Discrimination against online degrees

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by avia93, Oct 14, 2004.

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  1. grgrwll

    grgrwll New Member

    Yep, it's a whole different story for graduate/professional degrees.

    And even at the undergrad level, there are certainly exceptions.

    By the way, I think undergrad GPA is similar. I've been in the workforce for over a decade now, and never ONCE has my GPA been considered in employment decisions. However, it was, of course, considered when I applied to grad school.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Oct 15, 2004
  2. Jack Tracey

    Jack Tracey New Member

    I too believe that these two methods of instruction are different. I think it's important to point out, however, that different does not equal good/bad, better/ worse, superior/inferior. Sometimes different is simply different.
    Jack
     
  3. Splas

    Splas New Member

    Different does not mean inferior, never forget that!

    I did not graduate with an online degree (my AAS and BA were B&M), heck, I've never even taken an online class; however, my BA was taken at the night school at St. Andrews.

    I hardly obtained my education the traditional way (since I am of traditional college age, yet decided to go to night school instead), and sometimes I fear people will (or do) look at my education as inferior.

    Its this, "He did things differently so there must be something wrong with him" mentality that is unfair and seems silly and childish to me.

    I say to heck with them and so should you. From what I've read, Excelsior does not give away degrees to just any idiot (I can't say the same for some other, better known schools)

    I saved a heck of a load of money doing things "differently", and I will gladly use that money to help pay for grad school :D.

    If (shouldn't I say when :)) I go to grad school, I will almost certainly choose to do it online and the major reason for that is this board.

    This message board has really opened my eyes to see all the opportunity there is out there, and I would like to thank everyone that contributes here, thank you!
     
  4. Jack Tracey

    Jack Tracey New Member

    OK, Splas. You hang in there. We "night school" guys have got to stick together.

    The fact is, this forum is one of the few places where you can reasonably expect people to genuinely understand (and perhaps take for granted) the idea of working full-time and going to school full-time concurrently.
    Hangin' in
    Jack
     
  5. DebTormey

    DebTormey New Member

    quote from grgrwll:
    "Look: Excelsior is not Harvard. But it's a fine school."

    grgrwll,

    Excelsior will also accept Harvard credits., just as they will accept University of Texas, College of Mount St. Vincent, and Hunter College credits.
     
  6. boydston

    boydston New Member

    I'm certain they have. And others have experienced discrimination for attending a junior college before moving to a four-year-state college. And others have experienced discrimination for attending a four-year state funded brick school instead of a private school. And others have experienced discrimination for attending a small no-name private college instead of an ivy-league school.

    In spite of what your friends might think there is more than enough acceptance of distance degrees to make them worth your while -- to say little of all that you learned in the process.

    Blow it off. People by nature are into creating pecking orders and if you pay attention to that nonsense you'll become a bitter old lady.
     
  7. Randell1234

    Randell1234 Moderator

    I never had anyone question my degree. My corporate office is in Long Island and most of the people are into where they got their degree...St Johns, SUNY, CW Post, Touro College, LIU, Adelphi University, Hofstra University, etc. These are all recognizable names. I have never experienced any degree snobbery except for one woman that said the Touro College Law school was for losers that could not get into a good law school. I can comment on.

    Overall, I would say screw them - an RA undergrad degree is a degree.
     
  8. avia93

    avia93 New Member

    Thanks

    First, I want to thank everyone for all the kind words they expressed on the message board. I have come to the belief that I must learn to put up a mental block when I hear others put me down for attending an online school. My choice in chosen distance learning was a good decision for me. When I look back at my undergraduate years and doing it by the traditional way, I realize if I had stuck it out I would have never finished college :(

    I found the traditional way daunting, constrictive and boring. Like most undergraduate students, I at one time believed this was, the only method allowed to me and had plans to quit college. It was not until I over heard a military wife in a class of mine mention she was completing her degree online. I had never heard of such a method expect from bad commercial ads on TV. I took time out to study up on distance learning and thanks to John Bear book and this message board, I was able to get all the info I needed to complete my degree faster.

    Now, that I think about it more "The hell with what people think!" I worked my butt off for that degree and instead of being praised for not becoming a college drop out; I get dirty looks for perusing my degree through a much more effective way for me. I only wish more Americans were better educated about the alternatives to getting a college degree. Too many of our youth or not finishing school because they believe there is only one way the traditional method.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Oct 15, 2004
  9. Rob L

    Rob L New Member

    Avia,

    I agree that the best thing for you to do is ignore your so-called "friends". As stated before by some of the other posters, there are many people that have "degree snobbery". No matter what school you graduate from, there will always be at least one person to say that school is not that good. For example, someone could graduate from Harvard Law and hear that they should have gotten a real J.D. from Yale.

    In my opinion, I think as long as if your degree is properly accredited for your specific goals---be it RA, NA, or international equivalent---, you'll be alright. If your Excelsior Degree is serving you well, than that should be the only thing that matters.
     
  10. PhD2B

    PhD2B Dazed and Confused

    good thread

    I really like this forum.

    My wife is presently making me feel guilty about earning an online degree. She tells me that I am "settling" :mad: on an online program that I know I can do; which implies that it is easy. So far my experience has been quite the contrary. My wife suggests that I earn a second masters from a local university. I already have a masters - I want to earn a Ph.D.

    My BS and MS were both done B&M, except for the first two courses that I took for my MS. After the first two online courses from Florida Tech, I told my advisor that I wanted to take the rest of the courses on-site. The on-site courses were much easier. Now that I want to pursue a Ph.D., my local university options are non-existent, so online is the only way.

    If the university is RA, why should I feel as though I have made a bad choice? After reading this thread, I do not feel as though I have made a bad choice. :D
     
  11. jugador

    jugador New Member

  12. Randell1234

    Randell1234 Moderator

    Re: good thread

    I know how you feel about local options being non-existant or just impossible. I travel 100% of the time, and I am out of town/state about 50% of the time. Imagine telling you instructor, "I really want my degree but I can only come to class half the time and I do not know what days it will be."

    If it was not for DL options, the best I would have done would be my AA degree.
     
  13. ham

    ham member

    another way out, for thoe yet to enrol, is to choose brick & mortar universities, which offer DL courses as well: university of London, of Manitoba & dozens others.
    At that point, one's degree would be unrecognizable from "traditional" degrees from the same institution, unless otherwise noted ( but who's going to question, after you said: i got a B.A from the University of London? ).
     
  14. Fred Wilkinson

    Fred Wilkinson New Member

  15. maya2

    maya2 New Member

    I have couple of friends who graduated from top business school in Canada with MBA's. When I told them that I will be perusing an on line MBA they flat out told me that it is NOT a real degree and that it will never be equal to theirs...They acted all superior because they got their degree the "traditional" way. However for me this is just a stepping stone in my career, I already have a job with a great company. When they graduated with their MBA's they were not able to find employment for over a year. Even thought they had the education from a great school, they had no work experience. So I would not worry too much. It is all about what you can do with your degree once you graduate, your skills and how you can "sell" yourself:) It is about the complete package.
    Good luck!
    A.
    BTW working full time and studying 30 hours per week is a lot harder in my mind than just going to school and having the luxury of time.
     
  16. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    Who is claiming to be an expert?

    Rich Douglas, Ph.D.
     
  17. dis.funk.sh.null

    dis.funk.sh.null New Member

    hmmm... looks like I failed to read that part. Oops! :D
     
  18. Fred Wilkinson

    Fred Wilkinson New Member

    LOL;) Ph.unny.Dude.
     
  19. Fred Wilkinson

    Fred Wilkinson New Member

    I couldn't agree more. All this "my degree is better than yours" is a load of toss.

    What counts is how much money you make with your skills. I am guessing that there are people with Doctorates here, who make less than 30.000 USD a year. (a rubbish wage)

    If someone with an "unnaccredited" degree is making more, well who is really smarter?
     
  20. Jack Tracey

    Jack Tracey New Member

    The person who will question you is the job interviewer who has noticed, after scanning your resume, that you earned your University of London degree while concurrently holding a full-time job in New York (or some other town). I do not believe that you can count on the idea that "nobody will know." You must be prepared to answer direct questions regarding your educational credentials. This is true regardless of where or how you earned your degrees.
    Jack
     

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