist).

Thanks,
David

 

OK Krazy, please allow me to add another layer to your worry. If you enroll and complete a program at BU (a very good school, btw) will your diploma reflect the fact that your degree was earned through DL? Will your transcripts reflect that your degree was earned through DL? Will prospective employers ask for copies of your diploma/transcripts? Will prospective employers be biased against DL? If there's a prejudice against DL does it really matter which DL degree you earn? Will you be paying top dollar for a degree that won't serve you any better than a third tier school degree? Your original post in this thread poses these same questions but you've omitted the DL factor. Is a DL degree from BU seen (generally) as being superior to a B&M degree from ... anywhere? Is a B&M Liberal Arts degree from North Dakota State University more valuable than an ALD from Harvard Extension? You may have an intuitive answer to these sorts of questions but what is your intuition based upon? There's no definitive data to support any position on these issues(as far as I know). You are creating the data. Go create.
Good luck.
Jack

 

From all the program's I've looked into including USC, Stanford, Boston U, and Harvard, all schools say there is no mention what so ever of the fact the degree was earned via DL. So, I don't think that would be an issue. Having earned a BS in Information Technology Management from Park U (which is either a tier 3 or 4 school), there is no mention on either my transcripts nor my degree that it was earned DL. So, I don't think this is an issue. How employers view dl is still something being decided so, I don't know. It was merely my opinion that someone in HR would naturally associate a "better" education. I'm not saying it is a better education though. I hope I am wrong though. I know everyone who earns a degree busts their chops no matter if it is Harvard or some community college so by no means am I being negative about any school or education. Like I said, I got an BS from Park U. and an AS from a small Tennessee community college.

David

 

From all the program's I've looked into including USC, Stanford, Boston U, and Harvard, all schools say there is no mention what so ever of the fact the degree was earned via DL. So, I don't think that would be an issue. Having earned a BS in Information Technology Management from Park U (which is either a tier 3 or 4 school), there is no mention on either my transcripts nor my degree that it was earned DL. So, I don't think this is an issue. How employers view dl is still something being decided so, I don't know. It was merely my opinion that someone in HR would naturally associate a "better" education. I'm not saying it is a better education though. I hope I am wrong though. I know everyone who earns a degree busts their chops no matter if it is Harvard or some community college so by no means am I being negative about any school or education. Like I said, I got an BS from Park U. and an AS from a small Tennessee community college.

David

 

From all the program's I've looked into including USC, Stanford, Boston U, and Harvard, all schools say there is no mention what so ever of the fact the degree was earned via DL. So, I don't think that would be an issue. Having earned a BS in Information Technology Management from Park U (which is either a tier 3 or 4 school), there is no mention on either my transcripts nor my degree that it was earned DL. So, I don't think this is an issue. How employers view dl is still something being decided so, I don't know. It was merely my opinion that someone in HR would naturally associate a "better" education. I'm not saying it is a better education though. I hope I am wrong though. I know everyone who earns a degree busts their chops no matter if it is Harvard or some community college so by no means am I being negative about any school or education. Like I said, I got an BS from Park U. and an AS from a small Tennessee community college.

David

 

It all depends on your profession. I'm an HR exec and have worked in a variety of fields -- from nuclear engineering to healthcare to my current position in education.

I just hired three new candidates this past week -- one with a degree from Johns Hopkins, one with a degree from Notre Dame and one with a degree from Fredonia. The strongest candidate of the three was actually the Fredonia grad. She had the best references, the best interview, and had done the most with her degree.

Any good HR person worth his or her salt is far more interested in what a candidate has done over time than which school he or she attended. Interestingly, many of the most successful people in various fields went to no name schools. (I'm just too tired to come up with the list right now, but will do a little research and follow up over the course of the next few days.) It's what they did with those degrees from those no name schools that matters.

 

David,

local name recognition is a larger player than many folks realize. To add to your study, take a look at the local universities/colleges/CC where you plan to move to or work and examine the credentials of the faculty. In many instances you will see state degrees from either the same state or the same region. I can't argue the relative merits of a degree from Harvard, MIT, Johns Hopkins, etc... but it does not take a lot of gleaning of a resume to figure out that your degree was earned non traditionally if it comes from across the nation. A friend of mine has a PhD from Johns Hopkins, another has his PhD from Auburn, they both work at the same university, the Auburn grad makes more because his field is business. The point I am trying to make is that your personal circumstances, resume, and field will dictate the real value of the degree not necessarily the school from which you graduated. My advice is to look at your end goals and
look for the program that will fit.

Good luck,

Kevin

 

Please read this thread:

http://forums.degreeinfo.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=19817

 

Excellent advice! The more I research the value of an MBA and where to get it the more I am convinced of the above.

One employer I spoke with told me he doesn't want top business school grads. Would not fit in his firms culture. He prefers to hire grads from Florida Atlantic U, Florida International U and Nova. He is much more concerned with the new employees past performance than where the degree came from. Granted, his is just a medium size business at best but I doubt he is alone in his thinking.

Just my opinion

 

In the law, the name of you school matters TOO DAMNED MUCH!!

 

Marylars wrote

"I just hired three new candidates this past week -- one with a degree from Johns Hopkins, one with a degree from Notre Dame and one with a degree from Fredonia. The strongest candidate of the three was actually the Fredonia grad."

Of course -- since Fredonia is the best of those schools!

Second only to Geneseo.

I wonder if there are other biases at work as well. Are managers who graduated from state schools more likely to hire state-school graduates? Are those who graduated from top schools outside the Ivy League (Chicago, etc.) more likely to hire people with similar backgrounds?

And the big question: Are DL grads more likely to hire other DL grads?

 

I think that name recognition is very important in many companies, probably more important than it should be. When hiring right out of school, I think that there's a normal tendency to recruit from known schools. This is true at the large engineering firm that I work at.