Etiquette for talking to co-workers about your online degree?

I don't agree with people who think a degree earned through D/L represents the same personal and professional accomplishment as the same degree earned in residence. I have two of each; the D/L programs were MUCH more demanding in terms of personal discipline and mastery of the material.

I don't think there's much value at all in lectures, whether live or canned. You have to wrestle with the books on your own. No one looks over your shoulder. No one nags or reminds. There are no opportunities to "skate".

So I answer any questions I'm asked and ignore any attempts to denigrate my efforts. At most, I might say, "You should try D/L for your next degree. It worked well for me." The smart, hard working ones take the point. The lazy ones also take the point but in a different, less comfortable way. Guess which group tends to succeed?

 

What a great perspective! I do consider it to be more remarkable for me to have finished a doctorate without the benefit of having a daily place to go and be with a cohort of fellow students. It's a more significant task to have gutted it out largely alone and having to rely on self-motivation. I'm a social person by nature who would have enjoyed the traveling companions in a cohort and would have responded well to the competitive element, so I would have found that road easier.

 

I have never completed an entire degree via traditional means, but I have completed numerous courses in the classroom. I tend to agree that D/L requires far more personal discipline. However, I recognize that not everyone is the same, so a choice of delivery methods is always a good thing. To me, the argument of which "method is better" is kind of subjective. If you attend church, which type of service is better? Formal/traditional or contemporary? If a student gets more out of a classroom experience, than traditional delivery will be better for that student. Personally, I get more out of D/L as long as the virtual classroom is robust and includes a lot of meaningful student participation. The only objective study of quality, to my knowledge, is the one I referenced earlier in the thread. As we all know by now, it suggests that D/L students score better than their traditional counterparts on learning outcomes. However, even this data may be flawed to a degree because, as I recall, the age and employment status of the various groups were not considered. I would expect an adult learner who is actively employed to score better than a more youthful student who is still discovering the world around them.

 

Thanks!

Thanks for all the helpful and interesting insights and comments! This thread has been reaffirming for me. I appreciate it.

 

cheesey + easy = cheesily

The misnomer is that a DL degree is cheesily easier and is, by default, substandard to a B&M degree.

 

Nobody asks me about it. Even when I got hired at a B&M State university right after getting my doctorate, they didn't ask me any specific questions about my degree. I know they looked at my transcripts, GPA and what course work I took, and what my dissertation was about. This state college offers online Master's degrees (though not doctorates, either on campus or online). I think distance learning is fairly accepted in the circles I travel and few people care.

My own daughters are very involved with prestigious schools. If they look down on my doctorate earned by distance, they have the good sense never to mention it!

 

+1
It's an interesting question, because it takes the assumption that DL is an option that needs defending; is less than a butt-in-seat experience. This might sound a little snarky, but who the heck cares? Inquisitive people will do their own research, and may (or may not) decide for themselves if DL is something they'd like to pursue. I have both B&M and DL degrees, different experiences. So what? I have different needs than I did 25 years ago.

I never lie- but I also don't feel that I need to sell my decision to other people. Sometimes defending a decision appears as if you are trying to advocate for everyone else to do what you did because it's the BEST. (probably not the intent, but the interpretation can appear so).

There are 2 kinds of questions, the first kind is challenging the decision and the second is asking for information. I have no time to sell, evangelize, or market anything. If people ask me HOW, I help them to the fullest extent of my ability. If people ask me WHY, I give 10 seconds and move on.

I've fielded homeschooling questions like this for nearly 2 decades.

 

You need to decide what's more important, your feelings or the perception of value. The reality is an online degree rep MAY hurt your chances - so just avoid talking about it. Tell them about "what it's like out west" or change the subject.